Well you know where i'll be Helen . Egypt

Easter is fairly late next year ,end April so you have that on your side if you choose somewhere closer . i'm thinking if you want to combine something more city break with maybe the chance of relaxing how about going for something for a week where you could hire a car and get around a bit . Maybe sorrento in Italy (never been but on the list) where you could do some exploring . loads of history around there with Pompei etc. .Or keeping with the Italian theme maybe Tuscany . the lady I work for went at Easter this year and loved it . So many small towns and villages to explore . You could probably do that fairly cheaply with a budget flight into Pisa and hire a farmhouse with a pool for a week (think she paid around £500 for a nice one). i've been reading the guide book she lent me and it looks fabulous . hoping to go next october .

I will be home for Easter as we will be away in Gozo in May.

For a cheapy week at that time of year you may as well fly out to Spain..the weather will be nice and it will be relatively early in the season so you will not be snided out with idiots...

As for City breaks..well continuing on the Italian theme..how about Rome?

Are you on a budget and restricted by dates Helen ? If you are one of the things I think of with the Red Sea area is that it is always expensive during the two weeks of the school Easter holidays. I have been looking and there really is little under £600 per person for a week.

How about Luxor ? Then you get good weather, it's slightly cheaper than Sharm, lots of nice hotels on the banks of the nile and apparently there is loads of interest to see. Otherwise perhaps a short break to somewhere in Spain, like Madrid or Barcelona, if you only go for 4 days you maybe you could book into a posh hotel ?

Doe

Yes Helen is restricted to school hoolidays.

luci

And next year the Easter break for holiday companies is a four week stretch due to schools having different weeks off.

Last day at school can be 1st, 8th or 15th April and no doubt holiday companies are taking advantage of this fact.

For a cheapy week at that time of year you may as well fly out to Spain..the weather will be nice

Which is exactly where hubby and I have booked to go. La Carihuela, CDS to be exact. I think what's putting Helen off coming with us is that we didn't have very warm weather when we were in Benidorm last Easter. I'm crossing my fingers it will be better this year as it's middle to end of April as oposed to the start of April last year. The weather in La Carihuela the Easter before wsn't too bad actually.

In any case, I'm not bothered if we're unlucky with the weather because it's a week's break from home and I paid peanuts for it with a cheap flight from our local airport

I know Helen has been seriously thinking of Egypt and may yet decide to go there.

shirley h wrote:

I know Helen has been seriously thinking of Egypt and may yet decide to go there.

Not sure, but I think if its the Red sea, Taba Heights, Hurgarda, Nuwebia, Marsa Alam etc all seem to be a bit cheaper than Sharm for some reason. Perhaps it's because Sharm is more developed. Luxor also seemed more reasonable even the 5*'s like the Sheraton, Sofitel, Sonesta although I would think a completely different holiday and you then need money for trips, which you dont really need in the red sea, unless you are going to do lots of diving when I guess costs mount up.

Spain is a bit hit and miss in April weather wise, as I have been when it's hot but also when its not - this was years ago when my Mum had a small place in the South, it's lovely for a break though if you are not bothered about guaranteed hot weather - perhaps an apartment and then if the weather isn't great at least you aren't confined to one room if you want to stay indoors.

Doe

My alternative suggestion would be Cyprus, friends have an apartment near Paphos and have usually had good weather at the end of April.....Caz

We got chatting to People at arrivals in Gatwick last Easter. We were complaining that the weather hadn't been too special in Morocco and they said that they'd just landed back from Cyprus, where it had been cold for the whole of their holiday.

I know the weather is pot luck but there are a minority of places where the chance of beautiful sunshine is much greater. I'd say Egypt is the best bet but as has been said Sharm is a bit pricey in peak weeks.

Greece is fantastic for Easter, the biggest holiday & celebration of their year. It doesn't always coincide with UK dates, but 2011 does.
I am not religious at all, but I always get a bit emotional at Easter here. Friday night there is a church service, followed by the Epitaphos procession through the streets, with many people following with lit candles. On the Saturday night the service starts at around 11pm, then at midnight the lights go out & the priest lights the candles nearest him (from his), they in turn light neighbouring people in the crowd until it's just a mass of candlelight. This is the joyful time, the greeting is 'Christos Anesti' (Christ has arisen), the reply being 'Alithos Anesti' (he has truly arisen). Then it's time to go & eat after the fasting of lent. There are several traditional foods eaten at this time, some nicer than others!
Easter Sunday is the day for big eating & drinking again, mainly with family, but in larger towns & cities you will see tavernas with a huge spit roast outside & a wonderful holiday atmosphere.
I haven't done enough posts yet to provide links otherwise I could lead to some great info & pictures!
Any other details you want, or ideas on where to stay, just ask!

I agree, we love Easter in Greece as well. It can be very noisy, especially in Symi where the boys lke burying dynamite in the hills over the Harbour and setting it off. Yes, we did lose a glazed door one year with the blast.

When the priest gathers everyone in the church courtyard after midnight with their candles, he starts his Christos Anesti address and the boys are up in the belltower, chucking bangers down at him. He is quite longsuffering, but only on that one occasion.

We have already booked for Easter next year.

Thanks for all your replies. I've been away for a couple of days, otherwise I would have seen all your posts earlier. Thanks for replying on my behalf Luci - yes we break up on the 15 th April, so I have 2 weeks to play with. If we decide on Egypt, then Sharm would be the best option as we can fly there from Cardiff. We'd have to travel 4 hours to get to any other airport. What sort of weather could we expect in Greece at this time of year then?

I dont think weather will come into it, charter flights to Greece start the 1st weekend in may, scheduled flights to either Athena or Thessaloníki are available from some Major airports but expensive and may incur a stop or change on route

yasus
wizard

- -back to the drawing board then!

I dont think weather will come into it, charter flights to Greece start the 1st weekend in may, scheduled flights to either Athena or Thessaloníki are available from some Major airports but expensive and may incur a stop or change on route

Not necessarily. Ok, Cardiff or Bristol may not be an option for direct flights, but there are quite a few choices to Athens, also sometimes Rhodes & Crete. Price can be good too if you get in early with EJ or when offers are on with Aegean (sign up for email alerts), sometimes even with BA. Friend booked return Athens-Manchester with EJ for €93 in November. To many Greek airports now the charter flights are actually much more expensive, maybe some cheap offers on the heavily Brit tourist spots.
I watch the flight prices constantly as a Brit living in Greece, finding the best time for family to visit!