Alicante, Spain by Claire for Europe Explored

The Climate

The climate in this touristic destination is the main characteristic that attracts thousands of tourists. To be honest, there are places that are only worth visiting during certain seasons of the year, but Alicante can be visited anytime in the year. One of the factors that contribute to that is its appealing climate. During the winter average temperatures range from 13ºC to 16ºC; during the summer you can expect to find average temperatures from 25ºC to 32ºC. During the rest of the year, the temperatures are quite comfortable, usually around 17ºC. Note that during the night the temperatures drop a little bit, but you won’t even notice the difference. By the way, rain it’s something that will not disturb you, Alicante is not a rainy city. Anyway if you want to avoid rain, perhaps October will be the month that you’d like to avoid.

The Transportation System

There are so many beautiful things to visit and do in Alicante, as a matter of fact you will need to move around to explore this magnificent destination, that’s why it is essential to get to know the transportation system. First of all, if you hate crowded buses or metros, avoid using them from July to August since it is the touristic peak. Alicante possesses a very efficient transportation system; you can get around by calling a taxi, using a bus, a metro, a tram, a train. However if you don’t like to wait, if you want comfort and if you’d like to save some money – taxis can be very expensive – then perhaps the best option for you would be renting a car and drive to the places you want and explore the city by yourself, without having to deal with tickets or crowded buses.

Alicante, Spain (a view from the castle hill) by Claire for Europe Explored

The Activities

Let’s have a look at some of the things you may do in Alicante:

1) Get to Know the Locals:

When you are visiting a new city, you will have the opportunity to get to know new people and a different culture. All cultures are different, the locals in Alicante are quite friendly and they will make you feel at ease, they really love tourists and like to share experiences and life stories.

2) Taste the Alicante’s Cuisine:

Let’s face it; Alicante’s cuisine is absolutely delicious. There are extremely good restaurants that are ready to allow you to taste the Alicante’s cuisine. Just pay a visit to the most famous restaurants and let yourself be impressed by the amazing food they will prepare. If you are wondering about the price, most restaurants in Alicante are not expensive, so all you need to do is to sit, eat, and be amazed.

Alicante restaurants, Spain by Claire for Europe Explored

3) Explore the City:

Just rent a car and start exploring Alicante by your own, there are amazing places to visit, there are beaches, there will be monuments, there will be museums, in other words there’s plenty of variety. You can go anywhere; you’ll always find something worth visiting.

4) It’s Time to Have Fun:

If you love to have fun, Alicante is definitely a good choice for you, your family, and your friends. You can participate in festivals; you can enjoy the amazing Alicante’s nightlife and get to know different places, new people, explore fantastic bars, coffee shops, and so forth.

This article was written by Nathan, a writer and an innate tourist. If you are interested in visiting Alicante and want to rent a car to pick you up at the Alicante Airport, all you need to do is to access www.AlicanteAirport.net and you will be a few clicks away from all the information you need.

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Faro Cathedral, Algarve, Portugal by Greg Pye

The Climate

You can’t ask for a better climate, with a Mediterranean climate, Faro is a perfect choice for everyone who wants to spend all the summer engaging in outdoor activities. The hotter months are June, July, and August. Throughout these months, temperatures can reach the 40ºC, but they usually average the 29ºC – 35ºC. From June to August you won’t need to worry about the rain because during that period, it rarely rains. The winter occurs from December to February, but the temperatures are not very, very low. Through those months you can expect temperatures ranging from 9ºC to 16ºC, not very chilly at all. However, if you don’t like rain, the rainier months are December, January, and February, so during those months don’t forget to wear appropriately if you are going to Faro. The rest of the year, the temperatures average 22ºC. Definitely a pleasant temperature.

The Transportation System

In Faro the transportation network is quite efficient, there are various means of transportation, and the prices are perfectly affordable. Nonetheless, during the summer, there will be way more tourists than in the rest of the year and that is not good for you if you don’t necessarily like packed buses that stop everywhere. In this city you can take a bus, take an airport bus to get from the airport to the hotel, take a cab, use the train, you can always hire a car to pick you up at the airport or you can rent one and drive to wherever you please whenever you want, without the need to wait for the bus, the train, or the cab.

The Activities

As you can imagine, in a sunny city like Faro, which is also the capital of the region of Algarve, most of the activities will be related in some way with the water and the sun. Anyway, let’s have a look at some interesting things you can do here:

1) Enjoy the Sun:

In the summer the sun in Faro is absolutely amazing. The temperatures are high and you’ll surely want to pay a visit to the beach. Make sure you arrive early because most beaches will get crowded and you don’t want to lose the best spot. During those sunny days, just go outside and enjoy the sun and the beaches in Faro.

2) Relax:

When it is time for vacations our mood is immediately boosted, isn’t it? Because during our vacations we will have the opportunity to have fun, to escape stress, and above all, relax. In Faro you will have a lot of places where you can relax. The hotels are fantastic, so you can relax there. You can go to the spa and achieve the level of relaxation you want. Alternatively, you can go to one the amazing beaches in Faro, choose a good spot, lie there and relax.

3) Get to Know:

Get to know the culture, get to know the gastronomy, get to know the people, get to know the city. In Faro you will have a completely magnificent place to discover.

This article has been written by George, a writer and traveler. If you’d like to visit Faro and want to rent a car to pick you up at the Faro Airport you may want some information about it, all you need to do is to access www.FaroAirport.eu and with a simple click all your questions will be answered.

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With a poor climate, the economic downturn and the rising cost of living, now may be the time to find a nice little European bolthole where you could ride out the storm. It’s true that in most other European countries your money goes further, the climate is better and the pace of living more relaxed. So whether it is for a holiday home, a retirement property or simply an investment – which European countries offer the most home for your money?

Avila, Spain by World Wide Gifts / License: Creative Commons

Most people, when thinking about moving abroad or investing in property think about France or Spain, but before you think about removals to France or removals to Spain, have you considered the other European countries which offer great value? For instance, Italy has seen prices fall by around 8 to 20% over the last few years and now it is possible to buy a lovely rural, stone built house set in a lovely village for around £150,000. Whilst a larger property, if you are looking to make a permanent move, will cost around £205,000 for a three bedroom hillside house with a barn and large garden in the lush hills of Lucca, Tuscany.

Turkey is also worth a look if you are looking for an affordable place to live or buy a holiday home. Istanbul has some great value apartments which could see you a healthy return for investment. Istanbul has a housing shortage estimated at around 250,000 units per year. This means that buying an apartment here would see no shortage of tenants if you are looking to invest in property as opposed to live there yourself. For instance, a one bedroom apartment in Bahcesehir, which is just 20 minutes from the city centre, will only set you back around £48,000 and makes a superb investment.

Girona, Spain by Europeana EU / License: Creative Commons

Spain has some great deals to be had too. No other European country has such a wide and varied landscape from beautiful beaches, to elegant cities and through to charming town and hidden villages. There are mountains, lush valleys and quiet hidden beaches which you could easily spend a lifetime exploring. With this in mind, it is no wonder that property sales are on the rise. The cost of living in Spain is generally cheaper than the UK and we all know the climate is much better too!

Some great value homes can now be had here such as a two bedroom home in Murcia, South East Spain could be yours for around £45,000. That’s not a lot of money for your home! Take a look on the internet at the range of properties available to buy, next decide on your budget and what you wish to gain from your property. You might be pleasantly surprised at just what you can afford in one of these bargain European destinations!

Written by Helen Mitchell, looking for the best way to move abroad.

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Photo published with a kind permission of its author Paulo Heitlinger

On the area of 105 hectares you can find incredible 700 kinds of trees, including giant Mexican cedar, giant ferns, cypress, plane, evergreen oak, cork, etc. Forest Buçaco is surrounded by a wall which is 5750 meters long and 3 meters high.

The climate is mild with few frosts and exceptionally snow. The annual rainfall is about 1500 mm, with 130 days of rain annually. The temperature ranges between 39-40 ºC in summer and 1 °C in winter. The fogs are very frequent and dense here, and less frequently in spring and winter than in summer and autumn.

Mata Nacional do Buçaco is a popular tourist destination – here you can walk through the forest paths, lakes, fountains and chapels. Beautiful is the local hotel Palácio Hotel do Buçaco, which was originally built in 1907 in an exuberant Neo-Manueline style by the royal family as their residence. Next to it lies the cork church.

View Mata Nacional do Buçaco – protected area in Portugal in a larger map

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At the far shore of the lake you can also visit a majestic Bled Castle.

Bled lake, Slovenia by Mirci

Lake Bled

Lake Bled is considered a symbol of Slovenia. We can find it at the eastern edge of the Julian Alps. Bled is not just a tourist center, but it’s also a spa center with a promenade. There are lots of opportunities for hiking, biking, horseback riding, renting a boat or visiting the thermal pool at nearby hotel Adriatic.

The town dates back to the Habsburg Era, to the early 19th century. The first spa hotel was built here in 1858 by a Swiss doctor Arnold Rikli in relation to its specialization in “Natural Healing”. This first hotel had certainly an important effect on the further tourism developing in this village. Bled is a climatic spa resort with thousands of visitors annually. The local “procedures” include fresh air walking, sport and hiking.

Bled Castle, Slovenia by Sebastian Bergmann

Bled Castle (Blejski Grad)

The castle is situated right on the 140 m high cliff above the Bled lake. In this Baroque castle you can visit a museum focusing on history and culture of the town and surroundings. Its archaeological part shows the history of the region. The castle is open all year round and the basic admission is €8. Further information about Bled Castle you can find on a very nice website here.

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The Danube Delta is considered to be the second largest Delta in all of Europe (just after Volga delta). It is also one of the most well preserved ecological destinations in the country. There are a number of lagoons, which can be found throughout the Delta region, including that of the 1015 square kilometres Razim-Sinoe Lagoon.

Danube Delta, Romania by Acaro

Today, the Danube Delta consists of three main distributaries which includes the Sfântul Gheorghe, Sulina as well as the Chilia. There are also a number of large lakes that can be found within the area that includes the Dranov, Gorgova as well as the Roşu. Among them you will find many of the most fertile and picturesque marshes and lagoons that have made the Danube Delta one of the most popular destinations not just in Romania but also throughout the entire region of Europe.

Thanks to its location along the Black Sea, the area around the Danube Delta features a unique microclimate which results in one of the driest as well as sunniest areas in all of Romania. It is estimated that every year, there are more than 2500 hours of sunshine, which equates to roughly 70 days of clear blue skies. And although there are more than 400 millimetres a year of precipitation there are more than 1000 millimetres a year of evaporation. As a result, the year-round climate associated with the Danube Delta makes it a pristine destination in the country.

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Serra de Tramuntana, Majorca, Spain by Antoni Sureda

The tallest point in the Serra de Tramuntana can be found at the Puig Major which is situated more than 1445 meters above sea level. Not only is it the tallest point in the mountain range, but is also the tallest point in the entire Balearic Islands archipelago. The second tallest point which stands at 1364 meters above sea level is that of Puig de Massanella.

It is interesting to point out that the climate upon the Serra de Tramuntana mountain range is significantly different than that of the rest of the island of Majorca. On an average, the vast majority of the island receives less than 400 millimeters of rain per year. However, as much as 1500 millimetres of rain are received a year within the Serra de Tramuntana Mountains. As a result, the mounds also play an important role in ensuring that the island has sufficient drinking water. It is also the only point on the island which receives snow during wintertime.

Coastline of Serra de Tramuntana, Majorca, Spain by waterborough / Public domain license

Due to the fact that the entire mountain range is a UNESCO designated site, it is also protected and is utilized as a nature reserve in order to prevent the further deforestation of the island and ensure that many of the rare and endangered species that call the island home, continue to do so for many more centuries to come.

The picturesque beauty of the Serra de Tramuntana is one of the main reasons why countless people make their way up into the mountains. From many of the viewing positions along the sides of mountain, anyone is afforded some of the finest views of the entire Balearic Islands archipelago. Needless to say, the awe-inspiring views have inspired countless people over the centuries.

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