Where for my 40th at Easter?

[mamnotmum]

Please help me decide where to holiday at Easter for my 40th birthday. I definitely want to be out of England.

I'll be with my husband and two children 11 and 15. I don't want to fly more than 5 hours. Other than that I really don't know.

Thanks

We went to Naples last Easter. It was great (and the hotel gave us Easter eggs 😋).

We loved Morocco, lots to see and do.

Jordan would be even better but think things need to calm down a bit.

Cyprus? Their Easter will be a bit later so you wouldn’t run into closures.

Name 2 rhing you want to do and one thing each for the kids and your partner.

Malta is fab.

Sicily

I think as it’s a special birthday you should think about what you would actually really like to do for it. That may not be necessarily what you think you are meant to do for it.

If you do want to go away I would start by thinking what you would really like to be doing while away. Are you looking for a beach holiday? City break? Remote or more busy? Just list what would be your ideal and you might find something perfect.

If you want a city break type destination, research in advance opening hours over Easter weekend. By that I mean we were in Naples Easter 2023 and all public transport ground to a halt on Easter Sunday between midday(ish) and about 6pm. The sites stayed open but you need trains and buses to get/to from Vesuvius, Herculaneum, Pompeii. It's fine, you just need to plan with that in mind. We went to Malta last Easter, weather was great. They had Easter parades in lots of the towns (we went to the ones in Victoria on Gozo) on the evening of Good Friday and the morning of Easter Sunday. All the museums and sights shut all day on Good Friday, and the main cathedral in Valletta was shut all day on Maundy Thursday as well. Seville is another place with good Easter parades for Semana Santa.

Slightly left-field suggestion - Riga. If the weather's nice, which it might be, you can go to the lovely beach at Jurmala as well as doing city-type things.

Cyprus is fabulous for families or canaries for guaranteed warmth☀

How do you want to spend your time on holiday? Do you like to relax by the pool, go hiking, visit museums, etc.? What kind of weather do you prefer? This will help us give you better suggestions.

OP want a chilled AI kind of place or more bustling city situation?

Thanks for the ideas. I honestly have no idea what I want to do. Family time. Relaxing a little but we'd hate sitting around a pool all day or being in art galleries all day. I've almost forgotten what I like to do - every holiday for the past 18 years has been about what will make the children happy!

The dates are set in stone though due to school/work hols so we will be away over Easter itself.

Do you like active holidays? What feels like a real treat to do at home? That might be a lead

Marrakech is good.

You can book a hotel with a pool in the western area of the city and also wander in the old medina and market.

No worries about Easter closing because it's Muslim.

My teens loved it. Sufficiently different to be interesting.

Andalucia in Southern Spain is amazing around Easter. Huge parades through towns like Rhonda with all sorts of odd costumes for Easter. The weather is usually warm and pleasant though not hot. Lots of beautiful mountain towns to explore and countryside walks, you could stop down to Cadiz on the coast too. You would need a car though.

Lisbon is a nice Easter city break with decent warmth and lots to explore and a really fun vibe.

we went to Cappadocia in Turkey one Easter. It is such an interesting area. Google it. My teens loved it so much one went back with their friends the summer after A-levels. It’s not hot at Easter though as it’s in an elevated position.

its hard to recommend without knowing what you want to do, whether you want to drive, what food you love etc.

Does it need to be hot?

Some of the higher European ski resorts will still have snow at the end of April.

If you're only looking to fill a long weekend then Iceland is nice.