Need help! Advice on Beach Town & Rental in Spain
 

Hi - I'll be meeting my wife in Madrid in mid-July. She will be 5 months pregnant at the time, and as a result we are looking to do a laid-back week in Spain after a night or two in Madrid (we have only been to Barcelona). Questions I'm hoping someone might have advice for:

1. Can you name a few good beach towns (large or small) so I look them up? Any personal experiences?
2. Any recommendations on rentals? We'd love a place with a kitchen so we could eat in most of the time. Would obviously love a place walkable to the beach. Would be looking to spend anywhere from $0.5-2K/euro for the week.
3. Any recommendations on how to get to the cost from Madrid? Is the train with RENFE best? Or are domestic flights simpler?

Thanks,
Jeff

Hi Jeff,

In late July I would recommend that you head to the north, either Santander or San Sebastian. Both are beautiful cities with gorgeous beaches , good food, etc. I have visited Santander 3 times in the summer and I love it.

Either of those cities would be easy to reach by flying as they both have airports nearby. Iberia services both cities.

Regarding rentals in those cities I'm not familiar with any specific companies. Hopefully others will chime in with that info or other recommendations.

Jeff,

My guess is that it might be a bit of trek for the two of you to get to the South coast, and, the Costa Del Sol is particularly crowded and traffic choked during that time of year.

But, you might want to consider Valencia. It is an easy city to navigate in, is a relatively short train trip from Madrid and has an huge public beach that seems uncrowded except on the weekends. While I have no knowledge of apartment rentals, the beach is easily reached by public transportation from most of the city.

We were able to get heavily discounted hotel rooms on the beach, including an incredible breakfast buffet, at a 5* hotel through Petrabax, an agency specializing in Spain, located in Woodland Hills, CA.

Because the Atlantic is still cold in July, I think the suggestion of Santander or San Sebastian, as much as I love both locations, might not meet your needs as much as the Mediterranean Coast.

Hi Jeff,

I second the idea of heading north. we stayed in san sebastian for a few nights and it's a lovely place with [if I remember correctly] the most michelin starred restaurants in Spain. from there you could head over to Biarritz or st. Jean de Luz if you wanted, or up into the pyrenees.

further west along the "costa verde" there is laredo, and then just past Santander, Santiliana del mar, which even after 25 years I remember being a very pretty place, though rather touristy, even then. i think we stayed at Comillas, which is just a bit further west long the coast.

i suggest that for more up to date info, you consult our own fodorite at www.maribelsguides.com.

regards, ann

You can catch a Continental-Auto Bus from Madrid's Avda. de America Bus Station to Santander (Cantabria, north coast). It's a 5-hour trip to Torrelavega, another half hour to Santander.
Continental Auto has a Business Class (Clase Ultra) that costs a few Euro more, but the seats are larger and more comfortable and they are 3-across (two on the right, one on the left).

There's a Santiago Festival there in Santander starting around mid-July, so things shouldn't be boring but jf you stay at playa Sardinero it can be a nice place to lay back. I don't know about places w/kitchen but you may be able to find one in Avda. de los Castros near Universidad International de Menendez Pelayo (UIMP, pronounced wimp).

I have visited beaches in Galicia and Cantabria, Spain's Mediterranean beaches (except the Costa Calida), and Costa de la Luz and Santander is my favorite