Cruise the Nile, explore Carthage, swim with sharks, visit holy sites, celebrate the Great Night of Shiva and take a hot air balloon ride over alien landscapes – let us tell you where to vacation in early spring.
Tunisia
The country in March is not suitable for beach vacations – it is still cool for swimming. But it is a good time for sightseeing: it is not so hot and there are not so many tourists.
Not far from the city of Tunis, the ruins of the famous Carthage are a large-scale archaeological monument. All preserved objects of the ancient city are included in the UNESCO list. Another attraction worth visiting in Tunisia is the amphitheater in El Djem, the largest in North Africa. It is second in size only to the Colosseum in Rome and the amphitheater in Capua, near Naples. Built in the 3rd century BC, the structure was capable of seating 60,000 spectators. The amphitheater in El Djem has been well preserved due to the local climate.
Visit the photogenic town of Sidi Bou Said, which is reminiscent of the Greek island of Santorini: all the buildings here are painted in white and blue. A camel ride into the Sahara is not to be missed, with dozens of options, including the Great Eastern Erg dunes, where Star Wars episodes were filmed.
Tunisia is home to one of the most beautiful parts of the Sahara, the Great Eastern Erg
Most programs include a tour of the set west of Towsar, which takes about an hour. However, the iconic saga was filmed in five different locations, and if you want to visit all of them, you’ll need to find a local guide. Such a tour will take a full day and cost around two hundred dollars per person (this is an approximate price, a lot will depend on your arrangements with the guides).
Seychelles
For a traditional seaside vacation, you can fly to the Seychelles. Yes, it will not be cheap and you will have to take a connecting flight, but it is worth it: Seychelles is a country of eternal summer, tropical forests and beaches to suit all tastes.
Hotels and bungalows are a bit simpler than, for example, in the Maldives, but diving and snorkeling – one of the most interesting in the world: while diving you can see sailfish, oceanic dark and white-tip sharks, mantas, whale sharks, napoleon fish, green parrot fish, rays and other inhabitants of the underwater world.
The main underwater attraction of the islands is the coral reefs that surround them, different in color and shape. The water is very warm, so you can spend hours in the ocean looking at the fish.
Israel
Noisy, colorful, very different Israel in March will suit those travelers who like to walk a lot and do not like the heat. The sun shines here almost all year round and already by the end of April becomes very angry. But March is a real spring month, the time of swollen buds and fresh grass.
Israel is a concentration of shrines of the three major religions of mankind. These are Christianity, Judaism and Islam. Thus, it is hard to imagine a trip to Jerusalem without visiting the Wailing Wall, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre or the Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa Mosque. There is the Gehenna of Fire, the Garden of Gethsemane, and Golgotha.
Israel is washed by the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. It is also home to the Dead Sea, which has the highest salt content in the world. It is worth coming to the Dead Sea to have your picture taken lying on the water with a newspaper and a cup of coffee in your hands, and, of course, to feel the healing power of the water and mud.
Near the resorts of Ein Bokek and Ein Gedi is another biblical landmark, the Lot’s Wife salt pillar.
UAE
The United Arab Emirates is located in the southwest of the Arabian Peninsula and has access to the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean.
There are seven emirates in the UAE, the most popular among them is Dubai. Everything here is tourist-oriented and it has the most opportunities for recreation and entertainment. Recently, Abu Dhabi has been catching up with it: the service there is almost the same as in Dubai, but there are fewer people.
Spring is the best time to visit the UAE because there is no heat yet, in summer temperatures can reach +50 °C. The sea can be cool, although the temperature rarely drops below +21 °C. Many hotels heat their swimming pools to +27-28 °C, so you can swim in them: there is sea water there too.
One of the features of a vacation in Dubai is the combination of the beach and skyscrapers that come right up to the water. It is also home to the world’s tallest building – the Burj Khalifa high-rise, archipelagos of palm trees and Dubai Mall – the largest shopping center in the world.
Philippines
The Philippines in March is a guaranteed beach vacation, with the ocean water warming up to +28 °C. If you like warmth and exoticism, the Philippines is the perfect place: in addition to the standard diving and snorkeling, you can swim with huge whale sharks, which feed only on plankton and are not dangerous to humans.
Boracay Island (White Beach) is considered to have some of the most tourist-friendly beaches in the world. The strong winds characteristic of this area make it ideal for water sports, the whole area is full of bars and restaurants, and the coastal waters, rich in reefs and shipwrecks, attract diving enthusiasts.
Important: there are many restrictions on the island. You can’t smoke, drink alcohol or build sandcastles on the beaches. There are many sea urchins in the water, so you will need special slippers for swimming.
Hotels and resort areas are also located on the islands of Balabac, Cebu, Bantayan, Bohol. The latter refers to inexpensive resorts.
Cyprus
Cyprus is especially beautiful in early spring when everything is in bloom. In addition, the temperature is ideal for sightseeing and excursions, whereas in summer you are unlikely to be able to do so because of the intense heat. However, the sea is still cold: the bathing season opens at the end of May.
The Greek part of the island is relatively small, and in 7-10 days you can drive all over it. In the Troodos Mountains is Kikkos, the main Orthodox monastery of Cyprus, which houses the Kikkos Icon of the Mother of God, revered by the Orthodox. Pay attention also to the archaeological museum in Nicosia. It consists of 14 halls that span from prehistoric Cyprus to the Roman period.
In Larnaca, in Choirokoitia there are more than a hundred houses with unusual flat roofs and structures known as the Great Pyramids of Cyprus, which look like Egyptian ones. Scientists date them to the seventh millennium B.C. and assume that they are the remains of buildings of an ancient civilization that lived here before the era of the ancient Greeks.
Spain
In early spring you should go to Barcelona – a city with a special flavor, lush vegetation, perfectly preserved quarter of ancient buildings and creations of the great Antoni Gaudi.
You should visit the Sagrada Familia, the Sagrada Familia, the main creation of the great architect Gaudi. The five-nave church, built in neo-Gothic and Art Nouveau style, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In the city you can also admire other Gaudi’s creations: La Pedrera, Park Güell and the Casa Batlló.
Another attraction of Barcelona is the singing fountains on Mount Montjuïc. The beautiful ensembles occupy three thousand square meters, and the main bowl in the form of an ellipse is 65 meters long and 59 meters wide. In the evenings there is a fountain show – the lights are turned on and the water jets begin to move to the rhythm of music.
Here you can stroll along the bustling main street, la Rambla: Barcelona has its own special atmosphere. Here the sea sounds uniquely on the concrete blocks of the city’s beach, and the smell of fresh fish, flowers and oysters in the old market is unforgettable.
Mauritius
Mauritius is an alternative to Maldives and Seychelles. This island has become a favorite destination for many tourists, because the service and hotels here are at a high level. Beaches are not inferior to Maldives or Seychelles: the same fine sand, palm trees and the picture from the “Bounty” advertisement. Mauritius has no poisonous fauna, but there are a lot of sea urchins that like to hide in the sand, so wear special slippers – aquashuzi.
Vacationing here will cost less than on the above islands.
Mauritius is a tropical island with a humid climate, a good alternative to the Maldives
March marks the festival of Maha-Shivaratri, the Great Night of the god Shiva. Shiva is considered one of the most revered gods of Mauritius and festivals in his honor are held several times a year. Maha-Shivaratri is the main one. People take to the streets on this night and carry statues of Shiva out of temples, joining spontaneous processions, singing songs and offering prayers.
Portugal
The cities with the greatest concentration of attractions are Lisbon and Porto. In the former you can wander the medieval streets of the Alfama district and take photos at a dozen observation platforms overlooking the city and the ocean, ride the yellow streetcar number 28 and the 1902 open elevator through the center, taste the local dessert of pâtel de nata and green wine. The second is to see the historic center of the city, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the medieval fortress walls, baroque churches and the narrow streets of the Ribeira quarter.
The city of Coimbra, home to Portugal’s oldest university, and beautiful Sintra, located on the northern slopes of the wooded hills of the Serra de Sintra massif, are also interesting.
Egypt
March in Egypt is better used not for beach vacations, but for traveling around the country – the water in most regions is just beginning to warm up. This is another cradle of ancient civilization, but tourists are often limited to the hotel, the sea and the Great Pyramids in Giza because of the hot climate.
You can explore Egypt’s ancient heritage (and feel like a character in Agatha Christie’s Death Comes at the End) on a Nile cruise. If you go on this journey, you will be able to see the temples of Karnak, Luxor, Kom Ombo, the Valley of the Kings and other iconic sites.
Alexandria, Luxor – thanks to the dry climate and abundance of sand, the great cities along the Nile, which were built long before the birth of Christ, are magnificently preserved.
