Barcelona - July 2013
 

We realize it is going to be hot, but we have an invitation to visit friends in Barcelona and on Costa Brava. The timing is still to be finalized. We also have a different set of friends that spend July in Vilanova i la Geltru. What else should we see while we are there? We are going for 2 weeks, most likely. This is very early in trip planning.

Would it be too much to travel to Madrid during this time?

OK, I will save my questions for the cold and rainy months when people are not traveling. Plus, I don't really have actual questions yet, just mapping the trip right now.

Definitely not a problem to go to Madrid with two weeks. You could easily spend at least 5 days in Barcelona. I haven't been to Costa Brava and don't know how much time you plan on spending there, but it seems you could include Madrid. Here is a link to my trip report from Barcelona along with pictures. We spent 5 nights there, and never fit in a daytrip, there is definitely a lot to do there.
http://www.fromhometoroam.com/2012/06/barcelona/

I guess you should first discuss with your friends how long they plan to have you in Barcelona, Costa Brava, and in Vilanova i la Geltru.
Maybe they already have a "list" of places they want to show you.
So you get an idea how many days you will have left over to go to Madrid. Which is pretty easy and fast from Barcelona by train (less than 3hrs).
What you may want to consider is whether you want to get an open jaw flight, e.g. in BCN out Madrid. Otherwise you'd have to backtrack to BCN to fly home.
And you probably want to get a travel guide for Catalunya to get a better idea of what you can visit from your 3 locations in the Northeast.

Vilanova is a seaside resort not far from Barcelona, but also a good gateway to Southern Catalunya.

July can be hot, but if you look at the current temps in BCN (around 30C and sunny) that would also be normal summer weather as well in Munich, Warsaw or even Stockholm during these months. For most Europeans, Barcelona and the coasts are typical summer destinations, not only for those who lie on the beach each day. It's not an area that people would avoid like Arizona in August.

Madrid, OTOH, can get piping hot (more like 40C). Opinions differ if the drier climate makes the higher temps more bearable than the lower ones in more humid Barcelona, though.
If you look for "cooler" destinations, you can find those along the Northern "green" coast. But it will also be high season there, so it's not a bad idea to start planning early.

Thanks Cowboy, I have discussed it with my friends.

Do you think it is too early to buy airfare? There is a decent fare through LHR (Heathrow).

OK, judging by how much my options are changing on Matrix.itasoftware.com every day, I probably should wait until september to buy airfare. The change is not in price as it is in routes.

Sorry.. but since I am based in Europe, I have no clue what's the best or least costly strategy to get here.

If you're willing to gamble, then you can wait to see if the International airfare drops at the end of the summer, as predicted. If it does drop, it will only be for the late fall/early winter travel period.

For travel in July, we've waited until mid-May the last couple of years to book our flights, the savings where minimal, about $50 USD/ticket. The problem you might encounter is availability as airlines cut their overall capacity. US Airways eliminated 20 Envoy class seats and all of the First Class seating on their reconfigured Airbus 330s. Coach is cramped, a true cattle class experience.

Robert, thank you for the insight. I am worried about availability too. I will probably book tickets as soon as I j get back from Paris and pay for the December trip to Oahu.

So, I am debating whether to spend all two weeks in the Barcelona area with trips to Costa Brava and to Villanueva a la Geltru, or whether to fly into Barcelona and out of July. It will be mid-July and I am afraid it will be too hot in Madrid. What do you think?

July in Madrid can be wonderful, and every night through all of July and August great Spanish and international artists perform in the Veranos de la Villa festival (Summer in the city). The outdoor scene in the Sabatini gardens just outside the Royal palace is spectacular. http://www.google.no/search?q=Jardin...w=1600&bih=805
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-L6Is_-8scU

About the Veranos de la Villa festival:
http://veranosdelavilla.esmadrid.com/index.php/en/

kimhe, thank you for responding. I just ordered a Fodors Spain 2012 guidebook and will read it and then decide. Gracias.

I got a great Insight Guide to Barcelona from the library and also bought a Spain Guide from Fodors. Now, I am thinking Barcelona with side trips to Costa Brava and Villanueva will be quite enough for our first trip to fabulous Spain. There is a great airfare through Toronto for $1184 per person from Seattle. Should I jump on it?
My main concern is equipment. Air Canada flight to Toronto is on Embrace 190. Thoughts?

There's nothing wrong with the RJ 190, except that the cabin a little small for nearly 4-1/2 hours in the air, but the overall travel time from SEA to BCN is listed as 14h 35m. The flight is listed at $1128 in mid-July using the combination Air Canada 540/Lufthansa 5503. The Air Canada only flight, 540/814, is currently listed at $1360. They are the same flights from Toronto to Barcelona.

The fastest United flight, through Frankfurt, takes 17 hours.

Thanks Robert, this is very helpful. I am going to jump on it.

Embraer's E class are actually one of my preferred aircrafts due to their 2-2 configuration. No middle seats and standard headroom. If you hit turbulances you don't feel it worse or better as in a 737,for example.

Airfare booked. We are going to BARCELONA!!!

Congrats
Bon viatge!