What to wear!

[doones2]

What will the weather be like mid May in the western Mediterranean?  First time.  It’s easy to pack for the Caribbean.

[John Bull]

 

Weather-wise I suggest you pack much the same as for the Caribbean, altho perhaps not so very very hot.

Evenings - particularly at sea - can be just a little cool, so perhaps a light jacket or a pashmina or similar. And of course a light waterproof.

 

But since you're likely to be exploring cities, I suggest you avoid Hawaiian shirts and other garish apparel - stick to more-conservative colours.

Even in cities, tailored shorts are fine for both men and women, but beware of the dress requirements of some religious sites such as the Vatican.

 

Some folk advise that you "dress like a local", but that seems a little pointless cos you'll still be recognised as a visitor on vacation 😏.  To sit at a table outside a Spanish or Italian restaurant and have the waiter approach saying "good morning, sir - here's a menu in English " can be quite soul-destroying 😀

But altho you can't avoid looking like a foreign vacationer, dressing rather conservatively will help avoid looking like a dumb foreign vacationer who's ripe for petty theft or scamming.

 

JB 🙂

[CruiserBruce]

For the weather, Google search a couple of your ports. For example "Barcelona May weather".

[CynBeth6]

We will hopefully be on a cruise this summer plus time before and after visiting Span, France, and Italy and will see some cathedrals.  When they say shirts should not have promotional things does that include a shirt that has that city or country’s name or pictures of attractions?

[MAVIP]

On 2/2/2023 at 2:18 PM, CynBeth6 said:

We will hopefully be on a cruise this summer plus time before and after visiting Span, France, and Italy and will see some cathedrals.  When they say shirts should not have promotional things does that include a shirt that has that city or country’s name or pictures of attractions?

Yes

[MAVIP]

On 2/2/2023 at 1:48 AM, doones2 said:

What will the weather be like mid May in the western Mediterranean?  First time.  It’s easy to pack for the Caribbean.

minimum about 57,2 F and max about 75.2 F.  Donot forget to pack a light woolen sweater, just in case....

[sleepingcat]

Just to add, as you say 'first time', French, Italian and Spanish women are nearly all very stylish dressers, much more than we are in the UK for example. Especially somewhere like Barcelona, or any of the large cities. They ve got smart casual off to a T. So although as JB says above, I will never look like a local (Im way too tall, apart from anything else) I do raise my game a bit compared to what I would wear on holiday in the UK.  

 

 

[Kiwi Brenda]

On 2/3/2023 at 2:18 AM, CynBeth6 said:

When they say shirts should not have promotional things does that include a shirt that has that city or country’s name or pictures of attractions?

Just wondering who are “they”? Is this in general or to visit particular places/sites? I’ve only seen restrictions of having shoulders and knees covered for churches… Heading to the Mediterranean in April. Thanks 

[CynBeth6]

4 minutes ago, Kiwi Brenda said:

Just wondering who are “they”? Is this in general or to visit particular places/sites? I’ve only seen restrictions of having shoulders and knees covered for churches… Heading to the Mediterranean in April. Thanks 

What I mean by they is for the attractions that are cathedrals have looked on the websites for those places for requirements as to how to dress and if you can have a bag with you and for clothing it mentioned on some of them that you cannot have a shirt with something promotional so was not sure if that meant a name of a city or a picture of attractions of that city or a sports team. 

[Kiwi Brenda]

Thanks @CynBeth6 usually dress for churches as my MIL would 😊 Didn’t want to get caught out somewhere unexpectedly