pgoody

I need to be in Barcelona on business fo a few days in October. I LOVE Barcelona but have been there and all over Spain many times. I want to extend my trip for a couple of weeks and am trying to figure out where I can go that is easy to get to from Spain and still has nice weather at the end of October. I have been to Greece and Turkey already. I was originally going to go to Egypt but it's probably not a good idea right now.

Any suggestions from anyone would be great! Thanks in advance!

ellenem

Aside from nice weather, any other interests you can share to help us narrow the choices? What do you like to do (or not do) on vacation?

Michael

Morocco is a possibility.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca/...70770847/show/

annhig

hi pgoody

I started by looking at ferries -

http://www.directferries.co.uk/routes.htm

but they all seem to go to the balliaric islands, which probably don't interest you too much, so then i went to easyjet, but their BCN flights go north, not south.

Finally, I looked at ryanair, which has quite a lot of choice [eg Sardinia] from BCN, but from Girona, there is loads of choice - here's the map.

http://www.ryanair.com/en/cheap-flight-destinations

no only Morocco but Tenerife, southern Italy, Sicily, Cyrpus - all great late autumn destinations.

have a great trip!

thursdaysd

How about Portugal? Especially Lisbon. Weather should be good in October. I canceled Tunisia for early March (although it may actually be OK) and am spending some of the time on a return trip to Lisbon.

pgoody

Thanks everyone.....here's what we like to do in Europe...we like to rent a car and really get to know the country we're in. We love history but we also like adventure, we are big foodies so that always plays a huge role in where we travel. I have never been to Portugal and I'm not sure why but it has never been high on my list of places to visit. I open to anyone who can give me country highlights that would convince me that I want to go there. As for the Morrocco suggestion, I've been to Tangiers...I always assumed the rest of the country was about beach...maybe I'm wrong. Sicily, I actually was considering it but after reading reviews on Fodors it sounds like I shouldn't want to go....any opinions on that?

pgoody

Michael...great pics of Morrocco...do you have a trip report to go with those?

Michael

No trip report as the trip was taken long before I started writing trip reports. But roughly, we landed in Marrakech, spent a few days there, took the train to Meknès and spent a few days in that area, then a few days in Fez and then took the bus back from Fez to Marrakech to fly back to Paris. In those days it was cheaper for us to find a flight to Paris and have our friends there book us a RT with Nouvelles Frontières. The photos pretty much follows the itinerary as I give it here. Marrakech at the end was just a transfer point.

Michael

pgoody,

You might want to read my trip reports on Portugal and Sicily; just click on my name to find them.

pgoody

OMG Michael, I just read your trip report on Sicily..how horrible for your wife (for you too)...because of all of your aggravation and bad luck I can't tell whether or not you actually liked Sicily...

Michael

We liked Sicily, but feel no great urge to go back before visiting other places we have not seen yet. But that is true of many places we visited, which is why we have photographs to remind us of our trips.

StCirq

<<As for the Morrocco suggestion, I've been to Tangiers...I always assumed the rest of the country was about beach...maybe I'm wrong.>>

Way more than maybe. Tangiers is to Moroccco as Tijuana is to Mexico - a pit hole. Morocco is beautiful and varied and about WAY more than beaches. There are Roman ruins, oases, caves, spectacular mountain towns, fabulous souks, incredible food. Check out Marrakech, Fez, Meknès, Agadir, Essouira, the Atlas Mountains......

pgoody

thanks so much StCirq...I'm looking into Morocco now...

thursdaysd

If you click on my name you'll find TRs on Lisbon, Sicily and Morocco. I'd go back to Sicily before I'd go back to Morocco, for the scenery, the history (especially the mosaics) and the food. But you might prefer camels and medinas. There's a lot more to Portugal than Lisbon, but I love the city.

DeAnne_Sobul

l) Have you been to Malaga, Spain? there are plenty of time share rentals near Mejia where you can choose a beach location or in the hills. Take the train to Malaga from any of the coastal towns. Great weather in October. Easy day trips to Seville and Granada/Alhambra. Malaga has Roman ruins, a great castle and Picasso Museum.
2) Scily, stay in Tranpani on Western coast. Rent a car in Polermo, Trapani has time shares also. Great fish market where the fish mongers perform operas while cutting their fish caught in the AM ready for same day service. There are wonderful salt flats with windmills, Eirce is a Medievial fortress town on a winding road. there are also ancient Roman theater and other sites on the highway from Trapani to Polermo. Many, many archaeological sites with active digs.

DeAnne Sobul

tovarich

Rent a car and follow the southern coast of France.Paul