We are planning to take our two boys, 12 and 9, to Europe for the 2nd trimester of school - Dec thru Feb. ORiginally we had planned on Spain & Portugal, but we know we want to visit Rome and have recently thought about Croatia and parts of Greece. We prefer to stay in temperatures greater than 60 degrees F. And generally would want to spend at least 2-3 weeks in one place at a time. Is this do-able? Any suggestions on itinerary and which countries/areas we should avoid?
Posted by
Tresana, Highlands Ranch, CO, USA
23230 posts
Keep in mind your geography. South Europe is not like southern US. Most of Europe is in the same general latitude as Seattle. While the weather is modified somewhat by the oceans you don't have the sun strength or length of days that gives you the warmth of southern US.
Posted by
Portland, OR, USA
389 posts
Just a quick check of the weather chart in ETBD and the places that have average temps of 60+ in Dec-Feb are Marrakech, Morocco; Faro, Portugal, Almeria (Costa del Sol), Spain; and Cairo, Egypt; those close are Dubrovnik, Croatia (58); Athens, Greece (55-58); Rome (52-55); and Lisbon, Portugal (57-59). Regardless of temp you will be dealing with lots of "off season" hours and unpredictable weather. I'd suggest going where you'd like your sons to learn about and worry a bit less about the weather. We did northern Europe this year and missed the deadly heat, but hit floods in England. You really never know what you'll get, just like Seattle (okay, bad example ;-)