Winter 2016. 6+ weeks. More rural than urban with car - where? (LONG)
 

We usually leave Toronto for the winter - going somewhere different every year. It seems every other year we are somewhere in Europe. We were unable to travel in Winter 2015 due to health issues (and of course it was the coldest bloody winter in Toronto since the year Dot).

We're determined to go away this year but Richard's recovery from his knee replacement surgery has been slower than expected (perhaps our expectations were a bit optimistic). It means we're wise to shape our travel style around his current mobility (and any improvements will be a bonus).

Ordinarily we would spend several weeks in a town/city in an apartment and explore it - then spend a few weeks on the road with a rental car exploring the countryside. This year we will likely have a car the entire time and stay rural. That way we can drive right up to a rental villa and do day trips from there. (driving is fine for him - walking is coming more slowly - committing to being in a town right now would be a major mistake. And we love day trips - happy to go up to 90 minutes in one direction)

We'll keep it flexible and possibly add time in a city if Richard's mobility improves closer to departure (and traveling at that time of year it's easy to book at the last minute). Right now I'm trying to decide on our broad geography.

Note we do not mind resort/beachy places in the off season - we're used to towns being quiet - and the best restaurants are the ones still open in the off season we've found. Overall flatter terrain is likely better than a massive number of hill towns for our day trips. Also weather isn't a huge deal - above freezing is our hope and not too rainy (that last part is a wish but often the reality of winter we realize)

Following are considerations:

Italy:

- we've spent a lot of time north of Rome ... love it but would like a different area
- have recently spent time in Sardinia so also not on the list
- Sicily is a consideration although we spent over a month there in a similar fashion
- Puglia is also a consideration - have spent some time there but its geography is large and we did love it
- probably the most serious contender right now is Calabria/Basilicata - other than two nights in Tropea haven't spent any time there
- Up the east coast - Pescara etc? Have never been but weather might be a consideration

France:

- Nice area? Maybe base near Menton and we could travel into Italy for day trips/overnights? Know the area well from multiple trips but never have had extended time there
- we loved Corsica - spent a week there in January a few years ago. It's a consideration for at least part of the time and could twin well with Nice/et al
- Provence/Burgundy/Dordogne - also know these areas well from multiple trips but not extended stays - a consideration

Spain/Portugal

- Southern Spain - base in/near Malaga? This is the hardest one I think. We were booked to go to Spain and Portugal this year and we had to cancel it. Our itinerary was full of the wonderful sites in Southern Spain (Alhambra, etc) and I just don't know if we will be able to visit them right now. And I don't want to add pressure/stress by having all these wonderful sites so nearby. I think it will wait
- same thing with Portugal - we had a great itinerary in Lisbon and north but it's very hilly and not a practical choice for us - I think?

Croatia:

- spent over a month there in March 2012 in a similar way with a car - loved it

UK

- haven't spent any time in the UK for years - I suppose the most significant barrier we see is cost. The Canadian dollar is so weak versus the Pound. Also rainy weather is a bit of a consideration.

If you're still reading - thanks!

Any suggestions most appreciated.

Your need for a flatter terrain and an easy-going sightseeing agenda makes me want to suggest Nice/Menton, and area which claims to have more sunny days than any other spot in Europe (give or take a few, I would guess).

If your 6-week span includes February, Menton has a somewhat legendary lemon festival.

I don't know if you want all six weeks there, but for a slower paced/recuperation holiday, with dips into the Italian Riviera for some better food ;), could work out nicely.

I do think Lisbon/Portugal is way to steep. Basilicata is quite mountainous, and the weather can be wintry away from the coast. Don't know about Calabria.

Does your husband's recuperation make him wary of uneven surfaces? Italy -- maybe especially southern Italy - is so lacking in modern sidewalks and good nighttime lighting (winter days are short), it would lead me in the direction of France and/or parts of well-developed southern Spain.

Thanks sandralist for your quick, thoughtful response.

Uneven surfaces aren't the problem - he is actually walking very well but just has very limited range. But steep would be awkward.

We are hopeful that in another 6 weeks (the time before departure) he will have some more gains but don't want to put undue pressure on him.

Our window is likely last week of January to first/second week of March. The lemon festival sounds fun.

If uneven surfaces aren't a problem then I would suggest Salerno as a possibility, because you can visit Pompei from there and beautiful Paestum. Plus eat lovely food. And Naples is easily reachable by train if he's up for that challenge. A great deal of the Amalfi coast would be off limits due to steepness, but some of it is accessible and flat if you can deal with the drive on a sunny day. And you can head to points south of Salerno for beautiful vistas and interesting truly southern Italian towns.

This is the official website for the lemon festival in Menton

http://www.fete-du-citron.com/lemon-...vents/?lang=en

I'm not quite clear I understand why not being able to walk well would be okay in rural but not urban areas. I guess that means you would just drive places and only walk from car to wherever you are going, I guess, and then from the car to the rental, and stay in a lot. Compared to a city where you couldn't drive around the urban area.

If so, you couldn't consider staying actually in Malaga, it's a city and you'd have to walk a lot. I'm not sure if you think it is a small town/village or what, but it isn't. You couldn't visit the Alhambra if you can't walk a lot. You could stay in some rural area in southern Spain, of course, and not go to any big cities.

>> suppose the most significant barrier we see is cost. The Canadian dollar is so weak versus the Pound.<<

Don't discount the UK if cost is the main issue. Perhaps you have made the 'rookie mistake' of looking at the Can$2 = £1 and €1.45 and figure the pound is too high. It doesn't work that way. Now, <i>some</i> countries in the Eurozone will be cheaper than others . . . because their standard of living is lower. But some eurozone countries will be much more expensive - and they all use the same currency.

Your costs in 'real money' ;) would be about 7% or 8% more than for someone from the States in either zone (because the US$ is stronger). But just currency-wise the £ and € are about the same 'value'.

You may want to go to Italy - great. But don't choose it because you think their currency is 'cheaper'.

I'm surprised you say that Janis.
To me, living in the Netherlands, the UK is expensive, and often not worth the added expense, even as my home country.
France, Italy and Spain are all better value.

Don't get overly excited about the lemon festival in Menton. It was okay for a couple hours but nothing too great.

We spent a few days in Villefranche sur Mer one February, and the weather was more than acceptable for us (we are from Minnesota), so you might want to check that out for rental possibilities. I was surprised that there were more interesting things to do on the Cote d'Azur than we would have anticipated.

Perhaps you do not need to be entirely rural and could find accommodation in a smaller city/town with parking right at the door. Several years ago we rented a very nice apartment in Sansepolcro (a town in the Arezzo area so further north in Italy than you probably want to be) that had parking right outside of the door.

Elizabeth have you considered Ireland btw ?

>>I'm surprised you say that Janis. <<

Them's the facts ma'am :)

You are in the € zone so the calculation might be different. >>France, Italy and Spain are all better value<< while other € countries will be more expensive for you. But that doesn't relate to the £/€ rates vs the CAN & US dollars.

Yes, I didn't imagine you'd want to be at a lemon festival for more than a few hours.

Agree from experience that the UK is overall more expensive than France, Spain and Italy -- where I consider the standard of living to be higher and in particular quality of life better than UK, but not surprised to keep reading on Fodor's to ignore this. Neither Ireland or the UK would be places I would go in winter to escape bad weather.

This place near Vence looks charming and nicely priced. Being near a largish town like Vence would make for easy shopping, but you are well situated for lots of day trips.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/VacationR..._Provence.html

Well, on second thought, the bed arrangment in that place I linked to probably isn't going to work for somebody needing to give their knees a break. But Vence is a nice semi-rural location, central to a lot of things, and where you should be able to drive right up to the door in most rentals, and winter prices should be attractive, as well as the weather.

I agree, in general, that the UK is more expensive. Someone will always take the stance that it isn't but we don't have to agree, even with an "expert".

However, it can depend on how one spends their money. By that I mean, in particular, how we choose to find our accommodations, usually the biggest outlay on any trip. I'm prone to pointing to Airbnb but I also put my money where my mouth is and I've made plans for the spring, all in Airbnb accommodations and all very affordable, including London. I'm fussy, want an ensuite, top reviews and want to be close to a tube station and with some work, I'll admit, have found myself exactly what I want at a price I can afford, about on a par, or even less, than what I'd pay for a room where I live in the US. Wherever you decide to stay, do have a look at their website before you spend more than you'd like.

I want to clarify "...what I'd pay for a room where I live in the US." - an Airbnb room. Also, many Airbnb hosts give good discounts for a stay of a week or more, making it an even better bargain. So many users of the site can't all be wrong.

We spent a few days in southern Andalusia in February 2012 and it was terrific. Trip report - http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...ruary-2012.cfm

Does it have to be Europe? The weather would probably be better in South America or parts of Asia.

But if it has to be Europe, I love Nice in the off season, and it does have good public transport.

While I agree with janisj that England doesn't have to be expensive, there is no way I would spend the winter there if I were traveling to escape bad weather. (I grew up there...)

Since you mentioned the Adriatic coast of Italy, I would suggest Le Marche, where I live, and I'm only slightly prejudiced. I really like the town of Senigallia, which is near where I live. It's a beach town, but unlike most beach towns, it has a lively historic center all year round, with interesting little shops and great restaurants. The town is very flat.

Inland there are lots of charming towns, hill towns and towns in the valley. Even many of the hill towns are pretty flat once you get up the hill.

I live about 20 km inland, in the foothills of the Apennines. Here, it doesn't freeze very often, and almost never stays below freezing all day. We get snow that sticks around all day about 1 year in four. On the coast, it rarely snows at all. It can be drizzly and foggy, though, for days at a time.

Fano is another seaside town I like, but Senigallia is my favorite. Pesaro is larger than either, but in my opinion lacks character. Ancona is in a scenic position, but is urban in an unfortunately unplanned way. Most of the other seaside towns near here fold up in October and stay that way until April. I don't know the towns south of Ancona very well.

The cost of living is fairly low here, and off-season rentals should be quite affordable. Food costs about the same as elsewhere in Italy, but restaurants (and rather good restaurants at that) are reasonably priced.