I am looking to take the family out on an overseas location for 7-10 days. Total of 4 - including the wife and 2 kids. Son just completed college and daughter starting college.

Someplace where the weather is decent. We love sight-seeing and experiencing local culture. We are not into "adventure sports" and stuff like that. A few years ago, we did London + Paris for about 10 days, we enjoyed that. That was in August though.

Any recommendations?

Chile.
Does that count as overseas?

For December (assuming decent weather means not snowing) in Europe I would suggest Portugal or the southern coast of Spain.

In S. America, I second Chile and would add Argentina. It's their summer time and the weather is perfect. If you're more into cities and culture + food and wine I'd probably lean toward Argentina (Buenos Aires + Mendoza).

Another suggestion would be Morocco. More culturally active but not necessarily physically. Great mix of cities and some desert experiences.

Happy to share some more suggestions/recommendations if any of those sound appealing! Also happy to help with the trip if you're looking for it.

Milwaukees Best Light said:

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Chile.
Does that count as overseas?

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Yes, anything outside the continental US is "overseas". Never thought of Chile, let me look it up.

Kreg17 said:

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For December (assuming decent weather means not snowing) in Europe I would suggest Portugal or the southern coast of Spain.

In S. America, I second Chile and would add Argentina. It's their summer time and the weather is perfect. If you're more into cities and culture + food and wine I'd probably lean toward Argentina (Buenos Aires + Mendoza).

Another suggestion would be Morocco. More culturally active but not necessarily physically. Great mix of cities and some desert experiences.

Happy to share some more suggestions/recommendations if any of those sound appealing! Also happy to help with the trip if you're looking for it.

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Please tell me about Portugal and Spain. My sister in law and her family are now in Portugal. What are some good locations to visit there? This trip seems more likely than Chile as the wife is more likely to agree.

I've never done it, but the European Christmas markets through December some pretty awesome. Germany/Switzerland/Prague.

Or you could consider French Quebec, but likely close or similar travel costs to Europe.

For Portugal, Lisbon is a great base with historic neighborhoods, great food. Sintra is an easy day trip and has some incredible palaces and castles. Porto has beautiful riverfront and is a great place to experience Portuguese food and wine. If you enjoy scenery, the Douro Valley is also worth considering for a day trip from Porto.

For Spain, I'd look at Seville, Granada, Cordoba, and Malaga. Alhambra and Mezquita are unbelievable in person. I'd suggest staying in Seville and Malaga and do day trips. If you want more high end also look at Marbella.

A couple questions that would help narrow it down:
- When in December are you traveling?
- Are you looking for mild weather, or are you hoping for something warmer?

Id do Porto/Lisbon over Madrid any day (as far as Spain is concerned - also Madrid was pretty cold in may so I bet its off the table weather wise for being pleasant in December) can't speak for Barcelona or South of Spain (although I'll get to check out Sevlle and surrounding area this sept)

Porto is amazing and everything is close but elevation gains can make it harder to walk but definitely doable - the food, wine, cathedrals, bridges/riverfront, town squares are all super cool - a lot of Harry Potter was inspired here. Duoro Valley wine/boat tour is amazing even if you have kids who can't drink just to see the process, sceneray, and history.

Agree, I would not recommend Madrid or the north of Spain in December. Even Barcelona is on the chillier side as compared to Malaga since it's quite a bit more north. I wouldn't go any further up the coast than Valencia in December and even that is probably too far.

We are doing Mykonos and Santorini but in early October. Highs will be in the low 60's in December.

Since you have done London/Paris I would consider Italy; December's not a bad time to go.

We are done with summer European travel; the crowds (and the heat) have become too much. For that matter, we did London/Paris with our kids this past spring break and it was still packed though.

Did Christmas markets in late November early December of 2023, no better way to get in the holiday spirit. Salzburg-Munich-Nuremberg were the stops from South to North. Each has something a little different to offer.

Kreg17 said:

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For Portugal, Lisbon is a great base with historic neighborhoods, great food. Sintra is an easy day trip and has some incredible palaces and castles. Porto has beautiful riverfront and is a great place to experience Portuguese food and wine. If you enjoy scenery, the Douro Valley is also worth considering for a day trip from Porto.

For Spain, I'd look at Seville, Granada, Cordoba, and Malaga. Alhambra and Mezquita are unbelievable in person. I'd suggest staying in Seville and Malaga and do day trips. If you want more high end also look at Marbella.

A couple questions that would help narrow it down:
- When in December are you traveling?
- Are you looking for mild weather, or are you hoping for something warmer?

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Thanks Kreg.
It is open right now, but will be after my daughter's semester exams, so likely Dec 15.
Mild weather is probably more preferable. The goal is to see and experience the place, weather is secondary. We just don't want to be stuck in the hotel.

Ag CPA said:

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Since you have done London/Paris I would consider Italy; December's not a bad time to go.

We are done with summer European travel; the crowds (and the heat) have become too much. For that matter, we did London/Paris with our kids this past spring break and it was still packed though.

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Italy is another good one, I want to see Rome. I found out Pompeii is reasonably close.
Did yo pair Italy with another country? I don't want to do a check mark trip, I want to spend enough time in each place. Don't mind going to the area again to a different country.

I'll let AgCPA comment on his experience but you can spend a ton of time in Italy and not see it all, it's a massive country. I've got a family starting in the Dolomites and going all the way to Sicily over the course of 2 weeks and they still won't see everything. You wouldn't need to pair it with another country unless you really wanted to.

I've been 3 times and there are still a lot of places I want to visit.

barnacle bob said:

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I've never done it, but the European Christmas markets through December some pretty awesome. Germany/Switzerland/Prague.

Or you could consider French Quebec, but likely close or similar travel costs to Europe.

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Last year, for my son's A&M graduation (and family Christmas trip), we went to Belgium on a river cruise to see the Christmas Markets. It was fun. They have the same river cruises all over Europe depending on what region you'd like to see - Germany, Austria, Hungary, Slovakia, Czech Republic, France and Belgium.


Grote Market - Antwerp, Belgium

I'll put in a plug for KSA and the Red Sea

This Shebara place is also close to Madain Saleh which they're calling Al Ula now. Al Ula is one of the most amazing places I've ever been.
https://www.shebara.sa/

Of course at those prices, it's probably only CEOs who can afford it.

We did a similar family trip a few years ago to Eastern Europe in December and it is a fantastic time to visit as the Christmas markets, decorations, etc are 1000x anything you will see in the US. Also low crowds and off season hotel pricing makes for a low stress trip. We hit Prague, Vienna, Munich, Salzburg and tied in visits to Austrian lake and mountain towns. There are numerous other great cities in the region you can easily fit in by train that we ran out of time to visit, but I definitely want to do it again.

Munich, Prague, Vienna, Budapest.

I'm doing Cologne and Brussels this December. Direct flight to Frankfurt out of Austin and some short train rides. Can't wait!

Not telling you where I'm going overseas, but it's awesome.

Have you ever thought of coastal paradise Yemen?

infinity ag said:

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Kreg17 said:

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For December (assuming decent weather means not snowing) in Europe I would suggest Portugal or the southern coast of Spain.

In S. America, I second Chile and would add Argentina. It's their summer time and the weather is perfect. If you're more into cities and culture + food and wine I'd probably lean toward Argentina (Buenos Aires + Mendoza).

Another suggestion would be Morocco. More culturally active but not necessarily physically. Great mix of cities and some desert experiences.

Happy to share some more suggestions/recommendations if any of those sound appealing! Also happy to help with the trip if you're looking for it.

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Please tell me about Portugal and Spain. My sister in law and her family are now in Portugal. What are some good locations to visit there? This trip seems more likely than Chile as the wife is more likely to agree.

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Portugal is nice, but Lisbon is overrated. Spain has a lot of viable options. I live in Valencia and chose the city over Madrid and Barcelona. Seville is amazing ... a must see. The "big three" (Madrid, Barcelona, and Valencia) are decorated beautifully during Christmas, and these three very different cities have plenty to see and do. You may consider flying into Madrid, taking a high speed train to Barcelona, and then a high speed train to Valencia. Just a thought.

The Chicken Ranch said:

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Munich, Prague, Vienna, Budapest.

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Budapest and Prague are amazing ... but both will be super chilly in December.