Where would you go in March

[TrevorM]

Might have an unexpected kid-free week in March and can't help thinking about the possibility of sneaking away for a quick tour. Where would you go if you had 4-5 days in late March, preferably for a bit of sun or at least no rain. Staying in B&B or similar, 50-60 miles a day. I'm thinking Algarve or southern Spain as it's easy to get to from Belfast. Anyone know what the weather is like then. Or other suggestions.

 

[ThePainInSpain]

As I live near Malaga on the Costa del Sol in Southern Span, I'm probably better placed than most to comment on this region in March.

In a word, changeable or unpredictable. It may feel warm to you, temps in the mid to high teens maybe 20c, which to us is brrrrrrr cold. You will get quite a lot of wind (pre 1960 this coast was called the Costa del Viento or Windy Coast, the name was changed as it was not attractive to tourists) Over a 4 or 5 day period you may see no rain, it may rain every day, it really is hit and miss. that time of the year.

Jan and Feb are the worst two months, normally. So March is just starting to come out of our winter.

There are loads of very reasonable 'Hostels', these are small 2* hotels which are of a much higher standard than a 2* in the UK. We often use them for weekends away. Why pay for all the facilities of a 4* that you ain't gonna use.

Unfortunately the Algarve is on the Atlantic coast and gets battered worse than us.

If you want any more info feel free to ask.............

 

[Crankarm]

Might have an unexpected kid-free week in March and can't help thinking about the possibility of sneaking away for a quick tour. Where would you go if you had 4-5 days in late March, preferably for a bit of sun or at least no rain. Staying in B&B or similar, 50-60 miles a day. I'm thinking Algarve or southern Spain as it's easy to get to from Belfast. Anyone know what the weather is like then. Or other suggestions.

You might have an unexpected kid-free week in March ...................... surely this is a contradiction. It's the start of October 2010 now, March 2011 is the best part of 6 months away. Surely you expect to have or anticipate having a kid-free week therefore it is not unexpected ................ .

 

[ufkacbln]

He could be "plotting" a kid free week?

 

[andym]

You might have an unexpected kid-free week in March ...................... surely this is a contradiction. It's the start of October 2010 now, March 2011 is the best part of 6 months away. Surely you expect to have or anticipate having a kid-free week therefore it is not unexpected ................ .

Erm remember the vache espagnol? His words were 'might have an unexpected' ie he wasn't expecting it, now it's a possibility, and when it becomes probable or definite he will be expecting it. Simples.

The only thing I'd add to what PaininSpain said is to bear in mind altitude - some of the passes, eg in the Alpujarra, could well still have snow.

 

[Amanda P]

Cyprus?

 

[onlineamiga]

The Pain in Spain is absolutely right Im down near Gibraltar, and yeah March is unpredictable. As is october.. Last week it was t-shirts shorts.. this weekend it rained.. now the westerlys have set in and i feel like i need to put a jumper on!

 

[ColinJ]

I've had 8 cycling holidays on the Costa Blanca in the second half of March. I think 4 were glorious - dry, sunny, temperatures 18-26 degrees. 2 were pretty good, mostly sunny, temperatures 15-21 degrees, a few gloomy days and the odd shower, a couple of really windy days. One was disappointing - lots of gloomy days, windy, only a few sunny days, a couple of really wet days. One 2 week holiday was very disappointing - temperatures 10-14 degrees at sea level, really cold in the mountains (snow and freezing fog on the peaks), lots of rain in the first week, a little sunshine in the second.

From that experience then, you'd have a 75% chance of good weather on the Costa Blanca in the second half of March. When it is good, it is very good. When it is bad, it can be pretty bad! Alicante climate stats

 

[TheDoctor]

Canaries? The islands, not the sports team from Norwich.

 

[ThePainInSpain]

The only thing I'd add to what PaininSpain said is to bear in mind altitude - some of the passes, eg in the Alpujarra, could well still have snow.

If you stay reasonably close to the coast, the only snow you're likely to see in March is on the tops of the Sierra Nevada's

 

[ColinJ]

If you stay reasonably close to the coast, the only snow you're likely to see in March is on the tops of the Sierra Nevada's

I rode round from Guadalest to Benidorm via the Confrides and Tudons climbs mid-March once and there was snow on the  Serra d'Aitana where the military comms towers are and freezing fog on the Tudons below. I was caught out by how cold it was, that close to the Mediterranean! There were deep gouges in the road from the snow ploughs that had been out a few weeks before.  

 

[andym]

If you stay reasonably close to the coast, the only snow you're likely to see in March is on the tops of the Sierra Nevada's

I wasn't trying to put him off - just making the point that you need to consider altitude when planning where to go - not just because of snow but also because of the temperature differential.

I know someone who did the TransAndalus in March who cycled/pushed through 6 kilometres of snow on one stretch (which would have been well below 2000m).

 

[jay clock]

I have toured a couple of times in mid-March in Spain and Portugal. On each trip we had good to very good weather with one terrible day near Alicante on the Spanish trip.

Spain March 12 2005 here http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/almeriavalencia2005

Portugal March 2008 here http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/?o=RrzKj&doc_id=3379&v=2G

However (an it is a big one) in mid March 2006 I had a week booked in Spain (Almeria to Sevilla I think) and two days before leaving the forecast was 10 days of rain and 12 degrees. We decided to cancel and change our flights for a June trip to Santiago

I have also done the route from Malaga to Faro (in Oct last year) see here http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/malagatofaro if you want ideas etc

Finally, the Canaries would be warm and sunny in March, but not really a cycle touring location, more of a road ride day trip place. I went for a week's tri training last March and am going again next year (Lanzarote)

Happy touring!

Julian

 

[bigjim]

I cycle in Mallorca most winter months and only been caught out once with a very wet week but not bad enough to stop cycling. You've come to ride so you ride! just dive in a hot bath back at the hotel. Snow is extremely rare and I've been eating outside enjoying the sunshine in January. I think most of the pro teams are out there in the winter so it must work for them. There again this side of the equator it is always a gamble.

 

[andym]

I cycle in Mallorca most winter months and only been caught out once with a very wet week but not bad enough to stop cycling. You've come to ride so you ride! just dive in a hot bath back at the hotel. Snow is extremely rare and I've been eating outside enjoying the sunshine in January. I think most of the pro teams are out there in the winter so it must work for them. There again this side of the equator it is always a gamble.

The important factor is altitude: the temperature falls by 6.5 degrees for every 1000 metres of altitude. So at 1500 metres (not desperately high) you could easily get nightime temperatures below freezing, even if it's relatively warm and sunny during the day at sea-level. So I'd definitely recommend Andalusia but check the altitudes when planning a route.