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Advice on where to go

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Hello,

We are a family of 4 looking for advice on where to go in Europe during the first half of April. We have a week available (Saturday to Sunday). We like hiking, biking, natural parks, castles, historic towns/cities and prefer to rely on public transit as much as possible. We are not interested in large modern cities. We generally like smaller towns/cities and off the beaten path types of experiences. We have been to Switzerland, Finland, England, France and Italy. We are not opposed to repeating a country but would also like to see areas we have not seen yet. We are also fine with cooler/cold weather. (We did England in February).

Posted by
7099 posts

To me, Portugal or Spain are always the answer when the question is one week, public transport, and April!

Posted by
1284 posts

Iceland is close for a short trip like that
Ireland Dublin and west coast although it's hardly off the beaten path
Normandy/Brittany is very different from Paris if you haven't been
Portugal sounds like a brilliant suggestion
Spain; you could do a supported Camino hike as a family or spend time in Extremadura to avoid bigger cities.
Faroe Islands might not be everyone's bag but ??

Posted by
13388 posts

My suggestion would be Scotland. It is everything you're looking for, especially the national parks, castles, and historic towns and cities. It's not hard to get to. You could fly into Heathrow, probably directly, depending on where you're coming from, and quickly get up to Edinburgh or Glasgow and take it from there, or fly directly into one of those two cities. I love Scotland, and it's one of my favorite countries to visit. I'm heading back there in May to visit the Northern isles.

Posted by
27697 posts

Since you are talking about “public transportation” and yet don’t want a big city, I presume you mean you want to ride buses and trains to and from whatever it is that you do?

Portugal and Spain as long as its April and not the end of March as the 21st to the 28th is semana santa and Easter. The problem is you don’t want big cities, and I am going to guess that implies heavily touristed areas as well? So, you are really going to have to shop and plan in a lot of detail for Portugal or Spain to get what you want that few others know about; and that is accessible by bus or train. But it’s there if you can find the sources. A lot of work but it will pay off. You travel a lot, you know this.

Posted by
27697 posts

So, if it were 10 through 18 April, then most of the coast of Montenegro will be 50F before sunrise to 68F at the daily peak. I go there a lot, because I have the resources that always make for a great holiday. For a week you might just camp in one city, and the rest of the country is near. But my last trip was 8 days (including arrival and departure days), and I got around quite a bit, including a brief crossing into Albania … smartest move in years. Loved what I found. https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/montenegro/montenegro-trip-report-ef2dbe8e-3b6b-4cc7-a0c6-c1cc3d3f258e

NO Public transportation: not a large city, or tourist trap yet, and off the beaten path, so not a great option. But there are ways at reasonable costs.

YES Hiking / natural parks:

YES Biking: I do know someone that could set you up with some guidance and a couple of bikes.

YES Castles, Historic Towns/Cities: not so much “castle” but fortified towns. Sort of the same feel, I guess.

YES Off the beaten path types of experiences:

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