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Picking dates for Spring 2022

Posted by (Nova Scotia, Canada) on

Hi all

We have just found out that we will finnally be getting a cash refund for our cancelled flights from the trip we had booked for 2020, instead of the flight vouchers. Originally, the use of the vouchers had us needing to complete our new trip by March 22, 2022, but now that we'll have a refund we're flexible with dates again. Yippee!!

I'm trying to figure out those dates but have a bit of a conundrum. It's going to be 17 nights (London/Paris/Venice/Florence/Rome) and when I look at the calendar for April/May, it's tough to avoid both Easter weekend and May Day (and the UK bank holiday on May 2nd) while also not pushing it too far into May to have it be too hot and humid in Rome. I was thinking May 4-21, but older posts online suggested we could be in the high 20s plus humidity by then. We don't want to reverse the order of the cities because we have more days to accommodate jet lag in London and I think the transition will be easier for our first trip if we start in London.

Thoughts? We have a bit of a tight itinerary in a couple cities (we know it's not ideal, but it's what works for our priorities this trip) so losing a day to holiday closures is not enticing.

Do we go early April arriving home before Easter (UK spring break though), go in May and take our chances on the heat?

What would you do?

PS: "We" will be 29 yr old daughter and my young 59 yr old mother. Also we're comfortable in heat (Vegas in July) but the humidity kills us (yes even though we're Nova Scotian).

Posted by
312 posts

The London end may be less complicated than you think - museums, tourist sites, Kew Gardens etc would all be open on the Bank Holiday Monday and transport will be at weekend levels, ie still running. I don’t think you need to worry that the things you want to do in London will be closed, unless it’s something very out of the way or unusual. Only the banks actually close, the shops will all be open!

Posted by
27100 posts

The only place I've been in Europe around Easter was Andalucia, so I have no personal experience with Easter closures in the countries you plan to visit. I did find Nice (France) semi-deserted and with absolutely no public transportation on May 1.

Most museums' websites list the days on which they are closed, so you can research the places important to you and see whether you need to worry.

Posted by
985 posts

You should take your trip in April, arriving home before Easter, which will allow you to avoid worrying about the temperature or humidity being too high.

I actually went to London in July 2016, and to Florence and Rome in July 2017. The weather in London was pleasant enough. Hi temperatures in Florence and Rome might have been in the 80's to low 90's Fahrenheit.

Edit: You can search timeanddate.com for data on weather in various cities, in the last ten years.

Posted by
3244 posts

I was in Rome on Easter Monday in 2005, and we had a hard time finding a place to eat within walking distance of our hotel in the Trastevere.

Ten years later, we were in Turin on Easter Sunday and Monday, and had basically the same experience. Very few places open for dinner on Easter Sunday, Many of the sites we wanted to see were also closed on Easter Monday.

I recommend planning your trip in such a way that you avoid being in Italy over the Easter weekend.

Posted by
15582 posts

Reality check - May 1 is one day. So what if most sights are closed. Something will be open, and maybe you can use a rest day by then. I was in Paris once on May 1 and it was special. Though half the shops were closed, half were open. The Marais Quarter was lively with locals enjoying the day off and makeshift stands everywhere selling sprigs of sweet-scented lily of the valley, a French tradition. The best thing you can do in Paris or Venice is to walk and enjoy the city. Or maybe you can make May 1 a travel day.

Posted by
7347 posts

May works for Rome. There’s not sweltering humidity yet, and temps only get into the lower 80’s Fahrenheit, so below 30 degrees Celsius. It’s not like you’d be there in August, and not like you’re going as far south as Sicily.

Regarding Easter, we were in Greece in April 2018. We got there on Saturday, the day before “our” Easter, but then Greek Orthodox Easter was the next week. So we had 2 Easters that trip!

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