Where to Travel in Aug/Sept

[Happyaugust]

We would like to plan a vacation to Europe from the last week in August to the first week in September, but don't know where to go when it comes to decent weather/temperatures that time of year. We were originally looking into the south of Spain, but heard that it is unbearably hot that time of year. There are so many places we'd like to eventually visit that we thought it would be easier to narrow it down by temperature and weather. Any suggestions for that time of year would be great...thanks!

[HeatherFL]

Be careful of where you go in Europe during the month of August. A lot of people leave on holiday that month and so many things are closed.

Here is a website that has some recommendations for August, and a link for September too. Europe Travel in August/September (http://www.bugbog.com/european_cities/europe_travel_calendar/august.html)

And there is more information here (http://savvytraveler.publicradio.org/show/features/1999/19990807/europe-august.shtml).

I loved Spain, but I think it's more likely to be dead during August depending on where you go. Ireland and London might be better bets (both are awesome, and you can do easy day trips into other places. I also love Belgium and Amsterdam!) :)

~H.

[Happyaugust]

That's a great website, thanks Heather! We are very inexperienced when it comes to European travel, but have so many places we want to see and didn't know where to start.

[HeatherFL]

You're welcome! :)

You can compile a list of your top "must-sees" and then maybe narrow it down from there? If you're going to be in Europe for two weeks, the train system is so great and the airfares between most countries is extremely inexpensive! You could easily do at the very least two (even three!) countries in that time. :)

For instance, Belgium, France and Holland are all close together. I did them in just over a week, but it all depends on how much time you want to spend in one country. I'm not a huge fan of the Paris area, so I only spent a little time there (but a lot of people love Paris!) London is also close to (chunnel!) France, Irleand, Scotland and a lot of other places! Spain/France...and even Portugal/Spain are definitely doable. :) LOTS of choices!

There are so many ladies who are a wealth of information here. Good luck with your planning! There are lots of Europe threads here too, so they should be able to help you. :)

~H.

[Rosebud]

Since you haven't done much European travel, I would suggest keeping it simple on this trip. You might want to pick two cities that are close to each other and easily reachable by train (like London & Paris or Rome & Florence) so that you aren't spending your whole trip getting between places. It'll just make it easier for you. You can do day trips from those cities if you like and still see a lot of things.

August is the month that Europeans go on vacation, so stores and restaurants may be closed in the city, but any beaches will be absolutely packed. I would suggest sticking to cities further north in Europe if you're concerned about heat (Spain and Italy may be scorching). You'll also pay a premium for airfare at this time of year, so if you see a good deal, jump on it.

I guess the real question is-- what would you like to see most in Europe? Once you have a good idea of cities/countries you're interested in, we can definitely help you finesse an itinerary.