uncrowded europe
 

husband and I are planning a trip to europe in late july/early august. We both hate crowds and want to relax. Where do people suggest?

Narvik, Norway

Piedmont section of Italy. ((b))

Albania.

That is peak school holiday time!

Dent, Cumbria, England.

give some more perameters - such as mountains, seaside, country, etc. and we can give some better suggestions.

Not nearly all of Europe is crowded then though much of southern Europe seems to be.

Ireland for example attracts tourists but it's easy to escape the 'maddening' crowds

Northern Scotland

>We both hate crowds and want to relax.

Don;t go at the peak of the season.

((I))

Personally, I LOVE to travel to the Med in the summer when it's hot, hot, hot. Sure there are crowds but it depends on what you do. There are heaps of places you can visit - you cannot write off an entire continent just because it's peak season. I love Santorini (Oia) in the peak season because I know that once the cruise ships have left, the island returns to normal. When everyone is crowding the place, I'm on my terrace sunning myself and reading all those books I never seem to have time for in London.

To get back to your original question, my suggestion would be laid back, lovely Greece. There are so many islands that even in peak season, you can find one that will suit.

We vote for Wales despite the strength of the British pound v the US $. Beautiful scenery, almost no American tourists, much lower prices than in, say, London. Fine roads, gorgeous seashore, immaculate villages, friendly people.

...lousy weather

Actually, we hit it lucky. Two weeks and hardly a drop of rain. Even in the mountains of Snowdonia. In July. Must have been a rare time.

seriously North Wales is a great great place - i spent several days there one August and like USNR says - and so much to do in between relaxing - Mt Snowdon, Beaumarais a castle of your dreams, Conwy a neato walled town, Carnaferon (sp?) great castle, conwy Valley train - Ffestiniog steam train, Llandudno a still popular seaside resort with next to it the famous goat-clad Great Orme

Another vote for Wales and Scotland.

Another suggestion - the countryside of the Czech Republic.

You may want to delay your trip a month or two, late sept/oct is a good time, things are still open and not as many fellow travelers.

Unless something VERY odd's happened to North Wales, you're not going to find it uncrowded in late July/early August

We don't like crowds either. Albas in Southwest France was our favorate. Read about where we went last spring.

http://www.slowtrav.com/tr/tripreport.asp?tripid=1259

You can see photos here:

http://www.kodakgallery.com/Slidesho...p;conn_speed=1

Northumbria in the UK (not North Umbria near Tuscany!). Never gets busy because for some reason even the UK hasn't discovered it. Huge beaches, beautiful countryside, great pubs, wildlife and oh Harry Potter's castle (along with endless other castles).

Also great shopping in Newcastle - ask the Swedes they visit on mass.

Something odd always happens in North Wales!

Compared with some other destinations, a crowded North Wales isn't THAT crowded.

This year North Wales may be very busy - the power boat/jet ski mob were
banned from the Lake District. Mnay of them have appeared in Wales, there have also been large marinas built over the past 3 years. Visitors have increased dramatically - especially in good weather

ok here's some more info-
we've only got 10 days. I love the beach, husband hates hot weather and crowds (as you can see we complement each other). Went to Iceland last year and loved it, but would also like to go someplace new. Was thinking northern IRE but not sure. We're up for anyplace we can travel to from NYC and that's not a 15hour flight.

Loved Iceland - you'll love Narvik? Also on the sea.

North Wales really seems your cup of tea

Love to hear what odd things usually happen in Northern Wales.

sandi, I don't think you would! If I told you, I'd have another of my posts pulled.

Bah!

On the northern edges of Wales lies the Isle of Angelsey (sp?) -- rural, quiet, great beaches, hardly a tourist in sight, meadows, villages. B&Bs galore. Yet close to mountains, castles, quaint towns. Sounds like just your cup of tea.

this all sounds great. I will certainly look into northern Wales. Now, what if i wanted to go to an uncrowded southern european beach? is that even possible?

any southern beach in that time frame would be way too hot for anyone who doesn't like heat

maybe he goes to Wales and you to Greece - meet in London for plane back

Of course it's possible to find an uncrowded beach (relatively), you just go to areas where many tourists don't go. I wouldn't call them uncrowded exactly, but not with hordes of tourists -- west of Marseille in France is less crowded than east, for example.

Why bother going to Europe if you just want to go to a beach, really, what a waste of time and money.

New idea for you. Go to Lithuania & Latvia. Vilnius & Riga are both charming cities that are still pretty much off the mainstream tourist track. Then, spend some time on the Curonian Spit area (a national park type place) along the Baltic coast with lovely beaches. Nida is the nicest area there. We were in Lithuania at the beginning of July last year and didn't seem to find the hoardes you'll see elsewhere. Plus, even though we hit a hot spell, the weather is definitely more to you husband's liking. We were truly pleasantly surprised by the country and found lots to our liking. We spent a day in Rekayjvik several years ago, and if you liked Iceland, Lithuania is sure to please. A friend who went on to visit Sweden after staying in Lithuania commented that it seemd similar in many ways to Sweden except that he paid four times as much for the exact same been in Sweden as he had in Lithuania. Buy a cheeap NYC ticket to Dublin and from there Ryan air or AirBaltic (low cost carriers) and about a 2-3 hour flight.

How about the Azores islands?
They belong to Portugal but are located almost 1,000 miles west of the Iberian peninsula in the Atlantic.

From a more philosophical point of view: In the European Union alone live 500 million people, but its coutries cover less than 50% of the size of the United States. Or the other way around: If the US had the same ratio of inhabitants per square mile, there would be 1.1 billion living in the 50 states.
So you should expect most places to be a bit more crowded ;-)

Southern Europe with uncrowded beaches but not too much heat!!!

mmmm!!!

hummm!!

No give up!

Possible one is - Costa Del La Luz in Spain which also allows trips to Jerez and Seville. Also it gets the Atlantic cooling wind

<Unless something VERY odd's happened to North Wales, you're not going to find it uncrowded in late July/early August>

<Something odd always happens in North Wales!

Compared with some other destinations, a crowded North Wales isn't THAT crowded.>

whose right - Scouse or Irish? I wouldn't bet a farthing on either - probably somewhere in between

Hey guys,

Don't you realize that by posting the names of all of the uncrowded, unspoiled places to go, you are inviting those very hordes that make the spoiled, crowded places untenable? :)

((I))

PalenQ wrote: "whose right - Scouse or Irish? I wouldn't bet a farthing on either - probably somewhere in between"

I covered my ass on this one, with the qualification "compared with some other destinations..."

We could both be right.

thank you everyone.
Why is North Wales odd?

Styria, Austria

lucky123 asked: "Why is North Wales odd?"

It isn't really. It's customary to make fun of the Welsh (affectionately, in most cases). It's a lovely, interesting place, and I like the people.

North Wales is not odd - this reference is some kind of twisted mystery that has nothing to do with tourists - i hope

<Love to hear what odd things usually happen in Northern Wales.>
Padraig replied:

sandi, I don't think you would! If I told you, I'd have another of my posts pulled.>

sounds like we'll never find out.

But North Wales is not odd - unique but not odd.

It's customary to make fun of the Welsh? This is coming from an Irishman?