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Greece or Spain/Portugal in December (10-12 days)

Posted by on

Hi,

We are planning for a trip to Europe (2 families with 4 adults, 3 teenagers) in December and were interested in deciding between Greece or Spain/Portugal.

For Greece, we were thinking Athens, Santorini and Mykonos though Mykonos can be dropped. For Spain/Portugal, we were thinking Barcelona, Madrid, Lisbon and maybe Porto. We are interested in history, architecture, good food, a beach (if possible). If there are options for doing some hiking around these cities and see some of the smaller town (day trip), even better.

In terms of weather, is there a big difference between the two? Recommendations would be welcome.

Posted by
2598 posts

Although it is impossible to predict what the weather will be like in more than 3 days, the climate and average temperatures in December of these cities are roughly the same, roughly between 10 °C and 15 °C.

A weather that does not encourage staying on the beach.

You will find history and architecture everywhere in Europe, from thousands of years BC to contemporary history.

Same for good food.

Posted by
4388 posts

Just be aware that travel between Madrid and Lisbon requires a flight. For such a short time why not add another city in Spain such as Seville. You won’t be disappointed.
At the NY Travel show in 2024 Rick mentioned a high speed train between Lisbon and Madrid being built but I never read anything more.

Posted by
8329 posts

I'm with a response above, for a group, getting from Madrid to Lisbon is a pain, so concentrate on Spain, adding Southern Spain to the mix. How long a trip are you talking about? Will this include the days over Christmas? Those two answers will heavily influence any other advice. The South Coast of Spain will be in the low 60's, maybe fine for sitting on the beach, but probably not swimming much. Madrid will be cooler, low 50's.

Some Comments about Greece: December is fine to visit Greece, but not really the islands. Many places on Mykonos will be closed, Santorini seems to be year round now, but still, places will be closed. Athens, and the Peloponnese might be pleasant though.

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