Driving through southern Spain
May 26th, 2009, 01:20 PM
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Driving through southern Spain
My lady and I will be heading to Spain in mid August for 2 weeks. We are spending the first 4 nights in Barcelona then heading to Segovia for a day. We then want to head south to Cordoba or Seville and rent a car and drive around hopefully seeing Seville, Granada, Malaga, Marbella, etc. Has anyone done this before and do you think it will be tough to find lodging without reservations. Also - will the heat be brutal?
May 26th, 2009, 02:37 PM
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Heat will be absolutely brutal, except perhaps in Barcelona (cooling sea breezes; 80-90F). In inland Spain and in Andalucia, expect temperature to rise above 100F/40C almost every day, and it will be very, very hot from around 12 noon to well into the evening. It doesn't start to cool down till sunset around 7. Not a good time of the year to do a lot of sightseeing. Walking is just about the only sensible way to see these cities, and frankly I wouldn't be out and about in the hottest part of the day.
As for your itinerary, how do you propose to do a day trip to Segovia from Barcelona? If you take AVE train to Madrid Atocha station, it will take between 2 hours 40 min and 3 hours 20 min. Then you have to take a commuter train (always crowded) from Atocha to Chamartin station for another AVE to Segovia, which takes around 30 min. Including checking out of hotel, getting to Barcelona Sants station, that's more than half a day gone, leaving you little time to see Segovia (everything will be closed from 1 to 4/5pm). You should stay a night at least to do it justice, and for your health's sake. Taking AVE from Madrid to Córdoba and Seville is very easy, fast and comfortable. Keeping a car for Córdoba, Seville and Granada isn't recommended - parking is very difficult and expensive, navigating in cities is a frustrating and nerve-wracking experience, and frankly you don't need the car in any of the cities. So I suggest you use train or air-conditioned bus to travel between cities, and rely on walking, taxis and buses within cities, and only consider a car for touring the White Villages around Ronda. You don't want a car on the coast either - in August the traffic is truly appalling and there's again nowhere to park.
As for accommodation, in cities it shouldn't be difficult to find rooms, as it's low season (because of brutal heat), but you should still book at least a few days in advance - last thing you want is to traipse the streets in heat looking for rooms. Rooms on the coast will be very difficult. August is the peak season for international and domestic vacationers and accommodation will be very heavily booked, and many insist on 3-day minimum and at least half board (MAP). Be sure to book in advance now. Booking.com is good and reliable. You can usually reserve just one day, with or without breakfast.
As for your itinerary, how do you propose to do a day trip to Segovia from Barcelona? If you take AVE train to Madrid Atocha station, it will take between 2 hours 40 min and 3 hours 20 min. Then you have to take a commuter train (always crowded) from Atocha to Chamartin station for another AVE to Segovia, which takes around 30 min. Including checking out of hotel, getting to Barcelona Sants station, that's more than half a day gone, leaving you little time to see Segovia (everything will be closed from 1 to 4/5pm). You should stay a night at least to do it justice, and for your health's sake. Taking AVE from Madrid to Córdoba and Seville is very easy, fast and comfortable. Keeping a car for Córdoba, Seville and Granada isn't recommended - parking is very difficult and expensive, navigating in cities is a frustrating and nerve-wracking experience, and frankly you don't need the car in any of the cities. So I suggest you use train or air-conditioned bus to travel between cities, and rely on walking, taxis and buses within cities, and only consider a car for touring the White Villages around Ronda. You don't want a car on the coast either - in August the traffic is truly appalling and there's again nowhere to park.
As for accommodation, in cities it shouldn't be difficult to find rooms, as it's low season (because of brutal heat), but you should still book at least a few days in advance - last thing you want is to traipse the streets in heat looking for rooms. Rooms on the coast will be very difficult. August is the peak season for international and domestic vacationers and accommodation will be very heavily booked, and many insist on 3-day minimum and at least half board (MAP). Be sure to book in advance now. Booking.com is good and reliable. You can usually reserve just one day, with or without breakfast.
May 26th, 2009, 02:54 PM
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"mid August" is the peak of the European Tourist season when tens of thousands northern Europeans head for Spain and the Sun. Coastal resorts (Malaga & Marbella, for example) are usually fully booked during that time period. It is usually next to impossible without reservationsto find places to stay in August.
Nobody knows how much impact the Global Economic crisis will have on this.
The heat will be brutal in interior Andalucia (incl. Sevilla).
There are several Car rental Agencies at Sevilla's Santa Justa Rail Station (where AVE terminates). You should book a rental in advance if you plan to use one of them.
Nobody knows how much impact the Global Economic crisis will have on this.
The heat will be brutal in interior Andalucia (incl. Sevilla).
There are several Car rental Agencies at Sevilla's Santa Justa Rail Station (where AVE terminates). You should book a rental in advance if you plan to use one of them.
May 26th, 2009, 09:32 PM
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Heat is brutal in especially in big cities. Obviously you are interested in bigger cities, but I would visit the small villages in the National park of Sierra Nevada. If you go to Alpujarra, there are villages like Trevelez, which is 1,500 metres above the sea level. Up there the weather is perfect in August.
Like Nedireland wrote, it may be much easier to find accomodation this August thanks to the crisis.
Like Nedireland wrote, it may be much easier to find accomodation this August thanks to the crisis.
May 27th, 2009, 11:46 AM
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Heat is brutal and do not expect A/C. Many hotels, most restaurants, practically all bars, all museums, most shops have no A/C.
Explore Northern Spain instead (Pyrenees, Donostia, Bilbao, Santander, Santiago de Compostela). Temps will be moderate, it can even be cool there. In easy reach from Barcelona.
However, expect that hotels will be fully booked in August. August is the main holiday season in Spain, and I found that even for July, some dates are already fully booked in Northern Spain.
Explore Northern Spain instead (Pyrenees, Donostia, Bilbao, Santander, Santiago de Compostela). Temps will be moderate, it can even be cool there. In easy reach from Barcelona.
However, expect that hotels will be fully booked in August. August is the main holiday season in Spain, and I found that even for July, some dates are already fully booked in Northern Spain.
