Looking for a 4 day get-away...suggestions?

DH and I want to get away for a nice, relaxing 4 day trip (with travel days before and after)...preferably somewhere it's not cold, dreary and well...blah.  We'd like to go in or around March.  We've been checking out the Maldives but it's too long of a flight (about 11 hours) for just a 4-day jaunt.  Also, we want to steer clear of anything that we can easily get to from the states...we can go to the Bahamas, Mexico, FL, etc anytime when we're back in the US.

So...all you refined travellers out there...where'd ya go and what do you recommend?

I'd try somewhere in the Mediterranean, it's not too far to fly to from the UK but should be pretty warm by March or April, especially the most southern areas. I'd try Spain, Portugal, Italy and Greece.

We just got back from Tenerife.  4 hour flight, very cheap.

AMAZING place, but the food is so-so, unless you get to small towns.  Otherwise, beaches, mountains, crazy driving courses, museums, churches, ruins, brand shopping...  a lot of interesting birds and plants.  Spring should be great.

We brought back cactus liquor, saffron marinade and camel cheese.  Oh, and plastic religious figurines.  I was very happy to get all the food through customs!  (home-made and unlabeled.)

We were there for 5 days, and it wasn't enough to go everywhere we wanted to.

Friends are coming back from Morocco tomorrow.  I can give you their impression, if you like.

Everyone I know who has gone to Malta has complained about the food.

Hey, is there a travel forum somewhere here that I just haven't seen?  I need tips, too!  (We booked through holiday express, as you can shop by price.  They have 'don't mind' as a destination choice on their website.)

What about North Africa? Always hot and sunny and about 4-5 hours flying time and can be done quite cheaply.  You could do the Egypt-pyramids-Nile thing or I hear Tunisia & Morrocco are good places to visit and have some nice resorts.

We're headed to Portugal next month for Half Term (the Algarve region).  Only a 2 1/2 hour flight, which is a huge plus in my book, though it's not exactly going to be tropical in Feb (mid-60s on average, I think).  Should be a little warmer in March, though, and still off-season prices.  I'm excited about what we've learned about the area so far and would be happy to share my research with you (we're renting a villa with friends from the States, but I also looked into hotels before we decided to go the "villa with friends" route), but won't be able to say whether I recommend it until next month!

Other plaes we considered were Tenerife (or elsewhere in the Canary Islands) and Cyprus.  I would think Morocco would be fab, too.

Are you leaving the kids behind?  So jealous...

I agree with Britwife on Morrocco. We were there last March for our anniversary and the weather was fantastic. 80 degrees for the whole time we were there.

Any of the Greek islands. There are some decent deals on at the moment. We did a week at the Lindos Princess on Rhodes a couple of years ago and it was just what the doctor ordered. We'd go back for sure.

Cyprus would be nice and hot too....

i heartily endorse the west coast of ireland, especially galway & connemara, including the aran islands.

LOVE all the suggestions...thank you so much for your input. It's so much easier to dive into the details after someone makes a good suggestion....there are just SOOO many places that it's hard to narrow down the search.  With all your help I think I'm able to do that!  Again...thank you!

 

Are you leaving the kids behind?  So jealous...

Definitely!  We're trying to get DH's mom out to visit for a few weeks and then leave her behind for 5 or 6 days...not sure she'll go for it but we'll see. 

Any of the Greek islands. There are some decent deals on at the moment. We did a week at the Lindos Princess on Rhodes a couple of years ago and it was just what the doctor ordered. We'd go back for sure.
Cyprus would be nice and hot too....

We're going to steer clear of Greece for now as we have some very close friends that live in Athens...since we can just stay with them, we'll bring the kids and get them to take us all over the place   Can't wait for that this summer!

We just got back from Tenerife. 
Friends are coming back from Morocco tomorrow.  I can give you their impression, if you like.

I'd love to hear what they thought!

How abut Sardinia? Or the Canary Islands?  Cyprus? Malta? Tunisia? One of my favorite places within a 4 hour flight is Beirut, but unfortunately I would not recommend traveling there at the moment as the situation is volatile.

My wife and I went to Morocco last March and it was about 80. We flew to Sevilla and took the train & ferry down to Marrakech.  It was warm and sunny. But I must say, I thought Morocco overall was over-rated.  Everywhere we turned, somebody was trying to rip us off, short-change us or pilfer through our backpacks, etc. It was especially bad in Tangier. STAY AWAY FROM TANGIER! 

We did both Sardinia and Sorrento last year and loved them both.  Great combination of local atmosphere with just enough to keep you occupied for 4 days.  We would like to go back to both but there's just so much to see!

How hot does it really get in places like Tunisia or Sardinia? I've been looking around and all the travel sites say that the average March temps are in the 60s F. Is that right??

I agree with Britwife on Morrocco. We were there last March for our anniversary and the weather was fantastic. 80 degrees for the whole time we were there.

the Kasbah of Ait Benhaddou  near to Marrakesh, Morocco.

You must see Marrarech expect on August because it is to hot ..I go there every year..

Marrarech known as the "Red City or Al Hamra," is a city in southwestern Morocco in the foothills of the Atlas Mountains.




You can get Air+hotel for two from £250 per person for 3 nights  from www.expedia.co.uk..
Try Riayds not Hotels...





See this link and don't forget the interactive map..

http://lexicorient.com/morocco/marrakech.htm

try took also

•   Essaouira
•   Fes       
•   Ouarzazate

 
Dont try Casablanca/Rabat/tanger...Always go the South .

Kal

How hot does it really get in places like Tunisia or Sardinia? I've been looking around and all the travel sites say that the average March temps are in the 60s F. Is that right??

I always thought those were the hotter places and that they'd be a bit warmer than 60s.... Having said that we usually take our sunshine holiday in May and it's usually just starting to warm up then, so maybe 60s or so is about right for March. I think Malta and Cyprus are meant to be slightly hotter than some other places too.

Florence is always lovely.  Romantic, great weather, and only two hours away from here:

It's Cinque Terre on the Italian riveria and it's the most beautiful place I've ever been.  It would make a great two-day juant from Florence.  There are actually five villages along the coast.  The land is protected as a national park, so there are no commericial hotels or restaurants.  It's just authentic Italian hospitality.