Ideas for 3-4 Week Sabbatical Touring Europe

Jake,
As a wife/mother/grandmother, I vote you give the family the week in April with better weather, and tack your extra weeks onto that, before or after, wherever you decide to go.

We are hiking the last 75 miles of the Camino September 16 for 8 nights. Then going to Portugal for 2 weeks since it is so close.
We are staying in hotels with private baths, too old to stay in hostels or just rent a bed. We begin in Sarria. We will take the train from Madrid the day before our walk begins. We booked through Santiago Ways. As a bonus they transport your luggage and have an emergency contact number if needed.
Just an FYI if you decide this option.

After rereading your post I would choose Poland. Great country, many nice smaller cities to visit, easy transportation between said cities, delicious food, and very affordable.
You could easily spend your extra time there after your week with the family.

Paris, Vienna, Prague, or Budapest, then … Germany and/or Poland would be the only ones I would consider in February. The others are too nice in warmer weather to waste a trip when they can not be more fully enjoyed. At least your central/eastern European country list they enjoy the winters with arts and festivals and lights.

In April, I would add to the central/eastern European trip the Balkans. Slovenia and Croatia, yea, okay; but Bosnia, Montenegro and Albania … certainly. Oh and I would add the Greek isles to the list.

I would avoid Spain. They dont seem to want tourists and there are many places that still do ... especially Eastern Europe. Oh and for proximity to Russia .... none of the countries are close to "Russia" a couple have borders on Ukraine but a long way from the war. EDIT, okay, technically Poland has a Russian border.

I completely disagree about Spain; the idea that they "don't want tourists" is unsupportable. Valencia, Andalucía and Madrid are all very welcoming to English-speaking visitors, and April weather should be ideal.

I will go a little further and suggest something in particular. APRIL if you can. You said start with 5 days with the wife and kids. Five days is enough for one location. So naturally my vote is Budapest. You said that "Cities work better than small towns" Show your wife this video and see if it changes her mind. https://youtu.be/1nd5AtZIrTk?feature=shared If not, then second choice would be Athens, mostly because its on your list and not in the "wife isnt interested catagory" and its a city.

Then your two or three weeks working off the "Access to great outdoors would be great (scenic drives, day hikes)." part of your post I would suggest Montenegro with maybe stops in Croatia and Bosnia. Croatia I shy away from because of the tourist crunch and the prices, but there are a few places worth the time. Bosnia you gotta love simplicity to be interested in beyond Mostar and Sarajevo, but both of those are world class destinations wihtout the tourist crunch or prices. Personaly I like the smaller towns and villages in Bosnia a lot. I will try and find some videos.

But I would focus on Montenegro. From coast to mountains.

Montenegro Along the coast
Herceg-Novi https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOqLXoeE_o4
Cetinje https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6RwWDPe9M8
Perast https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fd6ErEHPHmg
Uncinj https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LaPcThRQdi4

Montenegro in the High Country (I am returning in October for fly fishing and I pulled this info from that post)
Motel MB Tara that overlooks the Tara River Canyon; https://youtu.be/5QhSY9uWkrY?si=FJ9HhkHymWXZRv7F .
The deepest canyon in Europe and a really, really beautiful place; https://youtu.be/9aGMZB8hB5Y?si=1DhDwMFcrcM3C1xR
There are a couple of zip lines across the canyon; https://youtu.be/OESJTvKpeIc?si=JOXQb6EhM3yP9y_c

For warmer weather there is rafting in the river below; https://youtu.be/rhqtDqoHJbw?si=LZx2qhU8p7b16t6M .

On the way to the high country Hotel & Restaurant Sokoline located just below the cliff built Ostrog Monastery. The Sokoline has one of the most beautiful views in the Balkans; https://youtu.be/miNV1FVK7qI?si=lYzjMIA2L-16_hwh and Ostrog monastery; https://youtu.be/ixrJu6qv46M?si=HXqVEC19Pw0Ow9iY .

Bosnia & Herzegovina
Sarajevo is one of the most interesting cities in Europe. Truly where East and West meet. Part Orthodox, part Catholic, part Muslim. Here you find a bar next to a halal restaurant or tea house. https://youtu.be/udSaIXuM_Js?feature=shared
Then on the trip out of Sarajevo, you can stop at a few of these: https://youtu.be/bNsTMjBw8gg?feature=shared
And my favorite hotel in BiH is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNpUWXV3RkI

This is a tough region to self-plan. But i know a lady that will do a very good job and solve all the transportation issues. Its a few hundred well spent dollars against the total cost of the trip. She will know all the parks and hiking trails, etc and make it a really special few weeks. I use her, and a few other RS types have used her.

Dijana Krkotic
Executive director
Doclea Travel
Address:Balabani II Ulica br 29
81 304 Golubovci, Podgorica
Phone: +38268 456 630
Mob: +39389 765 5935
E-mail:[email protected]
www.docleatravel.com

You mentioned Albania too. Ive been to Albania. Beautiful and wonderful place. Ive been to Bulgaria too (you mentioned). Save it for a little later in the Spring. Greece? I have been several times but not at the top of my favorites list.

I would avoid Spain. They dont seem to want tourists

That's a pretty irresponsible thing to say Mr e, especially since I know you've been closely following this issue in other forum posts, and are probably aware of how gross a generalization and potentially harmful that statement is.

The reality is that there are a handful of places in Spain that have been negatively affected by overtourism. However that does not include 98% of Spain, which is a big country and are totally fine with tourists, and in fact want tourism to expand to lesser known regions in Spain.

Jake, if you go to Andalucia in April you can catch the Semana Santa festivities (aka holy week) between April the 13th and the 20th. The majority of Spain's cities, towns and villages, (especially in Andalucía) will put on processions and celebrations combining music, art, and color. Semana Santa is the biggest celebration of the year in Spain, even bigger than Christmas. Later you have the Feria de April in im Sevilla.

Afterwards you could try making the Camino in April but it could be quite bad weather with much rain in Northern Spain at that time of year.

Honestly I'd take a look at the underrated Extremadura region for April, that seems to align well with the type of travel you want, some have likened it to the "Tuscany of Spain". Extremadura is a land of Crusader Castles, Moorish Strongholds, Royal Monasteries, and impressive Roman Ruins. The home of Infamous Conquistadors and Holy Roman Emperors, best part it's still undiscovered by most foreign tourists. Cáceres‎ or Trujillo would do nicely as a home base to explore the region.

Here's a nice article about travel in Extremadura from the lonely planet - https://www.lonelyplanet.com/articles/unexplored-spain-roadtripping-around-extremadura

Hope this helps :)

For me, no question, I'd spend at least a week of that time in southern Spain. February and April would both be good weather months, before it gets terribly hot, and there is so much to do.

It is in general a very, very welcoming area for tourists.

From there, there are a plethora of flight options to anywhere in Europe if you don't want to spend the duration in the area (although you easily could just train around to different areas of Spain that interest you for a month or longer). Check Skyscanner for options from multiple Spanish cities.

Consider a cruise that includes several Greek Islands as well as Athens.
If you love history, Athens is a must.

A land tour in Spain would be nice in the Spring, also the UK, London is great, as is the amazing countryside. Driving on the left is different, but just take it easy, don't speed. Visit Winchester, Salisbury, Oxford, Stratford Upon Avon and the Cotswolds (Bath if you have time).

Don't do Scandinavia in the spring unless you like cold.

Basically, Northern Europe is more expensive than Southern Europe. Western Europe is more expensive than Eastern Europe.
Switzerland and Norway are the most expensive. Large cities are more expensive than smaller cities or towns.

Carlos, all well said. There has been so much extremism on the topic from drought impact on tourism to tourist impact on cities. How many threads now? I finally got burned out and surrendered. If there is one chance on one day in 50 days of having to put up with tourist go home, there are plenty of other places in the world to enjoy. But I conceede that the odds are probalby less than walking into a major street protest in Paris or London. Where ARE the handful of places that are having issues being felt by tourists that one may wish to avoid? That would probalby be a much, much, much shorter list than all the alternatives in Spain.

And it might be a little quieter in Spain this year, because I think half the population is here in Budapest. The number of Spanish tourists is like I have never seen before. As a single group they exceed the size of any other single national group I have ever seen here.

I like the "Paris, Vienna, Prague, or Budapest, then … Germany and/or Poland" KISS approach where you spend a week in 4 great cities, and those first four (or substituting from a list of many others). It simplifies travel a lot - especially if in a relatively straight line of approach for using a train between them (or flying). We've often rented cars for traveling around outside cities, but solo it just seems a bit less "fun" (for me). I can burn a ton of time getting up in a city, having a great breakfast, hitting a "big" site or two, and then just relaxing in the afternoon & evening at lovely cafes/bars/restaurants. April may be a little shorter days, but still enough daylight in these areas to really pack a day and still have likely nice weather.

I remember getting my sabbatical years ago (they eventually killed it and then also did massive layoffs), and I took three weeks of that to ride with my cousin in the Alps. You've earned the opportunity to do what you love, so put the energy into the details of what makes you excited to get up every morning.

I'm not a typical RS tourist. I have a tight budget.

I would first determine my budget. For the first stab at it, I would figure
$1200 per plane ticket over.

$75 for each change of location
Then, using one of one of the websites that lists the average hotel and tourism cost per city, put together a plan that's in the budget.
Then, once I have a few workable concept plans, drill down into them and do the research to determine the true cost and adjust as necessary.
Pick the best.

There is no cost for "Europe". Paris is 3x the cost of Budapest for example. If your budget is low, go South and East.

I agree to Carlos that the qouted sentence is a somehow reputation-damaging statement that has nearly no basis in fact. Almost all protesters say very clearly that their protests is not against tourists but the way tourism is done in their region.

And the Spanish culture(s) are worth to be explored.

OP, maybe add North-Western Spain to your considerations - especially for hiking. Or how about Portugal?

With such a short turn-around time for wife/kids, I would (let them) choose someplace they can get to and from directly, even if it involves an open-jaws ticket. MAX two places, excluding day trips. After they are gone, you should be able to get nearly anywhere by train or by inexpensive flight. As others have suggested, going solo to the places that do not interest the wife is probably a smart choice.
There are lots of other long-distance walking routes besides the Camino de Santiago, including the E3, https://www.era-ewv-ferp.org/e-paths/e3/.

Thanks Carlos for the information about underrated Extremadura region, really looks interesting especially the Roman Merida! This was a great reference. https://www.lonelyplanet.com/articles/unexplored-spain-roadtripping-around-extremadura

It sounds like your wife would like France, so why not take the family to Paris for a week where you can do day trips to Versailles, the Loire Valley and so on, then when they leave, you can fly or train to Germany or Poland, which would both be excellent choices.

If budget is a concern (and I'm sure it must be with a potential layoff), Poland would definitely be the better option for your budget, although Germany is very reasonably priced, and the farther you get out from the cities, the cheaper it gets.

The advantage to Germany would be that it has trains that go everywhere. Yes, Deutsche Bahn has suffered a few setbacks with its reputation but overall, train transport in Germany is easy and gets you wherever you like for a very reasonable cost. In fact, you could use the D-Ticket (Deutschland ticket), which allows you to travel anywhere in Germany for a month for only €49 on regional trains.

ETA: But having said that, there is something to be said for southern Spain, especially since, as Carlos pointed out, you would be there for Semana Santa, which is a visually stunning and wonderful Easter celebration. I was in Spain in 2006 during Semana Santa and will never forget the experience. And I would also second his recommendation for the Extremadura region, which is beautiful and so peaceful because many tourists don't know about it (or ignore it in favor of Andalucia). I spent some time in Caceres, which had one of the most lovely medieval centers I have ever been in.