Our next "window of opportunity" to travel is post Thanksgiving...Nov 29 - December 18 or so. Senior couple, very fit, seeking suggestions. Doesn't have to be a "warm" place.
Not interested in sun and sand...meaning Carribean..wouldn't rule out N. Africa. Wales hiking? Weather a bit bracing, but gulf stream moderates.Small group OK, as would be independent travel. Time period anywhere from 7 - 12 days. Summing it up: Looking for something you enjoyed..active travel, maybe a little bit off the beaten track, interested in history and "culture". Perhaps you just did a trip like this in the last few years, or maybe have something like this planned.. I know Board readers get frustrated with general requests for help. Hope this doesn't upset any one.

Bill in Wisconsin "Tourists bring home souvenirs; travelers bring home stories."

Keep in mind that Europe in November has very short days so you will want to plan something around that. When I was in London on business shortly after Thanksgiving a couple of years ago, I went to work and came home in the dark. And November is the rainiest month in a lot of Europe. I'm not trying to be discouraging but I find cities are better in those conditions so you have something to do when the weather doesn't cooperate. What about Seville and the pueblos blancos? We enjoyed hiking in the countryside and loved the city of Seville.

hi kaymarie,

How about a Nile cruise? A friend of mine went with these people and had a great time.

http://www.africansafariclub.com/egypt/

November/December would be the ideal time to go. you could go diving on the Red Sea afterwards if you want some physical axtivity.

Mamcalice and Annhig: Thanks for your quick replies. We did a wonderful Nile cruise ( with OAT)...and we would recommend that trip highly. ..but now it's on to the "next" trip.
(Though by no means are we automatically against return trips.)

And we have factored in the amount of daylight, especially in northern Europe. We were in Ireland "off season" which had all the advantages of off season...but about six hours of daylight around the end of November. I will research your suggestion for Spain, Mamcalice. Thanks again to both of you for responding.

Bill

How about German and/or Austrian Christmas Markets? We've traveled to Germany and Austria many times but never at Christmas (it's still on our wish list). However, we did live in Vienna for a couple of years in the 1980's and enjoyed their Christmas market very much.

If interested, you can do a search here on Fodor's for trip reports.

I would also recommend Spain, for the Alhambra and the mosque in Cordoba, and what you want of Sevilla. But then it is not hard to get off the beaten track for hiking and more.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/200...live-oil-route

http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/201...a-spain-olives

http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/201...-artists-views

The places that come to mind for me would be Sicily, Portugal and indeed North Africa that time of year.