We like to snow bird in a warmer area in Jan-Feb. Until now we've done it in a RV (Florida/Texas/Mexico) but we're now focused on European travel. What we would like is to rent an Airbnb, Apt, etc in a small town and live like a native but with day trips in the region. Maybe do 1 month in an area and another month somewhere else. Not interested in tourist areas. This Sept we're doing a train bag drag for 45 days hitting up the biggies in western Europe since my bride hasn't travelled there...I've done a lot of big towns but not the village/small town scene.

Thanks for any ideas to pursue. Steve

No suggestions other than check the Schengen rules if you don't have EU passports. Use the online calculator. You do not want to overstay.

I think you'll find that a bit limiting.

Non tourist areas won't have tourist rentals. 1 month is a tourist rental. Day trips also imply being near a train station. In Tuscany for example the best transport links are going to be Florence. The other provincial capitals are okay with in the province . Three of the capitals in Tuscany are major tourist areas. Florence,Siena and Pisa. If you think Lazio Rome would have the best transport links. Maybe Modena?? But it's not a small town. A small town with good transport isn't likely. Unless you're willing to rent a car you'll end up making connections or other more complicated trips.

Other worry. If you're looking at coastal towns that mainly rent to summer beach tourists make sure the place has heating.

It will be winter -- except for maybe southern mainland Italy and Sicily you may have some wintry weather. Florence for example the average temps in Jan. will be 52°F highs and 34° lows and snow is not unheard of. As has been said - your criteria are tough. Small rural/off-the-tourist-track towns won't have usable transport links.

For a winter time sojourn you would actually do better basing in cities and renting apartments -- lots to do in inclement weather and much better transport.

If you want to Snowbird and avoid the worst of the winter weather, look south. In Italy the centre and north can get some nice sunny days but also lots of rain, snow, fog and cold.Avoid the northern most coast of Liguria because lots of Italians Snowbird there. I presume by non touristy you mean places there won't be a lot of tourists that time of year rather than places no tourists ever go to.So, Trapani in Sicily would fit the bill, maybe combined with Siracusa.https://slowtravelitalyspain.blogspo...ml?m=1Cagliari in Sardinia is larger than you want but a small city with great vibes and you won't have got there on your train trip.Anywhere on the east coast of Puglia along the main train line so places like Barletta, Trani, Giovinazzo.If you've got a car, Piombino is totally off the tourist map but lots of picturesque villages and towns like Campiglia marittima, Sassetta, Grosseto and a very mikd climate.Salerno south of Naples or if you want smaller, Agropoli maybe.

well, what Europeans do is they head for north Africa, the Canary Islands and the Cape Verde Islands. Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia are all nice in their own ways.

Malta, Sicilia and the Balearics can be ok, but ... doubtful

Italy won't have much if any snow at sea level. Doesn't matter north or south. Not saying there is zero chance it's just not common. In Rome a really cold winter day is 10C. Beach days are more common than below 10C.

Wow. Awesome ideas by all. Will study these and come up with a plan. We're going to be in Florence in Sept so maybe we can explore the surrounding area, Many thanks!

DOonote my post re Schengen. If you are in Schengen for 45 days from September you will hit a problem in January- February unless you are very very careful.

I have nothing to offer except that Lanzarote, where we visited last May, is a glorious island with many small villages and you can rent a car for little money and drive to many scenic and fascinating sites.

There will be a lot of rentals in winter and you can get away from the main tourist areas on the southern side of the island. We were chocked by how much we loved that island.

Otherwise, agree with Just Tina who lives in Italy...go south: Campania, Basilicata, Puglia, Sicily.......Masses of rentals in Sicily that are away from tourist hubs..but even Palermo would be great in winter and yes, yes to Trapani!!

I did see your post and appreciate it. Looked at the calculator and will pay attention to that when we decide if we can do it, where, and for how long. Many thanks

I am all for slow travel, smaller towns, beautiful countryside. Besides weather issues, remember short days in winter. I would think southern Spain would be the warmest of the European countries in Jan/Feb.

So there are two questions I have for you: What do you conider a small town? Mid-winter small towns can be boring and dreary. But perhaps you mean small city as opposed to the big city tourist centers that most people visit.

So second question: What are you hoping to do and see? What are your interests? What kind of sights do you want to see on your daytrips? Things I love in small towns are market days. Will there be markets in winter wherever you choose to go?

Your September trip should give your bride some ideas of what she might enjoy seeing more of.

Saying go south without mentioning altitude doesn't make much sense. The capital of the Basilicata region maybe the coldest in Italy. It's over 800 metres above sea level. Plenty of smaller towns in all those regions equally high up. Equally cold.

OTOH coastal Liguria will have palm trees.

I disagree with a lot of what has been said above. Some of it is just a bit out of date.

I live in a small hill town in Le Marche, in central Italy. In the last ten years, there has been an explosion of tourist accommodation in our town, and in others in the area. Most of it is hopeful accommodation, since there aren't yet many tourists, but a lot of people own several houses, for complicated demographic reasons, and to cover the taxes, they turn one into some sort of tourist accommodation. They mostly focus on summer tourism, but since the owners are mostly local and don't have hired staff, they would usually be more than happy to welcome some snowboarders. In fact, unless they are snowbirding in Majorca themselves, they would be happy to have guests for two months.

That brings me to my second point. Central Italy is not any colder than most snowbirder destinations in the US. (It's certainly got warmer in the last 10 years.) Unless you head for the mountains, you're very unlikely to see any snow. (It's been two years since we've had even a flurry.) The temperature in our town seldom goes below freezing, in if it does, it's only for a few hours. In fact, quite a few Dutch and German snowbirders own second homes in my town.
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If you're interested in this area, some towns to consider are Corinaldo (population 4800), Serra de' Conti (3600), Morro d'Alba (1800), and Pergola (5800). On the seaside, Senigallia is a very nice small city (40,000) which doesn't roll up the sidewalks in the winter.

​​​​​The very small towns may not have many restaurants and supermarkets may be a bit out of town. (Senigallia has excellent restaurants.) A bed and breakfast usually gives you a chit good for cappuccino and a pastry in a local bar. If you're staying for two months, you would want an apartment rather than a B&B. Senigallia, should have plenty of apartments available in winter. I'm fairly certain you could also find some in the other towns.

Thanks for the recent comments. The thread has given us great ideas to research. Thanks all.

Does it have to be Italy? We spent most of February 2020 in Spain, including 3 weeks in Beautiful Seville. It was wonderful. At least that year in Seville weather was perfect - Cooler in eves and ams but warming to 70s or even 80 in afternoon and lots of sunshine!

Thanks! I'll add Spain to our research.

You stated "This Sept we're doing a train bag drag for 45 days" in Europe. If that is all within Schengen/the EU, then that cuts into your plans for Jan-Feb as you will be limited to 45 days more days. (90 days within 180 running days)
To figure out if you will exceed the 90 days allowed within 180 running days, you figure out when you plan to leave Schengen/the EU and count backwards. If you will accrue more than 90 days in total, counting 180 days backwards, then you have a problem.
Once you get into March, the days in September will start to "disappear" from the 180 days. If you want to spend several months in a row you're basically limited to 3 months every 6 months.
Good luck.

If I'm counting correctly, 180 will have passed well before September.

My understanding is

Sept 2024
Jan-Feb 2025

If that's right there is I think a three day issue. OTOH if they arrive Jan 4th they're fine.

I'm counting my fingers so don't trust me