Where To Go?

Put Slovenia and Poland on your list. Slovenia is one of my favorite countries in Europe. (So is Italy.) It's kind of a mix of Italian, Austrian, and Slavic influences but still not at the top of most tourists' lists (see, not even yours!). Ljubljana is a wonderfully charming yet vibrant city - with has some museums, but they aren't exactly world-class museums like Florence's. There are nearby attractions like Lake Bled and Lake Bohinj, cute towns, hikes and caves.

Slovenia combines well with northern Croatia. If you like Italy, you might love Istria (mostly in Croatia, partly in Slovenia). Plitvice Lakes National Park is amazing, with huge turquoise-colored lakes full of trout and dozens of waterfalls. Zagreb is Croatia's capital that some love - a very untouristy place (even if less charming than Ljubljana).

Watch the Slovenia episode(s) of Rick's show for free on YouTube.

Poland is full of modest charm and history. Krakow is a real gem - almost completely spared by the war, whereas other worthy cities like Warsaw, Wroclaw, and Gdansk were bombed out and rebuilt (but still well worth visiting. Prague is wonderful, just unbelievably touristy now. You can combine it with a visit to Poland.

I love Andrew's ideas because those are areas I've been yearning to get to! A suggestion that I have some familiarity with would be Catalonia--Barcelona, Girona, Besalu, Montserrat, possibly Andorra. I think it'd be lovely there in spring. Austria combining Vienna, Melk, Hallstatt and Salzburg (and even Munich and Fussen, possibly) would be another idea perfect for spring. Lastly, I love Budapest and from there you could do some small Hungarian towns or Bratislava. I enjoyed the food and wine in Catalonia and Budapest. Austria, not quite as much, but I didn't dislike it and I don't feel that would impact my decision to go there. I love markets. There are great ones in Vienna, Budapest and Munich.

Spain.

Spain hits all your sweet spots very well, and would be an obvious choice.

May is a great time to go - before the south heats up too much. IMHO Spain is under-appreciated by many international tourists (especially many Americans, who - incredibly - seem to have mixed up their mental pictures of Spain and Mexico...).

You didn't say how long you would be going. Plenty to see/do in Spain just by itself, so don't rush too much. But also some good nearby options if you have a long enough trip and want to tack on something else (eg Portugal, Morocco, the Basque country).

There is much to see. Take a look at the RS Greece tour. This was our favorite of the 7 we have taken. If tours are not to your liking, you could easily track this itinerary. Same with Portugal, our last tour. The food and wine in both countries was very good. The wine in Greece was a surprise and we’ve been seeking it out and drinking it ever since except for Retsina which should be used to strip paint.

I can't speak to the countries, but since you named Bookaholic, here are links about Book Towns in various countries. http://www.booktown.net/ and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_town and https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/booktowns-where-reading-is-the-reason-to-live

Wow. Thank you all so much! I can't wait to share your replies with the family. If you think of anything else, please continue to share.

To answer the question as to how long : we usually travel for about 2 1/2 weeks.

And yes, my daughter and I love bookstores, especially unique ones when we travel. The most amazing one ever was in Buenos Aires. You may have seen pictures of it online.

Thanks again!

We live in small metro Florida and like to mix mountains and big cities on trips. Last year we had great fun on a Wales and London trip. Have a look at the small Welsh town of Hay-on-Wye for a truly impressive book stores per capita ratio and Wales has a lot of lovely National Park land

Our family has had wonderful vacations in Slovenia....we’ve been back a couple of times. Ljubljana is gorgeous, lake Bled is very picturesque and Piran is a cute little spot on the coast. We also love Budapest, and hope to return so we can explore other parts of Hungary.
We really enjoyed Malaga in the south of Spain. There are heaps of things to do in the city, but it has a nice lay back feel. We spent some time in the beautiful white village Mijas, which is not far from Malaga.
Croatia was a highlight for us last year, but we now have a soft spot for Bosnia as we stayed in Mostar for several days.
So many amazing places to choose from! Happy planning!

Thank you all again.

We're going to start watching some of the Rick Steves episodes tonight. We always enjoy those. This will also help us with the challenging, yet fun, decision-making process.

I have to just say how wonderful these forums have been. I joined back in 2011 or so, I believe, and each and every time, the helpful feedback has enriched our trips more than ever.

We are leaning towards Spain at the moment, but are still open to considering Slovenia, Poland, and a few others. I forgot to mention that my husband hates the cold, hence why traveling in May in places like Italy and France have been ideal. Whereas, going in places with more temperate and possibly colder climes wouldn't be that comfortable in May. For me, that's fine, but not for him! If we choose to go to the slightly colder places, we would probably go in June or so, but then we'd also risk more summer crowds possibly. Maybe, maybe not. As long as we go before families and kids on summer break go.

David, we had a good laugh about your Spain/Mexico comment. It's true!

Guessing from your lists of the places you like I'm going to guess Vienna and Budapest. Vienna has some of the same character as Paris, and Budapest has the best of Paris on steroids. The two cities pair well.

Then you might consider a third city totally out of your comfort zone, just to stretch your experience. Budapest is a Wizzair hub and you can reach much of Eastern Europe in an hour or so, and for $100 or less a ticket.

If you are near a city served by Turkish air, that can open a new world too. A month ago we did Houston, Istanbul, Lviv, Kyiv, Budapest, Houston using Turkish Air for all but the Liviv - Kyiv - Budapest legs. Turkish Air was under $800 and Ukraine Air was under $200.

Guess what I am saying is think out of the box and expand you boundaries.

All the places you mention are great places to visit.

Greece is filled with ancient history and scenic islands. A cruise out of Athens is a great way to see Athens and the Greek Islands.

Spain and Portugal would take minimum of three weeks to see. 1 week in Portugal (include Lisbon, Sintra, Obidos, Cascais and Porto), and two weeks in Spain (Barcelona, Madrid and Seville with some of the surrounding cities in Barcelona and Madrid--also Grenada if you can swing it).

Prague, Salzburg, Vienna and Budapest, you can do in two weeks.

working with your name "Bookaholic", I've never been anywhere that had as many bookstores as does Budapest. AND, Budapest is the only town where I have seen homeless people with a private library. Locals continue to bring them new books.

Thank you all again! We've spent the past few nights watching the Rick Steves shows on Slovenia, Croatia, and last night we saw the one on Madrid. So far, Croatia has appealed to us the most. We are going to look into more of the Spain episodes. Slovenia was lovely, but not everyone else's favorite. I liked it just fine! We were surprised that Madrid really didn't appeal to us much at all.

Selkie, although we haven't been to the bookstore in Hay-on-Wye, it's interesting that you mentioned Wales. I grew up there and it's a place that's very dear to my heart. We have been there. Because of the weather (all the cold rain, even in July), it would be easier to pull teeth than to convince my family to go there!

Your replies are all so helpful and greatly appreciated. I'm taking notes of all the places mentioned so far and hoping that we can watch Rick's episodes before making our final decision.