Fodor's Travel Talk Forums

Fodor's Travel Talk Forums (https://www.fodors.com/community/)
-   Europe (https://www.fodors.com/community/europe/)
-   -   Need help - Euro Trip - Late November (https://www.fodors.com/community/europe/need-help-euro-trip-late-november-1461911/)

rrd27 Aug 1st, 2017 07:29 PM

Need help - Euro Trip - Late November
 
Hi!
Planning to go to Europe (any city/country) for a week in late November for my belated honeymoon.
Few thing we WANT to do:
- Explore country side by a car.
- Get a taste of the culture.
- Drive through scenic roads.
We like historical places, but want to limit the number of museums we visit.
Luxury hotels are not a necessity, will prefer Airbnb if available.
We don't want to drive through extreme weather conditions.
Also willing to take trains/buses to bigger city and then book a car.
Any suggestions/tips will be greatly appreciated!

Thank you in advance.

Traveler_Nick Aug 1st, 2017 07:53 PM

A week isn't very long. The weather will be rainy. Worse the further north you go. Not exactly scenic drive weather. You likely don't want to hit any high altitude passes even if it's likely too early for much snow.

I'd pick one or two cities. Taking the train between them.

Rome and Venice for example. Or Paris and London.

janisj Aug 1st, 2017 08:52 PM

>>We don't want to drive through extreme weather conditions. <<

Then don't go in late November. Sure, a driving trip could be doable. But the chance of bad to terrible weather is possible.

greg Aug 1st, 2017 09:32 PM

Snow (high altitude) is not the only place you encounter extreme weather. How about rain, a lot of rain, like this just the time frame you are looking at last year?

http://www.euronews.com/2016/11/24/t...northern-italy

Rubicund Aug 1st, 2017 11:32 PM

Late November for a week-which presumably runs into December?)- offers very uncertain weather and short days for sightseeing. The further south you go the better for higher(ish) temperatures, so Andalucia or The Canary Islands or Madeira which are more year round than southern Italy.

Of those I'd choose Madeira if you can get there without too much hassle, but otherwise Southern Spain.

massimop Aug 1st, 2017 11:58 PM

I would also choose the Andalucia region of Spain. Suggest you make Granada your major cultural experince, but otherwise stick to small towns. I would probably fly to Madrid but immeediately take a train to Cordoba, Then the next afternoon, rent a car and take a driving tour of the region that includes 2 nights in Granada. Return the car and either fly back to Madrid or take the train, depending on where you ended the trip. I would probably skip Sevilla, but you might want to try to fit it in.

If you want to switch to an urban+train based honeymoon there are lots more possibilities, but November is Italy's rainy season (and Venice is particularly poor weather bet), so I would look for romantic destinations elsewhere in Europe. Lisbon + surrounds would be on the top of my list.

Dukey1 Aug 2nd, 2017 02:33 AM

Why is it that I am I gather very mistakenly thinking that the area around Rome and south or southern Spain would NOT be subject to "extreme" driving conditions in NOVEMBER?????

Traveler_Nick Aug 2nd, 2017 03:46 AM

Normally Rome will be fine. But both the area around Rome and southern Rome have been known to have flash floods. Depends on what you call extreme.

Even without flooding there is still a good chance of rain. It's not exactly top down cruising weather. It's windows closed. Heater on. Watching the tail lights of the truck in front of you weather

Traveler_Nick Aug 2nd, 2017 03:47 AM

That should read southern Spain. Yikes need an edit feature.

janisj Aug 2nd, 2017 05:04 AM

To - clarify -- I meant you can have a great tip in November. But it is better to not plan on a road trip. Trains and a city-centric itinerary would be fine. One or two cities - depending on which cities you choose.

You only have a week so being able to 'wing' it and change driving plans to avoid weather/road conditions isn't really in the cards.

suze Aug 2nd, 2017 05:07 AM

What people are getting at above, is you need to look south for more mild weather at that time of year.

Portugal, Spain, southern Italy?

StCirq Aug 2nd, 2017 05:17 AM

I agree. Stick as south as you can. And personally, I would be taking trains, not hoping for anything remotely like an idyllic countryside jaunt in a car. The landscape even in the southernmost parts is not all that appealing in late November, and driving conditions could be unpleasant.


All times are GMT -8. The time now is 06:06 AM.