Torn Between Two Trips

What time of year?

I vote for Spain especially southern Spain. Good contrast. It is very different than traditional Europe because of the Moorish influence.

Well, we were thinking March or April but can be flexible.

Thank you for the response. With Southern Spain being a vote, have you been to Morocco as well? Thoughts?

The UK makes a marvelous trip!!! I have been more than 40 times and would go back at the drop of a hat. With only 2 weeks (really a little less with arrival/departure and Paris) you could get a taste (the same will be true of Spain). You could do something like this- Paris 2 days, Eurostar to London. London 3 days, train to Windsor- 1 night, train to Bath, 1 or 2 nights(possibly more if interested in the Cotswolds), train to Cardiff,1 or 2 nights. Train to York 2 nights. Train back to London then Eurostar to Paris. Lots of short stays, but doable. You could also stay put in London and do just day trips. You could see any of the above, and/or Stratford-upon-Avon, Canterburry, Dover, Oxford, Cambridge, Brighton, Winchester, etc. If you get an apartment (or university housing) you could save some money on accomodations and food. An alternative would be to do London,York and Edinburgh- using trains between with some day trips thrown in. Let me know if you are interested in the UK.

I'm going to suggest Spain. I don't know if you're planning on traveling to Europe with your kids, but one of the drawbacks about Spain is that they have dinner very late, many restaurants (just from research we did, we ended up not going to Spain, others may know more) don't start serving dinner until after 8, and there's only tapas available before then. That's pretty late for kids, especially smaller ones. I'd plan on taking the kids to the UK in a few years! Europe is a great place for kids!

We have no kids, so we want to optimize some fun and experience. All you folks recommending Spain, would you suggest throwing Lisbon or Tangiers into that trip as well? Is it too much? Or what would be best to see? Thank you.

Lauren, both locations would be great! Do you find that you're "leaning" more towards one than the other? ¶ Given the fact that this will likely be your last trip for awhile, another option you might consider would be to take an ETBD tour in either country (although that might require a bit more time than the two weeks you have available, depending on which one you choose). You might also consider using a "combination approach" with one of the 8-day ETBD tours of Spain, with the rest of the time on your own (open jaw flights - inbound Paris and outbound Madrid or Barcelona?). I'm sure that would provide you with some spectacular memories since you probably won't be able to get back to Europe for a few years. ¶ I've been on four tours so far (and already planning the next one) and find that they're not only a very efficient way to travel, but I also learn more and have a more interesting trip than by going on my own. Good luck with your planning!

If you're heading for Spain that time of year, check when Holy Week is since a lot of stuff shuts down, especially in Andalucia. Save Portugal for another trip, there's too much to see in Spain - - you won't even begin to see it all in two weeks, even if you skip both Paris and the seemingly obligatory time in Catalonia. On the other hand, you're not going to cut a very wide swath through the 'British Isles' in two weeks either - - maybe southern England (skipping Corwall and Devon) and Wales with a couple days in London if you've never been there...........My choices would be Cornwall and Wales or Madrid (with the Segovia, Avila, Toledo loop) and Andalucia.......For me, both would compete with southern France west of the Rhone, but most people seem to prefer the other side of the creek.

Lauren - we've been to both. I LOVE England and it was a wonderful place for our first trip together. Having said that we were in Spain this past March and it may be our new favorite spot (well, except for Italy which is always the best!). Since you are planning to go the same time, I would absolutely recommend Spain because it will be warmer if nothing else. We had 10 days and didn't get to go to Morocco but I wish we had. My daughter was there for a week and loved it - we'll try to make that happen the next time we go. In our 10 days we were in Segovia, Sevilla, Granada & Madrid. Loved Madrid so much more than I thought we would. All in all it was a fabulous trip!

I would consider the weather,( and go south), I know any place can be nice anytime,, but having been to London in March,, it was yech,,, rain, sleet, and slush... very cold feeling( cause of damp) so it would not be my first choice for a spring visit( I have visited it 3 more times in summer,,much better) That said, I am aware that southern Spain does have winters,, but much milder ones then the UK>

A few things to consider. Two weeks is a very short time when you consider you will lose some time catching up with jet lag and just getting your feet. You are right, there is too much to see in two weeks. Unless you are looking for a "It's Tuesday so it must be Belgium" trip, cut down on what you are going to experience. Focus on what you want to see now (as opposed to after the kids are grown) and group them as close together as possible, then decide where to station yourself to see them. For two weeks, in my opinion you do not want more than three locations and two would be better. As for southern Spain, yes it will be warmer than UK, and probably dryer, but at that time of year unlikely to be hot. SPent 2 weeks in Gibraltar in April some years ago and was surprised at how cool it was.

Just to clear things up, I made the suggestion about taking kids to Europe WHEN you have them. Travel with kids is a lot different than travel without, just something to keep in mind.

I, too, would choose South in March and April. In shoulder seasons I might choose either. In July and August, I would go North...........Have a great trip. We actually considered naming our oldest Corey Ann (or some variation) because she was conceived during a trip to Korea - but thought better of it. :)

Start south in March or early April. By mid-April, Paris is nice.....Next year Easter falls late in April, so you might consider arranging your trip around that holiday....How about flying into Madrid or Barcelona and out of Paris?

Can you add 5-7 days and do all 3? If this is the last hoo-rah, then do it big, IMO!

I'll vote for Spain and agree with Karen that it's a new favorite spot...better than Italy, however, IMHO. Spain's a big place with tons of significant sites...you could easily spend two weeks just on the highlights. Budget flights and/or the AVE can transport you quickly from city to city.