Salonee

We are three 25 yr old women planning to go to Spain for 7 days in the last week of August. Have already been to Barcelona so not planning to go there again. Thought of going to Madrid instead. Not too interested in museums though don't mind a few historical and cultural structures/ monuments and experiences. Also we would be using public transport - buses and trains so need places we can easily reach to.

A tentative plan was to spend 2 days in Madrid and do 2 one day trips to Toledo and Segovia. Are both worth it or should we skip one. We have 3 days so maybe one or two days at a good beach. I did look up on Spain but there are soo many places that look interesting that I couldn't really decide where we should go and we don't have time to do them all.

I would really appreciate any help that would give me some clarity.

Thanks

stfc

Forgive me if I'm being a bit dull on a Saturday morning, but isn't Madrid somewhat in the middle of Spain? Likewise Toledo and Segovia? Bit of a drive to a beach.

johnthedorf

I would check out the Basque Country for beaches. San Sebastian specifically. www.sansebastianturismo.com

ribeirasacra

As said Madrid is exactly in the middle of Spain.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ma...DelSol_Km0.jpg
before we all suggest a million beaches, could you please describe what is best in your opinion?
Clean- quiet- entertainment- isolated- surfing etc etc

Skoop2

If you're going to Seville, you can easily get down to the Cadiz area. There are gorgeous beaches down there. Canos de Meca is a fun, young area with tons of cool little pensions along the water. But isn't Madrid a bit of a boring big city for three 25-year-old girls who don't like museums? Have you thought about Granada instead? It's got an amazing youthful vibe, tons of tapas-ridden bars, awesome shopping, some really cool places to stay in the Moorish section, and the Alhambra-it's unbeleivable in the summer. That puts you close to the coast, in partiular Tarif. I always wanted to stay at the Hurricane Hotel on the beach (never got to... yet) www.hotehurricane.com.

bobthenavigator

Surely you jest !
Madrid is on a high plateau in the heart of Spain and hundreds of miles from any beach---try Salamanca instead.

Skoop2

Of course I meant Tarifa-not Tarif.

victor_d

It is doable a 3 days trip to some coastal town or city with a beach.

Nearest to Madrid is Valencia, 350km, with very good connections by public transport. The city have some monuments and places of interest plus have a good beach you can get to easily with public transport (ther are better off the city but not easy to get unless you have a car)

http://www.turisvalencia.es/home.aspx
beaches
http://www.turisvalencia.es/MuestraH...nto=Descubre07

http://www.cac.es/

Malaga is another place to consider, not as close to Madrid as Valencia, but very easy to get there by high speed train. I don't know if the beaches in the city are good or not.
http://www.malagaturismo.com/home.jsp

Alicante would be my third choice, have very good beaches in the city, specially San Juan. Very good connections with Madrid by public transport.
http://www.alicanteturismo.com/

zeppole

I would get on a flight to bilbao and go to san sebastian, and skip madrid entirely given your lack of interest in museums and "not minding" historical structures. Just go to San Sebastian and have a great vacation.

NEDSIRELAND

The last week of August is peak vacation time at all Spain's seashore resorts: Peak prices; and very tight availability of places to stay.

Many Madrileños have summer retreats at the shore or in the Mountains, so they abandon Madrid for the entire month of August. So, accomodations in Madrid will be costly but you should be able to find availability.

I might skip the Valle de los Caidos in Escorial but the San Lorenzo Monastery there is worth a stop. Don't skip Toledo or Segovia! In addition to them, you can daytrip to Alcala de Henares, Miguel de Cervantes' birthplace, to the walled city of Avila, to Aranjuez, to Sepulvida or several other venues. TrapSATur is one of the Tour Companies that do day trips. I believe they leave from the GranVia @ c/San Bernardo.

It will be hot temperature-wise, so I wouldn't really recommend the cochinillo asado in Segovia in August.

Several Hotels in Madrid have rooftop swimming pools: One of those would be my Oasis.

7-days will go by fast, and Madrid itself has so much going for it: the Palacio Réal, Plaza de España and Plaza de Oriente, the Plaza Mayor and Puerta del Sol, Atocha and the Paseo de la Castellana, Cibeles, the Puerta de Alcalá and Retiro Park. And that's just a start ...

ribeirasacra

I wonder where Salonee has gone too?

adeben

Bondi, Coogee or Manly are good beaches and they are about as near to Madrid as most others.

Revulgo

Agree with Johnthedorf, San Sebastian is well worth.
http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic...ia_Basque.html