Seek Location Advice for Spring Break in Europe
May 5, 2021, 7:21 pm
#1
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Seek Location Advice for Spring Break in Europe
Plan for spring break next year in Europe for 7-10 days. Family with teenager. Here are the locations I'm considering in the following order:
Central Europe, Budapest, Prague, Croatia and other Central Europe countries. New experience, cheaper/better hotels and more local food?
Spain, Italy. Warmer weather. Not sure if too European? No Greece or Turkey.
Nordic countries including Iceland. Is it still too cold to visit in late April?
UK, France, Ireland, Germany etc. I know they are very European.....
I still have one more Marriott 7-night travel package to burn. So plan to stay at city center to explore, no rental car. More interested in culture, local food and day tours. Not interested in beaches.
I know there are many options. Just like to hear what you guys have to say. TY.
Central Europe, Budapest, Prague, Croatia and other Central Europe countries. New experience, cheaper/better hotels and more local food?
Spain, Italy. Warmer weather. Not sure if too European? No Greece or Turkey.
Nordic countries including Iceland. Is it still too cold to visit in late April?
UK, France, Ireland, Germany etc. I know they are very European.....
I still have one more Marriott 7-night travel package to burn. So plan to stay at city center to explore, no rental car. More interested in culture, local food and day tours. Not interested in beaches.
I know there are many options. Just like to hear what you guys have to say. TY.
May 5, 2021, 9:30 pm
#2
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If you're main reason taking this trip is to use your 7-day Marriott travel package, be aware that Marriott hotels are not popular in Europe like the USA and you could only find them at major cities in Europe. Thus, their Europe properties might be sometimes unreasonably priced compared to other non-chain and European chains so if you're paying something, be aware of this.
If you would stay 7 days in the same hotel, I would highly suggest a big city such as London, Paris, Rome, Milan, etc...
Most smaller cities could be sightseened shorter than 4-5 days most and without a rental car or a train, it would be too long to stay in the same city. That's why Central European cities like Budapest, Prague, Warsaw, etc... might not work in this case.
If you're OK to roam with a train with day trips, basing your trip at Rome might be useful as it's really close to Florence and Bologna where you could visit the important spots in a single day from there.
If you are OK for multi city itineraries in different hotels, please let me know and then I could more creative advice.
If you would stay 7 days in the same hotel, I would highly suggest a big city such as London, Paris, Rome, Milan, etc...
Most smaller cities could be sightseened shorter than 4-5 days most and without a rental car or a train, it would be too long to stay in the same city. That's why Central European cities like Budapest, Prague, Warsaw, etc... might not work in this case.
If you're OK to roam with a train with day trips, basing your trip at Rome might be useful as it's really close to Florence and Bologna where you could visit the important spots in a single day from there.
If you are OK for multi city itineraries in different hotels, please let me know and then I could more creative advice.
May 5, 2021, 10:18 pm
#3
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If you would stay 7 days in the same hotel, I would highly suggest a big city such as London, Paris, Rome, Milan, etc...
Most smaller cities could be sightseened shorter than 4-5 days most and without a rental car or a train, it would be too long to stay in the same city. That's why Central European cities like Budapest, Prague, Warsaw, etc... might not work in this case.
If you're OK to roam with a train with day trips, basing your trip at Rome might be useful as it's really close to Florence and Bologna where you could visit the important spots in a single day from there.
If you are OK for multi city itineraries in different hotels, please let me know and then I could more creative advice.
Most smaller cities could be sightseened shorter than 4-5 days most and without a rental car or a train, it would be too long to stay in the same city. That's why Central European cities like Budapest, Prague, Warsaw, etc... might not work in this case.
If you're OK to roam with a train with day trips, basing your trip at Rome might be useful as it's really close to Florence and Bologna where you could visit the important spots in a single day from there.
If you are OK for multi city itineraries in different hotels, please let me know and then I could more creative advice.
The 7-night package does limit the planning. But I can live with it. So a city center hotel would be desirable. Just not sure if the super large cities would be too large, like Paris, London etc. Or they are too much like USA....
May 5, 2021, 10:35 pm
#4
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You are correct. We had multi city trips in some parts of Europe. Now just want to have a change and do not want to go to muti cities. Some day trips would be just perfect. I was looking at Spain and Italy.
The 7-night package does limit the planning. But I can live with it. So a city center hotel would be desirable. Just not sure if the super large cities would be too large, like Paris, London etc. Or they are too much like USA....
The 7-night package does limit the planning. But I can live with it. So a city center hotel would be desirable. Just not sure if the super large cities would be too large, like Paris, London etc. Or they are too much like USA....
As I mentioned before you could base yourself in Rome and take day-trips to cities like Bologna, Florence, Naples, etc... but if you haven't seen Rome, spend at least 5 days over there.
You could also base yourself in Milan and visit Venice, Verona, Torino, Genoa by high-speed train. Milan is also a nice city to spend couple of days.
For Spain, you could base yourself in Madrid and visit cities like Valencia as day-trips, though the distances are much longer over there. If you prefer to visit Barcelona, 5-6 days would be enough to explore all the city so you should be all good. Parts of Spain like Andalucia, Basque Country, Galicia would definitely contradict the purpose of "city" trips but they are worth being seen.
By the way, for London and Paris; there are minimum x20 more tourist attractions that could be seen compared to a typical US major city like Dallas, Chicago, Philadelphia and Miami. If you're visiting Paris for the first time, 7 days would be a decent time as it's a really large city both in terms of area and also in terms of culture.
May 6, 2021, 6:12 am
#6
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Just more interested in places that are more unique and have their own characteristics. Different from out NYC, Chicago, Philadelphia, Houston, Dallas and Miami.
How about Naples, or Southern Italy? There are more sleepy small towns. Just not sure if they are all reachable by public transportation.
How about Naples, or Southern Italy? There are more sleepy small towns. Just not sure if they are all reachable by public transportation.
May 6, 2021, 10:37 am
#7
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I still don't know what you mean, lol. I'm really not trying to sound harsh but any city, whether it's Paris, London, Budapest, Bucharest, Kiev, Berlin, whatever, is very different than any US city, including NYC, so that comment is insanely ridiculous.
I wouldn't spend more than two days in Naples. The city is not nice but there are some great museums and obviously day trips to Pompeii and Herculaneum. From a tourist standpoint, Naples is really a jumping off point to the islands (such as Capri) or to the Amalfi coast, Sorrento, Salerno and more. It sounds like you are trying to stick to Marriott properties, and if that's the case I agree with IST Flyer and would stick to Rome and do day trips. Otherwise you are somewhat limited to the major European cities because they do not have a huge European footprint (in the luxury sense).
I can understand why not Greece (not a ton in terms of day trips from Athens and they don't have any island properties), but why no Turkey? Lots of day trips from both Istanbul and Bodrum, where Marriott has properties.
I would second Spain or Portugal. Both have interesting cities (I haven't checked if Marriott has properties but I would think they do in both), and have lots of day trip opportunities to smaller cities/towns by train that would be very easy. Nordic countries will still be chilly in late April but the silverlining is they would be very quiet. I've been in both summer and winter and arguably enjoyed winter more, so those are definitely viable options.
I wouldn't spend more than two days in Naples. The city is not nice but there are some great museums and obviously day trips to Pompeii and Herculaneum. From a tourist standpoint, Naples is really a jumping off point to the islands (such as Capri) or to the Amalfi coast, Sorrento, Salerno and more. It sounds like you are trying to stick to Marriott properties, and if that's the case I agree with IST Flyer and would stick to Rome and do day trips. Otherwise you are somewhat limited to the major European cities because they do not have a huge European footprint (in the luxury sense).
I can understand why not Greece (not a ton in terms of day trips from Athens and they don't have any island properties), but why no Turkey? Lots of day trips from both Istanbul and Bodrum, where Marriott has properties.
I would second Spain or Portugal. Both have interesting cities (I haven't checked if Marriott has properties but I would think they do in both), and have lots of day trip opportunities to smaller cities/towns by train that would be very easy. Nordic countries will still be chilly in late April but the silverlining is they would be very quiet. I've been in both summer and winter and arguably enjoyed winter more, so those are definitely viable options.
May 6, 2021, 7:27 pm
#9
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[QUOTE=pstm91;33231071]...{snip}...I can understand why not Greece (not a ton in terms of day trips from Athens,...{snip}...
Now, this is the wrongest piece of advice I've ever read in FT. As far as individual day trips are concerned, for example:
Antiquities, etc.: Delphi, Sounion, Corinth, and lots more.
Islands: Aigina, Angistri, Poros, Hydra, Spetses, Kea
Scenic places, towns, etc.: Nafplion, the Saronic coast, and lots more.
Everybody is obviously free to go to the country (s)he wishes and to believe that Greece is not European enough but to say that there are no day trips to choose from indicates that you've never been to Athens/Greece as a real tourist.
Now, this is the wrongest piece of advice I've ever read in FT. As far as individual day trips are concerned, for example:
Antiquities, etc.: Delphi, Sounion, Corinth, and lots more.
Islands: Aigina, Angistri, Poros, Hydra, Spetses, Kea
Scenic places, towns, etc.: Nafplion, the Saronic coast, and lots more.
Everybody is obviously free to go to the country (s)he wishes and to believe that Greece is not European enough but to say that there are no day trips to choose from indicates that you've never been to Athens/Greece as a real tourist.
May 6, 2021, 7:36 pm
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I've been to Greece and some of the other places. So not interested in going back right away.
I'll probably just rent a card like what we did in Crete and explored the island. Then I can just live at a resort property near the large city. A lot more options.
Clearly looking for different vibes from the traditional cities. Probably Spain or Italy.
I'll probably just rent a card like what we did in Crete and explored the island. Then I can just live at a resort property near the large city. A lot more options.
Clearly looking for different vibes from the traditional cities. Probably Spain or Italy.
Last edited by RedSun; May 6, 2021 at 7:42 pm
May 10, 2021, 5:15 am
#11
Join Date: Apr 2017
Posts: 380
[QUOTE=KLouis;33232262]
You are totally right and I should not have phrased it like that. There are obviously tons of day trips from Athens. I think my thought process was that 7-days worth of day trips like those will get very exhausting and repetitive. Plus Athens traffic is a nightmare. I've always spent 2-4 days in Athens before moving on to my next location and have found it to be the perfect amount of time. Can do some things in the city plus a few day trips and not feel like you need a vacation from your vacation.
@RedSun if you are looking at Crete, also check out Malta, Cyprus, or Sardinia. All of those have great day trips, beautiful beaches, and easy driving for getting around.
...{snip}...I can understand why not Greece (not a ton in terms of day trips from Athens,...{snip}...
Now, this is the wrongest piece of advice I've ever read in FT. As far as individual day trips are concerned, for example:
Antiquities, etc.: Delphi, Sounion, Corinth, and lots more.
Islands: Aigina, Angistri, Poros, Hydra, Spetses, Kea
Scenic places, towns, etc.: Nafplion, the Saronic coast, and lots more.
Now, this is the wrongest piece of advice I've ever read in FT. As far as individual day trips are concerned, for example:
Antiquities, etc.: Delphi, Sounion, Corinth, and lots more.
Islands: Aigina, Angistri, Poros, Hydra, Spetses, Kea
Scenic places, towns, etc.: Nafplion, the Saronic coast, and lots more.
@RedSun if you are looking at Crete, also check out Malta, Cyprus, or Sardinia. All of those have great day trips, beautiful beaches, and easy driving for getting around.
May 10, 2021, 5:20 am
#12
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@RedSun if you are looking at Crete, also check out Malta, Cyprus, or Sardinia. All of those have great day trips, beautiful beaches, and easy driving for getting around.
Other than beach resorts there are no Mariott properties in the Republic of Cyprus or Sardinia.
There are a Marriott properties ( city hotels ) in Malta but 7 days is too much for Malta.
May 10, 2021, 7:30 am
#13
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There are nice properties in Portugal, like Pine Cliffs. Then there are several in Spain like Westin Madrid, Le Meridien Ra Beach, Renaissance Barcelona, Marriott beach resort in Marbella
In Italy, we have Sheraton in Lake Como, Westin in Milan, and Le Meridien Visconti and Regency in Rome. Then we have Powerscourt in UK, Westin Dragonara in Malta, Le Meridien in Nice, and Le Meridien in Split Croatia. Or possible St. Regis in IST. But the location is not so great to visit old city.....
It is leisure vacation. Do not really have to go to many places in a week....
In Italy, we have Sheraton in Lake Como, Westin in Milan, and Le Meridien Visconti and Regency in Rome. Then we have Powerscourt in UK, Westin Dragonara in Malta, Le Meridien in Nice, and Le Meridien in Split Croatia. Or possible St. Regis in IST. But the location is not so great to visit old city.....
It is leisure vacation. Do not really have to go to many places in a week....