Is Portugal a good travel destination?

6 month travel planning route for Portugal, Greece, and Italy?

• 6 month travel planning route for Portugal, Greece, and Italy I am trying to organize a travel route for 3 countries over a 6 month period. The three countries are Portugal, Italy, and Greece. The intended days of travel are November1-April30. Around November 1, I need to decide where the begin. To narrow down the choices (which places are best in which months), you should know I am planning to do a lot of walking, hiking, trekking, landscape photography looking for blue sky, clear weather (visibility), sunshine, and trying to avoid too much rain, or overcast skies, but storms (with lightning and thunder are ok). During these 6 months I will see everything, it's just a question of when, and how to order the destinations. Also please note, I want to see the entire country of Portugal, but only most of Italy (from Sicily to Venice, skipping the Italian alps, and Milan), and just areas in southern Greece (Crete, Cyclades, and Peleponnese). I will travel slowly, and I can already tell it probably makes sense to reserve March, and April for central, and northern Italy (Tuscany, Venice, Liguria, Rome) - these places may be unattractive in the dead of winter, so better see them in springtime.. However, I can't reserve everything for the spring, I have to be somewhere in January, and February as well, so the question is which is better? Portugal, or Southern Greece? And then November, and December, again which is better? Portugal, or Southern Greece? Having said all that, where do you think I should go for each month? Thanks in advance.

• Answer:

  Where are you from? You may have a basic problem with this since Portugal, Greece and Italy are all part of the Schengen zone and you may only be able to stay in for 90 days in any 6 month period. This requirement does not give you up to 90 days in each country; it's 90 days for the entire Schengen treaty area. There is no long term visa for tourism like this. Depending on where you're from, you may need a visa to visit for up to 90 days. See the Italian visa site, for example, for requirements: http://www.esteri.it/visti/home_eng.asp . Next, February is not a bad time to visit here in Italy. Carnevale will be running in many places then including Venice, Ivrea, Cento, and Viareggio. There's also the Verona in Love festival and other events around Valentine's Day and all the usual attractions are open. It can be cold, but it's far from unattractive or lifeless in the winter. November is usually pretty nice and there are some interesting festivals like the truffle festivals in Alba and San Miniato. In December, there are a lot of good Christmas markets, and exhibitions in the various cities that can only be seen then.