December destination suggestions
August 26, 2022 9:58 PM Subscribe
Looking for destination ideas outside of the US, Covid permitting, for the first week or so of December. Looking for good food, few tourists, climate something warmer than New England winter (but doesn’t need to be tropical.) Currently looking at France or Spain or Greece but haven’t gotten any more specific, and am open to anywhere. What do you suggest?
Traveling as a solo woman, and I don’t speak any language besides English, but am comfortable in new and unfamiliar situations. Looking to read a book in a beautiful spot, indulge in good food and drinks, and pop into cute shops and cool museums of all sorts. I am not looking for nightlife, complex itineraries (would prefer to spend most of my time exploring from a sort of home base). Small towns and cities are both fine. This trip is defiantly a splurge, I’m not looking for anything too crazy expensive. To give some sort of idea, right now flights from Boston to Nice are about $600 which is a comfortable high end of my price range for flights, if that helps.
Traveling as a solo woman, and I don’t speak any language besides English, but am comfortable in new and unfamiliar situations. Looking to read a book in a beautiful spot, indulge in good food and drinks, and pop into cute shops and cool museums of all sorts. I am not looking for nightlife, complex itineraries (would prefer to spend most of my time exploring from a sort of home base). Small towns and cities are both fine. This trip is defiantly a splurge, I’m not looking for anything too crazy expensive. To give some sort of idea, right now flights from Boston to Nice are about $600 which is a comfortable high end of my price range for flights, if that helps.
The seaside bits of Croatia have both sea and history and might be worth checking out (Dubrovnik, for instance), but I don't know what weather they get (warmer than New England, certainly, but that's a low bar). I happen to like Croatian food but it's quite meaty if that matters.
posted by How much is that froggie in the window at 2:44 AM on August 27, 2022
posted by How much is that froggie in the window at 2:44 AM on August 27, 2022
Best answer: I'd go to Portugal. I went with my sister in November and it was an extremely pleasant, mild temperature. We were in Lisbon but Portugal has so much to offer. Additionally, it felt very safe.
posted by DarlingBri at 2:53 AM on August 27, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by DarlingBri at 2:53 AM on August 27, 2022 [2 favorites]
Best answer: Dubrovnik would be a lovely place to visit, and nearly everyone there speaks English - it is a busy tourist destination for good reason. Even outside Dubrovnik I've had no trouble finding English speakers, at least in anyone under 40, and English is universally spoken by anyone in hospitality. I didn't find coastal Croatian food to be meat-centric, though inland it certainly is. Rather it's seafood-centric and unbelievably delicious. Dubrovnik has gorgeous rocky beaches - go up the coast a bit for beautiful sandy beaches. Split has famous Roman sites., but you might need a car from Dubrovnik. However, Croatia (and Nice) share Mediterranean winter weather, so it will be in the 50s and often overcast. Even Greece has similar winter weather. If non-snowy and freezing weather is fine with you, Mediterranean destination prices should be low and accommodation available.
posted by citygirl at 9:28 AM on August 27, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by citygirl at 9:28 AM on August 27, 2022 [1 favorite]
Have you ever been to Guatemala? Antigua is a beautiful world Heritage site. Guatemalans are friendly. Take a trip to Tikal for ancient Mayan architecture and Lake Atitlan. Guatemala City may not be safe; I went on a structured visit to Safe Passage and it was fine. Bonus: no jet lag.
posted by theora55 at 11:27 AM on August 27, 2022
posted by theora55 at 11:27 AM on August 27, 2022
Bermuda! Warm enough for pleasant strolls on the pink beaches, cool enough to enjoy an evening in front of a cozy fireplace.
posted by cyndigo at 1:01 PM on August 27, 2022
posted by cyndigo at 1:01 PM on August 27, 2022
Bear in mind that Paris is further north than Montreal, and Madrid has a latitude on a par with New York. Neither is going to be warm in December. Athens will be a bit warmer, with a December high of 15C against 10C in Madrid. Moving south, Madeira is no warmer, with a 13C high in December. However, this improves to 21C in the Canary islands. They are touristy in the winter as a result of the climate but there is a fair amount of choice as to which island you pick against what you are looking for.
If you decide to bite the bullet and look at something colder in Europe then the start of December also means the start of Christmas festivities, including markets, church and carol services, Christmas brewing, and other locally specific traditions. It markets does it for you then an increasing number of European cities offer them, but I would argue Germany still has the better selection. Cologne, Berlin, Munich, Nuremberg, Leipzig all have wide ranging markets (or Trier or Rothenberg if you fancy something smaller). All are also historically well endowed, with cathedrals, castles, old towns and more, and all have good transport links to other cities with plenty to see if you want to use them as a base.
posted by biffa at 8:13 AM on August 28, 2022
If you decide to bite the bullet and look at something colder in Europe then the start of December also means the start of Christmas festivities, including markets, church and carol services, Christmas brewing, and other locally specific traditions. It markets does it for you then an increasing number of European cities offer them, but I would argue Germany still has the better selection. Cologne, Berlin, Munich, Nuremberg, Leipzig all have wide ranging markets (or Trier or Rothenberg if you fancy something smaller). All are also historically well endowed, with cathedrals, castles, old towns and more, and all have good transport links to other cities with plenty to see if you want to use them as a base.
posted by biffa at 8:13 AM on August 28, 2022
Regarding Croatia, I was in Dubrovnik a couple of years ago in the last week of November/beginning of December. It wasn't exactly warm - warmer than Frankfurt, but I still needed a coat. It's the off-season there at that point, which meant that the old city felt pretty empty, and I was able to wander around the city walls one morning without meeting more than a handful of people., which is a very different experience to being there in the summer.
Again, because it's the off season, not everything will be open - there was at least one museum I missed as it wasn't open in the winter. I did some small group tours into the surrounding area which were great, but the options were a bit limited as there is not that big a demand. However, there were restaurants open, and the food was good. There is (or at least was) a Christmas market in Dubrovnik too, which opened the day before I left.
posted by scorbet at 8:25 AM on August 30, 2022
Again, because it's the off season, not everything will be open - there was at least one museum I missed as it wasn't open in the winter. I did some small group tours into the surrounding area which were great, but the options were a bit limited as there is not that big a demand. However, there were restaurants open, and the food was good. There is (or at least was) a Christmas market in Dubrovnik too, which opened the day before I left.
posted by scorbet at 8:25 AM on August 30, 2022
Response by poster: I went to Lisbon! It was great.
posted by Grandysaur at 7:26 PM on February 8, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by Grandysaur at 7:26 PM on February 8, 2023 [1 favorite]
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by Grandysaur at 10:01 PM on August 26, 2022