Travel Plans 2019?

[jan]

2019---Doesn't seem so far away now, does it?
We'll be flying to Frankfurt in mid October and staying 3 days in a tiny town in the Rhinegau.
Fly to Milan from there. One night at Lake Orta followed by a week in Alba.

3 weeks in Venice
A week, maybe more in Orvieto.
Some time in Abruzzo--5 days to a week.
A week or 2 in Roma.
Fly home in mid December.

Excited, of course.
Trip planning will be happening for me in January.

 

[SMJ]

Two weeks of a driving tour around Newfoundland in July 2019.
Never been to this part of my own country!

 

[milgreen2]

We'll be spending 8 days in Eleuthera in early March for some R&R. Just our speed: no nightlife, no gambling, no shopping and very few restaurants. Looking forward to beaches, sunrises and sunsets, starry skies and a whole lotta nothing.

Trying to plan for a 2-week+ trip in the fall, to celebrate my husband's milestone birthday (which is in June, but we prefer to travel in Fall and it's better for my work schedule), but am having a hard time getting excited about where to go. Sicily has been on our short list for quite some time, but I'm just not feeling it. Southern Spain? The Carcassonne/Costa Brava/Southern Spain? Naples and Puglia?

Would love to hear any suggestions!

 

[wco81]

We'll be spending 8 days in Eleuthera in early March for some R&R. Just our speed: no nightlife, no gambling, no shopping and very few restaurants. Looking forward to beaches, sunrises and sunsets, starry skies and a whole lotta nothing.

Trying to plan for a 2-week+ trip in the fall, to celebrate my husband's milestone birthday (which is in June, but we prefer to travel in Fall and it's better for my work schedule), but am having a hard time getting excited about where to go. Sicily has been on our short list for quite some time, but I'm just not feeling it. Southern Spain? The Carcassonne/Costa Brava/Southern Spain? Naples and Puglia?

Would love to hear any suggestions!

Fall is a great time for all those places, though I've only been to Sicily and Southern Spain (Andalusia) out of those places.

I'm going to Puglia at the end of April.

It depends on your interests. I've been to Sicily 3 times and there are certainly beaches but the appeal of the place is about remnants of past cultures or civilizations and the cuisine.

Or you can spend a few days on the Aeolian islands which are much less developed than the main island, which has all these antiquities -- remnants of temples -- as well as Baroque cathedrals.

Andalusia is great too, though my favorite city there, Granada, is set apart from Seville and Cordoba and the white villages on the coast.

So Both Sicily and Andalusia require moving around. In Sicily easier with a car and in Andalusia, you can take buses, though car would be much easier.

Obviously you can go to a bigger city like Paris -- Fall is also a great time for that. You wouldn't need a car, there are all kinds of transport links. But most people on this forum have been to Paris, probably multiple times.

I have 3 trips booked next year and am considering something in the fall as well, maybe to the Dolomites.

 

[milgreen2]

For our European trips, beaches are not important. We look for sites of cultural interest, great museums, good food and wine, and interesting places to do short hikes.

We've been to Paris many times, as well as Florence and Rome (though Rome I'd go back to in a heartbeat). We also look for off-the-beaten path experiences and excellent, yet affordable, accommodations. It's a tall order

 

[wco81]

I don’t think I visited a museum in Sicily or Andalusia.

But you would visit archeological sites with old Greek temples, so kind of an outdoor museum.

And in Spain, the Alhambra in Granada is a must.

Not so big for hikes though there are some around Taormina and it’s a hike to go up to the Alhambra or go to the top of the Albycin, the hill opposite it which gives you great views.

Obviously you can do a lot of walking around in any moderately sized city. But I’ve spent minimal time in Palermo and Catania, the biggest cities in Sicily. Just more scenic places in smaller towns around that island.

One thing to decide is if you’re willing to move around among smaller towns like you would in Tuscany or stay in a bigger town and use the transport links, like you could inFlorence.

IOW, would you rent a car or haul yourself around trains or busses to go between towns, dragging your luggage along maybe every 2-3 days?

 

[willieaames]

Seeing Prague, Vienna, Budapest in a few weeks. Looking forward to the Christmas markets, architecture, and $1 Czech beers.

 

[milgreen2]

Wherever we go, we'll rent a car and drive around between places we're staying -- except in any major cities. And not much luggage to haul, we tend to travel pretty light.

I know we'll have a fantastic time no matter where we choose to go, I'm just not finding the special hook to get me excited about anyplace in particular.

 

[freakTraveller45]

2019...Italy. Oh....wait.

Hopefully England to see Pauline and Steve! Probably a bit of time in France.

We too have same plans!

 

[artnbarb]

I was thinking how glad I am that 2018 is almost over - so much of the news this year has been bad - but then I tried to think of the good things that happened in 2018, and for me it was a pretty amazing year: We FINALLY got to visit Ireland and had a great time! We also got to spend 4 weeks in my beloved England, and on top of it all we spend 11 weeks in Umbria. Here's looking forward to more travels in 2019!

 

[wco81]

Wow 11 weeks in Umbria!

I got bookings in Siena and Pienza this July. Though about splitting off a couple of days of the Pienza stay for Assisi but didn't want to be moving around after 2 days, so I'll have to go for long day trips.

What were your favorite Umbrian towns?

 

[artnbarb]

My favorite towns in Umbria?! That's quite a list! Orvieto is probably my favorite town in all of Italy. After that, it all depends on the season and the festas! We love all the fall festas in Trevi, and the onion festa in Cannara. Aquasparta is charming. Spello. Deruta. Corciano. Torgiano. Perugia of course. Todi. San Terenziano, esp for the porchetta festa in May. Passagio di Bettona because of Dulcinea gelateria. Marsciano because of Stefania's gelateria. Assisi, for all the obvious reasons, and many that are not. Gubbio. Citta di Castello. I think I need to wander around Umbertide a little more. Montone! Spoleto. Foligno has tons of great festivals, as does Bevagna - and Gualdo Cattaneo. Montefalco anytime. Fratta Todina. Monte Castello di Vibio and it's theater. Piegaro. Passignano and Castiglione del Lago. Rasiglia, the Venice of Umbria! Fabriano and its museums. Panicale. And everywhere in between, where there are hidden restaurants, abandoned borghi and churches dedicated to saints you've never heard of.