Considering late December destinations around Europe

Hi Ansh

As you may remember,I live in Sicily.December is not usually very rainy....of course sometimes it rains,but the worst weather is more often around February.

It can even be quite sunny leading up to Christmas.Few foreigners go to the beach,though it's too cold for me then ;-)But all the"cultural" stuff is accessible then,and less crowded that time of year.

But the biggest problems so far have been finding places where the winter does not restrict activities and the chances of rain.

So you don't want snowy stuff - you want vestigial sunny places in the south?

Andalucia ?

Michel

It is winter, you need to head south, Spain can be lovely but I don't think there is anywhere with a guarantee no rain. But Spain, even Catalonia can be nice, Southern Italy, Southern Portugal will give the best chance. Or the Canary Islands, Cyprus and Malta. Nortern Italy can be particularly bad not just rain but also "nebbia" or fog.

Hi all, thank you for all the advice

God to hear about Sicily - that was among my first choices (assuming we can find decent connections from India).

I don't think we're really looking for snow ... we don't mind grey, cloudy etc. Of course a bit of rain here and there is OK - but if there is so much rain that it hampers being out then its probably not worth it. Much of our travel around Western Europe has been around Apr-Jun timeframe and we don't mind rain as generally is during that time. But of course the more sun the better.

Good to hear about other options too - I am not sure if Spain will be too high on the list; my parents just visited Madrid and Barcelona this year so they may want to go to a different country but will discuss Andalucia

You may be able to minimize your chances of rain, but these days all bets are off, no matter what month. We live in SW France and it rained mercilessly this year starting in November all the way through February. We spent 6+ weeks in Morocco this past winter (10+ days in December) and all of February and a bit of March and had two days there where we had a few drops. Maybe you should broaden your horizons and think outside Europe, though Sicily does sound like a good idea.

In terms of weather the Canary Islands would probably be your safest bet in Western Europe, however travelling around the islands without a rental car isnt really that convenient.

If you consider countries outside but "near" Western Europe, Jordan and Egypt would be my first choices. Maybe do a cruise on the Nile river between Assuan and Luxor and than spend a few days on the Red Sea (in Sharm for example) and/or in Cairo ? The Red Sea is never colder than 21 degrees, and if you are not extremely unlucky, the weather is dry and pleasant and not hot. Or in Jordan, spend time in Petra, the Wadi Rum, the Dead Sea and Amman. Jordan has the advantage of being quite compact, so you wouldnt loose a lot of time travelling from place to place.

Thank you for the further inputs. I am personally much more pen towards outside Europe but this may not be true for everyone in the family - will need to have a discussion. But Jordan was for sure a destination being considered though I am not too keen on visiting touristy places like Petra during high season