Picking Our Next Trip
 

Hi to my favorite travel community! You guys have helped us loads with our last trips to Japan, Switzerland, Austria and Italy. Usually when I come here, I already know where we are going, but this year we are lost as to where to go next and the months are quickly passing by! We have anywhere from 1 to 2 weeks of travel time (usually do a 1 week trip earlier in the year and 2 week trip later but can switch it up). Timeline is June - August.

What we are looking for: A nice mix of relaxation, culture and food. Both of us have been working pretty hard and have not vacationed yet this year so we are spent. Also, my wife will be in the beginning part of her second trimester on this trip (our first! crazy). She's fairly active but I expect we will need breaks. A beach at some point for a couple of days would be great! Here are our options:

1. Greek Islands - Fly in and out of Athens and do Santorini, Crete, Mykonos, etc. This would have to be two weeks I am assuming. Only issue is that the flights in June and July to Greece are really expensive or have very long connections.

2. Spain - I've been to Barcelona a couple of times but my wife has never visited the country. We would think of doing stops at Barcelona and Madrid and then go south for some nice beach towns. I don't know what the popular ones are but Spain is fairly easy to get to. One week.

3. South of France - Small stint in Paris and then head to Nice, Cannes, etc and explore a region I've never seen before. A week long trip.

4. Croatia - We have never been but it looks beautiful and we heard great things about the beaches! Not sure where to go other than Dubrovnik. Also, one week.

That's really it. I am sure they are all good options but wondering about people's experiences in each, ease of travel and getting around, time of year, etc. Also happy to hear about other regions I may not be thinking of that may fit the bill. Thanks all and have a great weekend.

following as we are looking for trip advice for similar locations.

Would help to know from where you are flying; also will there be ANY (physical) restrictions whatsoever for your wife? Beaches? Does the surface matter to you ( does it have to be smooth sand?) or is it more the overall location that is most important?

I would pick Greece in June.
Second choice would be either South of France or Croatia (but I have never been to Croatia) in June.

I would want to go as early as possible in the pregnancy. The further along she gets, the more uncomfortable travel will be. Also, the later in the summer, the hotter and more crowded it will be in those tourist hot spots. I personally would not want to do Southern Spain in the summer - VERY hot!

Greece is my favorite of the 3 of those locations I have been to...

Enjoy your "babymoon"!!!

None of the options sound relaxing to me. The first one is way too much for two weeks. Same idea with the rest.

If you only have one week split it between Barcelona and Spain. Either use the city beach in Barcelona or one of the nearby towns. Even this would be rushed IMHO.

Unless you find packing/unpacking and rushing to the airport and train station relaxing.

BTW early June can still be a bit cool in Northern Spain or southern France. Depends on your lucky.

I would suggest you combine Barcelona with Costa Brava. We found Llafranc there wonderful, as well as Cadaques, and Collioure across the border in France. You would need a car. Whatever you do, steer clear of the beaches closer to Barcelona along the coast. They are filled with high rises and mobbed. Also suggest a side trip from Llafrance to Palafrugell, an ancient hill village. Further inland Girona, and Figueres with the Dali Museum have plenty of interest.

Thank you all for your replies. Apologies for the delayed response (one of those weeks).

@Dukey1 - No physical restrictions. Soft sand is nice but willing to sacrifice that for the better travel destination. We are flying out of New York.

@havetwinswilltravel - Thank you! Greece sounds amazing. The flights have been the issue there but we will keep searching. Does two weeks sound sufficient?

@Traveler_Nick - Thanks. I have been to Barcelona before and didn't find the city beaches particularly pleasant.

@JulieVikmanis - Thanks! Intriguing idea. I didn't know of those towns and based on google images they look beautiful. Dali museum is definitely up our alley as well. Barcelona to Costa Brava doesn't seem to be like a long trip based on google maps. Are the roads in Spain driver friendly if you are from the US? Also, would you suggest driving back then to Barcelona for the flight out?

I do wonder if we are overdoing this and should just find something warm and relaxing for the week closer to home. Issue is all the nearby warm spots have Zika and this isn't a particularly good time for that.

Thanks for the help!

The roads everywhere in Europe are driver-friendly, a lot more so than many in the USA. Just know the rules of the road before you set off.

We combined Barcelona and Costa Brava a few years ago for a fabulous trip. We spent six days in Barcelona and on our way out we rented a car and drove up to the sweet town of Begur for three days. Easy drive. It’s near the coast with lots of beautiful rocky beaches. We took a couple of day trips - Girona and Figueres for the Dali museum. Then we finished up with a couple of nights in Cadaques, where Dali lived. We loved it. Toured Dali’s hime in Port Lligat- about a half hour walk from downtown. It was really a great trip!

I recommend Barcelona and Costa Brava, too. We did similar trip to efarr99 & JulieVikmanis in 10 days. After spending 5 or 6 nights in Barcelona, we rented a car and drove along the Costa Brava. Stayed 1 night in Cadaques & loved Dali’s house in Port Lligat. Spent 2 nights in Girona. Spent a day driving through some of the Pyrenees before returning to Barcelona. My husband did the driving, which was easy. However, there are many switchbacks over the mountain to Cadaques so make sure you do this drive in daylight, not at night.

Madrid and southern Spain would be nice, but also very hot during the summer. We spent 2 nights in Malaga on the Mediterranean and really enjoyed it. But I think northern Spain would be cooler and more comfortable.

You need to make reservations in advance for Dali’s house in Port Lligat.

I also highly recommend BCN combined with CB. But for a bit more than a week to be relaxing. We also stayed in Llafranc and loved it. Click on my name for the trip report since it was just last June.
If Europe sounds too challenging we don’t have Zika on west coast!!
Or somewhere like Sedona AZ and environs might be nice if it’s early June. Just a thought. My daughter turned 36 today so it’s been a while since I’ve been pregnant, but not sure I would have been up for an overseas trip.
I guess Hawaii is a long plane ride. But nice!!

I'm just back to Fodor's after a bit of a break -- if you are interested in my input, please let me know where you are with your current thoughts about this trip.

The Greek Islands are wonderful in June, but get hectic by August when many Europeans take their holidays. Same goes for most other Mediterranean destinations. For two weeks in the Greek Islands (+ Athens) I wouldn't take the well-trodden path beloved of Americans, though. Flight costs aren't that much of an issue because you can take ferries between the islands, and in fact there are no inter-island flights anyway.

Crete would be a good start, and you will need a week there to scratch the surface of that huge island, flying there or taking an overnight ferry to travel while you sleep. You can take a ferry from Heraklion on Crete to Santorini, then branch off to a number of different islands (e.g. Milos, Naxos or Paros) much more relaxing than Mykonos. Milos, Naxos and Paros all have airports, but the Blue Star ferry takes only 5 hours from Naxos and 4 hours from Paros to Piraeus, which is closer to central Athens than the airport. Ferry connections from Milos to Piraeus are mostly high speed catamarans.

I've been to Croatia last summer and it was packed. So I would avoid Croatia during the school holidays! But it is gorgeous indeed!

My vote is to go to Greece. It is a country I cannot get enough of. You can be as active and relaxing as you want. Go in June before it gets too crowded.

With 1 – 2 weeks, each of these locations could, IMO, be great, but each could also be a challenge:

1. Greek Islands, You could spend 2 weeks flying into Crete, moving on to Santoria and / or Mykonos (I’d opt for Naxos rather than either, but that’s just me), and then Athens – and please, do give Athens enough time for your interests there!

2. Spain. Barcelona AND Madrid AND some nice beach times in one week? Not for me! Maybe Barcelona and a bit of the Costa Brava….

3. Southern France – I haven’t been there yet.

4. One week in Croatia? Doable, yes, but trying to get there for such a short time would not be my choice. With one week you could, perhaps, see Dubrovnik, a bit of Korcula or Hvar, the Bay of Kotor …

Paris, Provence and the Cote d'Azur would make a nice 2 week trip, flying into Paris and home out of Nice. Take a train to Avignon and pick up a rental car at the TGV station for lazy exploring of Provence and its small towns. Drive to Nice and drop the car, travel up and down the French Riviera (Monaco, Antibes, Cannes, Eze and so on) by public transportation. This could be a easy-going trip for your wife.

Thanks all for the tips! Given the last minute timing, we could not find reasonable trips to the above listed destinations. However, we did book a trip for July in Vancouver! I'll head over there now to get people's tips! Greece, Spain, France and Croatia will have to wait. One day, God willing!

Thanks again.