Hi,
My husband and I would like to go somewhere in Europe the first week in April. What would be our best bet for warm weather and open shops. I know it is before the tourist season, so am concerned that things may not be open. We are thinking of Greece or Croatia, but are open to other ideas.
Posted by
Brighton, UK
1421 posts
Leslie
Depends a bit what you mean by warm. Should be possible to manage better than London has been the last few days!
I don't think you can guarantee warm weather anywhere in April, but Greece is a better bet than Croatia at that time of year. That's especially true if you head further south.
We've certainly swam in Crete in early April. In fact people swim there all year round.
Greek easter coincides with our easter this year - Easter Sunday is April 4th - and that's an interesting time to be in Greece. A lot of places have processions on the Friday night, and people are out and about on the Monday which is also a holiday in Greece.
It might be worth considering somewhere like Chania or Rethymnon. They are both nice towns in their own right, with plenty of places to look around and a good range of restaurants and bars.
You can easily get to either from Heraklion by bus, and Easyjet have flights direct from London to Heraklion at that time of the year.
Cheers
Alan
Posted by
Tampa, FL, USA
417 posts
Greece or Croatia would be great. April is a slow month, but shops should be open, at least in the main tourist areas. Weather is generally nice, but sometimes a little questionable- however almost guaranteed to be warmer than Britain!
If your in London, consider Dubrovnik which is great, and has several worthwhile day trips nearby, such as Mostar, Bosnia and the Bay of Kotor Montenegro. It is also easy to get to: BA flies direct, as do some discount carriers.
You could also do a few days there, then head to Split for the Roman ruins, or take a ferry to one of the other islands for a few days, ending back in Dubrovnik for your flight home.
Posted by
Chicago
2876 posts
You might want to consider southern Italy and/or Sicily. In Italy the Amalfi coast, Capri, Pompeii; in Sicily Taormina, Agrigento. All are terrific and weather should be OK.
Posted by
Patterson, California, U.S.A.
22 posts
Greece should be beautiful that time of year. I went to Greece around April years ago and hit the islands and it was the perfect time to go though it did get a bit windy heading back to Athens at the end of my stay. Other then that, the water was crystal clear and the weather was great for laying out in the sun. The islands I ended up going to were Mykonos, Ios, Naxos, Paros and Santorini.