Where and when is hot in spring in Europe with cheap flights suitable for large family gathering?

[Terrapinn]

Significant birthday would like to get extended family together (all adults). Looking for somewhere that will be guaranteed hot and near enough if some only want to fly out for 3 nights. Doesnt have to be beach. Off peak season / not school holidays. Any ideas where I should target my search?

Can you be a bit more specific on the dates? Spring starts on 21 March, when nowhere in Europe is hot, and ends on 21 June, when everywhere south of Paris is hot (at least, by my definition of "hot"; an idea of a daytime high temperature would be useful too). 🙏

I agree, what are your dates?

In general I would say Canaries or Cyrpus but that's quite a journey for 3 days.

Tenerife or Gran Canaria.

The sooner you are planning on leaving the cooler it will be, by May southern Europe is pretty warm by day but take a jacket for the evening, earlier go to canaries, Cyprus, Crete, Sicily maybe or southern Spain is warming up

Thanks @samarrange - I dont have any dates - these would just be when it is hot enough for an outdoor daytime garden party. Not looking for sunbathing weather - think nice hot day in UK summertime - but in the spring in Europe.

I had thought of Canaries and Cyprus but 4hr flights would be too much for the 3 dayers.

Nice, France? Short flights, and great local public transport so you don’t need to stay right in the centre. You can get a 3 day travel card and use the new tram, the buses, or the trains - we went for the TdF last year and went out to Monaco, Antibes, and Villefranch sur Mer. The trams makes it v easy to get to and from the airport too.

Not sure on price of flights but I’d look at the Algarve.

Malta?

So looks like May - or even into June then. We would need to avoid half term to reduce flight and costs. So southern France, Spain or Portugal realistically for guaranteed warmth? Are islands Sardinia/Malta etc likely to be cooler? What about places like Slovenia, Bulgaria are they too far away for a long weekend?

Croatia is only a couple of hours flight and lovely weather in May!

Oh, I would call that warm rather than hot... anyway, almost anywhere south of a horizontal line drawn through Milan will be fine from mid-May onwards.

The next question would be accommodation. How many people going? Are they all going to sleep in the same humongous villa, or are you going to let them pick hotels from cheap to posh and just all meet up somewhere for the party?

Seville?

I am thinking either one main house - or sole use of 4-6 units with outside space to cater for informal brunches/BBQ/dinner - but the main party night would be in another more fancy venue. Core group would be 20ish (main house) maybe up to 40 - extra's staying nearby.

The South of France.

This ought to be doable in Spain, with cheap flights to places like Girona or Alicante. Or France, but that's a more expensive country generally. Portugal I don't know.

Finding the exact accommodation within your budget (which I assume is not infinite) will be the tricky part, as 10/12-bedroom properties tend to be at the luxury end of the market, but at least such places (and the infrastructure to support their renters) exist in Spain. You might not have a lot of choice in Slovenia or Bulgaria.

I assume that for a project on this scale you will be wanting to fly out and check the situation on the ground (transfers, taxis, shopping, etc) first, before you put down what is likely to be a substantial deposit.

We were in Puglia last May and it was lovely - not roasting, but warm enough. Having a quick look at Booking.com - there are a few Masserias / Trulli complexes with enough room for 20. It's quite reasonably priced generally. If pushing the boat out look at Borgo Egnazia. https://www.borgoegnazia.com/

I did a quick count up and it would be 30 people - might be too big for one property. Another thought to keep budget in check (and away from the luxury end) would be a mountain chalet which are booked up in ski season but maybe available late May / early June. Or a small hotel - will have to look at costs closer to see if we can avoid asking our guests to pay for their own accomodation - or is that expected anyway / socially acceptable (we provide food / drink / activities for 3 days)?

Maybe southern coast of Spain or Portugal? Malta could also work. Seville, Granada, Alicante, Marbella all lovely cities
Should be warm enough for sitting outside but it could rain though especially if you’re talking March rather than late April/May. By May anywhere in southern Europe should be warm enough for sitting outside.

Currently in Morocco (Outskirts of Marrakesh) and it’s boiling. 3 hr flight from Gatwick, hotel only 15 minutes from the airport so really easy.