My wife and I are retired (in our /active 60’s) and live full time in Rancho Mirage, Ca. We need to get out in the summer because of extreme heat. We have traveled extensively for the past 20 years. We like beaches, good food, shopping, culture and racquet sports. This 2025 summer we are thinking of a 4-5 week trip possibly arriving in London and ending in Spain. Good deals are always welcome with us but could step it up if needed. The idea for now would be to start in S Wales-Cotswolds-Lake District-Hawkshead or Chipping Camden. Some advantages to these areas may be the language familiarity and cooler weather? From one of these areas we would fly to somewhere in Italy - maybe Lucca or Sicily?
But we are looking for more suggestions in Italy to accommodate our interests and possibly where there might be some ex-pats.
This idea goes for Spain too. From Italy, we would like to get to San Sebastián (been before) to visit friends who are there for 3 months. Any suggestions for SS as far as long term areas close to the beach and basic pros/cons. We need to end up in Menorca to visit and check out the scene there too although I do not think Menorca is a future 2-3 month stay - tell me I am wrong because it looks amazing there. Then back to mainland to visit best friends who live in Barcelona and then back to our desert paradise. Look forward to hearing from the community - this is my first post so??
Posted by
Schwerin
3424 posts
Welcome to the forum.
South Europe can suffer in summer from extreme heat waves as well. I recommend to check news of the last 3-5 years (example).
More mild temperatures you will find in Northern Europe at the coasts, e. g. UK, Ireland, Scandinavia, Baltics, Finland and also France, Belgium, Netherlands and Germany. Scandinavia is very relaxed with a high ratio of English speaking people.
Posted by
OP
2 posts
Thank you for your quick response Mark. We do appreciate your concern regarding weather and that is the big reason why we are starting in the UK. As I stated, we are a bit committed to ending up in Spain so we will have to take our chances this summer with the weather. But maybe we should look at some of your other N Europe recommendations. Thank again, Mark….
Posted by
SoCal
1405 posts
Kecdunk, I've been on the same search for the past 3 years. We're in La Quinta, so very similar summer issues.
We're spending about 7 weeks in and around Bordeaux this summer, then heading north to Champagne, Alsace-Lorraine and Geneva before heading south again to Spain and Portugal in September and October. We're looking to get a long stay visa for France to avoid the Schengen 90-day limit. We're also leasing a Peugeot once we arrive in Bordeaux so we can drive to the various sites we've not yet visited, notably in the Dordogne and Périgord.
The UK doesn't appeal to us for long-term stays because of the spotty weather. We can take a few weeks, but then we need more sun. I agree that Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland and Estonia offer great summer weather and a population that generally speaks English very well. Spain not so much on the language, and it's pretty hot in summer. Don't discount Poland and Czechia, though again the language is a bit of a barrier.
Posted by
Magyarország / Rep of Texas
21228 posts
"Summer" is a broad concept. "Summer" isnt always that hot, depends on when in Summer .... and if you are using the vernacular term or the precise term. Cause early June is generally pretty pleasant in locations that have reputations for a lot of heat in late July and August.
There are actually very beautiful and very cool places in Spain. Eastern Europe while typically further south does have beautiful places at cooler elevations and is cheap enough to run the air conditioning more LOL. Scandinavia is cool(er) but very pricy. Germany, France, Italy no great bargains these days. Norway, Denmark, Austria and Switzerland … YIKES! So, if you are traveling on a budget or traveling to scout places for extended stays on a budget, then be careful of the lists you get.
You wont find that these all agree with each other, but it’s a start.
https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/rankings_by_country.jsp?title=2023®ion=150
https://www.expatistan.com/cost-of-living/index/europe
https://www.theglobaleconomy.com/rankings/cost_of_living_wb/European-union/
https://www.statista.com/statistics/1123651/most-expensive-european-countries/
The other issue is who will let you stay long term. Thats becoming a challenge. My current European hideout is becoming difficult to remain in, the Spanish are getting pretty tight on who can stay to the dismay of a lot of Brits. Long term might be easiest with two neighboring countries ..... one Schengen, one not.
Posted by
8539 posts
You don't need to scout places to visit in Europe, just do your research.
4-5 weeks you should plan to visit places closer together and avoid excessive travel within Europe. Flying in Europe is more reasonable these days, but many airlines impose high fees for luggage.
As for the weather, in Northern Europe, you don't have to worry about the heat. Southern Spain and Italy can be hot, so go there in the late Spring or early Summer.
Beaches in Europe are generally not as good at what you get in California. There are some good places, but you will find fantastic beaches in the Caribbean and getting there is much cheaper.
Places you mentioned:
UK- We did a great drive tour for four weeks (outside London) in Wales and England and it was great.
Consider visiting places like Salisbury, Stonehenge, Bath, the Cotswolds (we stayed in the Volunteer Inn in Chipping Campden and used it as a base to visit the Cotswolds, Oxford, Blenheim Palace and Stratford Upon Avon). For South Wales, you will see many great castles. Cardiff has Cardiff Castle downtown then Caerphilly ( a few miles north of Cardiff-use the train) and the Museum of Welsh Life.https://www.getyourguide.com/-l154011/-tc12/?cmp=bing&cmp=bing&ad_id=78065538601379&adgroup_id=1249046542324822&bid_match_type=bp&campaign_id=710610375&device=c&feed_item_id=&keyword=caerphilly%20castle&loc_interest_ms=42038&loc_physical_ms=74601&match_type=p&msclkid=0dc560df882717a58a830774ca5a31e5&network=o&partner_id=CD951&target_id=kwd-78065779091543:loc-190&utm_adgroup=lc%3D154011%3Acaerphilly%7Cfn%3Df4%7Cci%3D268%3Acastle%20palace%20fortress&utm_campaign=dc%3D35%3Agb%7Clc%3D154011%3Acaerphilly%7Cct%3Dcore%7Cln%3D29%3Aen%7Ctc%3Dus&utm_keyword=caerphilly%20castle&utm_medium=paid_search&utm_query=caerphilly%20castle%20outside%20cardiff&utm_source=bing
From Cardiff, I recommend visiting Tenby for a couple of days, very historic. Then to St. Davids, which is on the SW tip of Wales.
Italy- The big three are Venice, Florence and Rome. That will take two weeks if you do it properly. Sicily is OK, but pales (my opinion) to other places in Italy. Tuscany is wonderful. Lucca, Pisa and Siena are great. The Naples area is worth a few days doing Pompeii, Capri, the Amalfi Coast and Sorrento.
Menorca in Spain is good, but 2-3 months is a bit much. If you don't want to see Europe, do that. Instead go and see all the great history art and culture. In Spain, Toledo and Seville are my favorites. Barcelona and Madrid are great, as is the Basque Region in the north.
Posted by
Magyarország / Rep of Texas
21228 posts
Two of my favorite long stay places in Europe looked like dogs in the research. I ended up going for fishing and started returning for a lot more (Montenegro and Bosnia). One of my favorite places was barely mentioned on the internet 25 years ago ... I am a resident now. Scouting, 2 or 3 night stops makes great sense.
But if that's what you are doing, get a little outside your comfort zone for at least a part of it.