Jan, Feb or March in Spain?

Old Jul 6th, 2006, 06:45 PM
  #1  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 307
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Jan, Feb or March in Spain?

My husband and I would like to rent an apartment for 2-3 weeks this coming winter in Spain. I realize it would be too cold for swimming but would it still be nicer than say Montreal weather. And if anyone has ideas as to which part to go to and if you have any ideas on rentals please let me know.Medium price.
lyban is offline  
Old Jul 6th, 2006, 08:35 PM
  #2  
 
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 7,689
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
It would really be up to you as to where you want to go, I would think you would find better prices in smaller towns (i.e. not Barcelona). If I had 3 weeks at that time I would go to the Seville area as I think that would be fascinating around Easter and you could get into the countryside as well. (I would actually aim for April as Easter week begins with Palm Sunday on April 8 and it is that week where things get really started.)

I have had very good luck with vrbo.com, though have not rented in Spain itself. This is a site where condo owner rent their own units, prices are good and representations of units seems accurate, at least in my experience. I don't see any in Seville, but this one near Malaga, looks wonderful and is one of the "white villages" see http://www.vrbo.com/67428
Cicerone is offline  
Old Jul 6th, 2006, 08:37 PM
  #3  
 
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 7,689
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Sorry, my post also meant to include the info that if you go in Feb, then carnival will get going in mid-Fed and will end around Feb 20, and if you go in March, you will see some of the pre-Easter activities, altough end of March and early April are better for this as Easter is so late in April next year. Not much in January as Easter is so late.
Cicerone is offline  
Old Jul 6th, 2006, 11:35 PM
  #4  
 
Join Date: Feb 2006
Posts: 1,850
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Could you be a little more specific on what your purpose of travel is? If it is just R&R and warmer weather, then go to the South, but if you have anything specific to do or see, that will determine where you want to stay.

Personally, if I were given a choice of all of Spain I would go to the South (Cádiz area) in March. Great accessibility to day trips, very tranquil, and the houses for rent there are cheaper than in larger places.

Do you guys speak Spanish?
laclaire is offline  
Old Jul 7th, 2006, 03:24 AM
  #5  
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Posts: 32
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Hi lyban,

Check out www.gct.com (Grand Circle Travel) for one of their package trips.

We spent a very enjoyable vacation with them on Costa del Sol one winter.

We were able to take some of the tours they offered as well as our doing our own thing by train and bus along the Mediterranean coast.

Enjoy, Jimjim
Jimjim is offline  
Old Jul 7th, 2006, 06:54 PM
  #6  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 307
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
To answer some questions. We could go in Feb. or March. We would like warmer weather than Montreal but do not want beach weather. Low 60 f would be nice. Nice area to take day trips around. Just rest and relaxation and getting to see the area.
lyban is offline  
Old Jul 8th, 2006, 03:33 AM
  #7  
 
Join Date: Sep 2003
Posts: 181
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
The Costa del Sol would be a good choice. We spend two months in Torremolinos every winter and it can reach the 60's. Sometimes it is a bit cooler.This area is getting quite popular with French Canadians.
We rent an apartment but it is by the month. For just 2-3 weeks you might try an apartment hotel.
Raydotman is offline  
Old Jul 9th, 2006, 07:51 AM
  #8  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 307
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Would you know a site for renting an apartment in Torremolinos, or somewhere else by the month.
lyban is offline  
Old Jul 9th, 2006, 12:03 PM
  #9  
 
Join Date: Sep 2003
Posts: 181
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Click here: torremolinos apartments rent
Unfortunately I do not know how to add links to these posts. I entered "holiday rentals Torremolinos" and got a lot of sites. The quotations are usually in British pounds.
There are some apartment-hotles. The Bajondillo has studios and one bedrooms. However they have been negligent about replying to email requests for reservations.
If you fins something interesting let me know and if I am familar with the property I will comment.
Raydotman is offline  
Old Jul 9th, 2006, 01:22 PM
  #10  
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Posts: 1,229
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Sevilla would still be a good choice. You can visit to the beach, if you want but Sevilla gives a city flavor.

Certainly it's smaller than Montreal but it's similar in many ways. There are good restaurants, it's a walkable city, and lots of things to do.

You can prices for all sorts of hotels.

From Sevilla you can visit all of the smaller pueblos blancos and even Granada as easily visited. Cadiz, which Claire mentioned is 135 kms south and can be there with the autoroute for 90 minutes or by train for about the same time.

Cadiz is a 3,000 year old city but there's not much of the old buildings. Some of the city did sink, so you would have to dive to visit the older parts of the city.

Sevilla has my first vote.

Blackduff
blackduff is offline  
Old Jul 9th, 2006, 01:38 PM
  #11  
 
Join Date: Jun 2006
Posts: 44
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
I admit I am biased, but I do HATE Torremolinos most of all Costa del Sol, which I do not like either: it is horribly overbuilt and does not feel even a wee bit Spanish any longer. Do you want to spend a months among Britts speaking a very bad English??? ( Not the Queens language, mind you, but cockney and other uneducated sounding dialects... oh, well, may be I am a sangrona, lol).
There are pueblos blancos (small old very Spanish towns) all over the coast, near Cadiz, near Sevilla (how about Jerez? or Antequerra), south from Granada and on Granada's coast, where the winter population is a reasonable mix of Spaniards and expats - from all of Europe, US and Canada, and which you can use as an enjoyable base for excursions.
Anciana is offline  
Old Jul 9th, 2006, 02:39 PM
  #12  
 
Join Date: Jun 2006
Posts: 44
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
I just checked Andalusian rentals on vrbo and found them overpriced even for high season and terribly overpriced for low or shoulder season. You'll find much better deals on Spanish sites - they have English versions of their sites, don't worry. As a comparison I also checked Nicaragua's prices and they were so much over the top, I did not know whether to laugh or cry. Well, use this site only if you wanted to be totally ripped off or you know the local market (not necessarily local local, but decent local for gringos) and can negotiate the price down accordingly.
Anciana is offline  
Old Jul 9th, 2006, 08:41 PM
  #13  
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Posts: 1,229
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Ancianna
I was being very, very polite and tried to tip-toe the idea of Torremolinas.

Other that there's a beach, there is nothing else to say good. I also agree about the Costa del Sol. It's not Spanish anymore.

Jerez is kind of bland, in my opinion. But there are things to see in this city. The bodegas are great and they're free to visit. There's a horse school which has a good show. And, in the spring, there's a great Feria-this is the horse feria.

Although you can eat well in Jerez, there are better villages which give better meals. Sanlucar is worth visiting and the food it superb, if you like shellfish.

Torremolinas though, give it a pass.

Blackduff
blackduff is offline  
Old Jul 9th, 2006, 09:04 PM
  #14  
 
Join Date: Mar 2003
Posts: 2,501
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Hi

http://www.weatherbase.com should give you some idea what kind of weather to expect.

Regards
Gard
http://gardkarlsen.com - trip reports and pictures
gard is offline  
Old Jul 10th, 2006, 06:34 AM
  #15  
 
Join Date: Sep 2003
Posts: 181
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
I am fully aware that Torremolinos is very touristy. But the prevailing attitude of some on this board seems to be that anyone foolish enough to spend time in Torremolinos is an uneducated lout, British or otherwise. The fact is, there are some parts of Torremolinos that are quiet and conducive to an extended holiday. Reasonable winter rentals are available. Medical facilities are good and available in English which is a plus for older people. Restaurants abound, Spanish and foreign alike. Spanish owned fish restaurants dot the beaches. Large supermarkets make shopping for home cooking a breeze. It is near the Malaga airport as well as the city itself. It is an excellent base for side trips to Antequera, Ronda, Granada, Nerja, Mijas, Gibraltar, Tangiers. Seville and Cordoba are easily accessible by train. Seville is well worth a visit but I would not want to spend two months' vacation there.
I know a lot of well educated people of many nationalities who winter on the Costa del Sol and who enjoy the social life and conveniences of the area.
It is like telling a foreign visitor to the United States not to visit Miami Beach or Las Vegas because these places are too touristy and not really "American". Instead, the visitor should go to some small town in Idaho or Iowa to get the real flavor of the U.S.
To each his own.
Raydotman is offline  
Old Jul 10th, 2006, 11:58 AM
  #16  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 307
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Wow. So many good responses. Thank you all. Anciana, you mention that the site of vrbo.com is overpriced. Can you give me the name of the spanish site you talk about for better prices. To answer some questions, we would like to go Feb. or March not April. 3 weeks or 1 month if that is better for renting. I am now thinking maybe two weeks in one place in South and then driving into Portugal for 2 weeks. We are recently retired,looking for a quiet place that we can do day trips from and see the ares. We will be renting a car.
lyban is offline  
Old Jul 10th, 2006, 02:02 PM
  #17  
 
Join Date: Jun 2006
Posts: 44
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
lyban

To find the more reasonably priced rentals tou have to work a little harder. Read up on Anadalusia on line (google) to decide where would you like to rent and then go to various places web sites and look for "services" or to "real estate" and from there to "rentals". They will show places renting by weeks and by months and different prices for high season ( usually June-September) and low season ( usually October - May).
You can go to "accommodations", too, but you can often find a better priced and nicer lodging in this season looking through real estate. I do not remember with whom I found rentals in Cadiz/Jerez/Sevilla area: it probably was through a Spanish site without an English version - a lot of offerings, but most there with landlords/rental managers not speaking any other language but Spanish, so if you are not confident in Spanish, you might be better off with sites catering to European (mostly) travelers and expats.
I will be in Andalusia from October through May, so if you'd like any further info/assistance let me know your email and I'll email you.
Anciana is offline  
Old Jul 10th, 2006, 02:08 PM
  #18  
 
Join Date: May 2003
Posts: 4,074
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Hi I agree with Anciana. I checked for fun, vrbo.com regarding Buenos Aires a city I am more aware of the real prices and I found it was also overpriced.
I guess to get a good deal one has to work a little harder as Anciana rightly stated. She seem to know, as we say in Spanish mas sabe el Diablo por viejo que por Diablo...maybe this applies to her.
( Free Translation Ñ The Devil knows more because he is old that for being the Devil.
Graziella5b is offline  
Old Jul 10th, 2006, 02:16 PM
  #19  
 
Join Date: Jun 2006
Posts: 44
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
sorry, Raydotman, blackduff has already pointed out that I was not being overly polite expressing my opinion about Torremolinos. And yes, i do agree, that for someone who wants "Spain light" it might be a good choice: after all it is probably the most popular destination on the Costa del Sol for charter turists with small budgets and no desire to explore Spain, just to drink beer from morning to morning. There are other people there, too, however.
And no, Torremolinos has nothing in common with Miami Beach or Las Vegas. Both these destinations are quintessentially American phenomena (they ain't Kansas, but they are VERY American indeed, why Torremolinos and Costa del Sol are not Spanish - never were) and as such tell a European visitors more about America (and quicker at that) of what America is about than a small town in Idaho...
Coming to think of it: I have lived in America for 25 years now and have never yet seen a small town in Idaho. Am I missing a lot? But, perhaps, I should ask it on the US board.
Anciana is offline  
Old Jul 10th, 2006, 03:19 PM
  #20  
 
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 4,204
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
I agree with the negative comments about Torremolinos. While there are many in Fodors who put down the Costa del Sol entirely, I am not one of them as I find like many of the places in the area and think it's a great location to visit the white villages, Granada, etc. However, Torremolinos is one of the places that I would avoid.
artlover is offline  

Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Manage Preferences - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information -