Mid/late November: Tuscany or Andalucia? (1 week)
Sep 29th, 2013, 08:17 PM
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Mid/late November: Tuscany or Andalucia? (1 week)
My husband and I are planning a fall trip to Europe, and we'd love your help with choosing our destination.
We are either going the third week of October or the third week of November.
Tuscany would likely have been the destination of choice if we went in October, but as flights for that time are quickly getting quite expensive, November is looking increasingly likely. Our question is, should we stick with Tuscany, or head to the south of Spain instead? (To clarify, Spain was a contender for the October trip as well, so it's not like it's a consolation prize - I'd love to see both places eventually!)
I know southern Spain will have better weather, but we've also heard that November is the olive harvest in Italy, and that this can be quite a wonderful experience too.
In terms of what we'd like to do, we're aiming for a pretty relaxed pace. For Tuscany, we would almost certainly rent out one villa/apartment for the whole time (likely somewhat south in the region, near Siena), with maybe a quick look around Florence at the beginning or end. For Spain, we'd still like to limit it to unpacking twice - likely Seville and one other place (Cordoba? Granada? Malaga?). We like to savour good food and wine at a relaxed pace (doesn't need to be high-end), wandering picturesque towns/cities/countryside, maybe check out some museums, and I might look into a cooking class while my husband stays behind to relax and read a book.
My husband was very briefly in Florence about 10 years ago (I've never been), but we were in Rome and the Amalfi coast two years ago (LOVED it). Neither of us have ever been to Spain.
I would very much appreciate any thoughts or input you can give us about those two locations, so we can begin to book and narrow things down! Thank you so much in advance!
We are either going the third week of October or the third week of November.
Tuscany would likely have been the destination of choice if we went in October, but as flights for that time are quickly getting quite expensive, November is looking increasingly likely. Our question is, should we stick with Tuscany, or head to the south of Spain instead? (To clarify, Spain was a contender for the October trip as well, so it's not like it's a consolation prize - I'd love to see both places eventually!)
I know southern Spain will have better weather, but we've also heard that November is the olive harvest in Italy, and that this can be quite a wonderful experience too.
In terms of what we'd like to do, we're aiming for a pretty relaxed pace. For Tuscany, we would almost certainly rent out one villa/apartment for the whole time (likely somewhat south in the region, near Siena), with maybe a quick look around Florence at the beginning or end. For Spain, we'd still like to limit it to unpacking twice - likely Seville and one other place (Cordoba? Granada? Malaga?). We like to savour good food and wine at a relaxed pace (doesn't need to be high-end), wandering picturesque towns/cities/countryside, maybe check out some museums, and I might look into a cooking class while my husband stays behind to relax and read a book.
My husband was very briefly in Florence about 10 years ago (I've never been), but we were in Rome and the Amalfi coast two years ago (LOVED it). Neither of us have ever been to Spain.
I would very much appreciate any thoughts or input you can give us about those two locations, so we can begin to book and narrow things down! Thank you so much in advance!
Sep 19th, 2017, 05:58 PM
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Hello,
My husband and I are weighing the exact same two locations for a trip the 3rd week of November. I was happy to see your question, but would love to hear what you chose and your suggestions based on your trip.
I hope it was fabulous.
My husband and I are weighing the exact same two locations for a trip the 3rd week of November. I was happy to see your question, but would love to hear what you chose and your suggestions based on your trip.
I hope it was fabulous.
Sep 19th, 2017, 09:20 PM
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Tough call!
As a general rule, I like to try to match my destinations to my travel time, and by that logic, I’d want to wait to visit Andalusia until I had at least 10 days, if not 2 weeks, to visit it, particularly because I think Tuscany a better match to a 1-week time frame – BUT I’m not you!
If you do opt for Spain, Cordoba easily deserves more than a day trip (I filled every minute of 2 full days there), but it is an easy day trip from Sevilla, so if your preference is to stay in a base, you probably won’t want to relocate from Sevilla. (You could always take a second, or third!, day trip. ;-) ) Granada is not that easy to reach and, if your purpose would be to visit the Alhambra, it is not well suited to a day trip, as the Alhambra easily merits the better part of a day (and so 2 nights) in Granada, more if you want to see any of that city’s other gems).
Hope that helps!
As a general rule, I like to try to match my destinations to my travel time, and by that logic, I’d want to wait to visit Andalusia until I had at least 10 days, if not 2 weeks, to visit it, particularly because I think Tuscany a better match to a 1-week time frame – BUT I’m not you!
If you do opt for Spain, Cordoba easily deserves more than a day trip (I filled every minute of 2 full days there), but it is an easy day trip from Sevilla, so if your preference is to stay in a base, you probably won’t want to relocate from Sevilla. (You could always take a second, or third!, day trip. ;-) ) Granada is not that easy to reach and, if your purpose would be to visit the Alhambra, it is not well suited to a day trip, as the Alhambra easily merits the better part of a day (and so 2 nights) in Granada, more if you want to see any of that city’s other gems).
Hope that helps!
Sep 20th, 2017, 05:41 AM
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late Oct/ Nov could be rainy and cool in either location.
If you stay in Seville you can easily visit Córdoba or Malaga using excellent Spanish trains. Or you can drive to Granada for a couple of days.
A week is not a long time to see a great deal of Andalusia, but you could focus
on one or two spots.
We go to Spain often...I would go in Oct.
AC has direct flights to Madrid where you can get a train to Seville.
If you stay in Seville you can easily visit Córdoba or Malaga using excellent Spanish trains. Or you can drive to Granada for a couple of days.
A week is not a long time to see a great deal of Andalusia, but you could focus
on one or two spots.
We go to Spain often...I would go in Oct.
AC has direct flights to Madrid where you can get a train to Seville.
