Planning trip to Spain in end of August
 

Hi,

I'm planning a trip to Spain with my husband for end of August, for 15 nights. I'm thinking to do the following plan:

- Barcelona, 4 nights
- San Sebastian, 4 nights (day trip to Bilbao)
- Seville, 4 nights (day trip to Cordoba and Granada and some beach town, any suggestion??)
- Madrid, 3 nights (day trip to Toledo)

I'm not sure if this is a good plan, do I need to include Malaga? are there any good beach towns close to Seville? Please let me know if anyone has any ideas.

Please look at a map and see how far Sevilla is away from the coast then can you tell us how close you need a beach town and what in the beach town are you looking for? I ask this as there are many. Malagá is one of the furthest away.
What is you method of transport during this vacation?

Personally, would never visit Granada as a day trip from Seville. It needs more time and I haven't checked temperatures, but being in the mountains, should be cooler than Seville in August. Granada has more to offer than you might think, lovely for walking and interesting evening activities.

You will have beach time in San Sebastián, so might not need another beach place.

Also, your timing is already tight, with lots of moving around, so hate to add anymore moves, but night is magical in Toledo. I loved being there overnight. I suggest at least staying as late as possible and have dinner there before returning to Madrid.

I would also consider cutting Barcelona by a day, adding another to Madrid, and doing a day trip to Segovia, or using that day to stay overnight in Granada. Just personal preference though, others would likely say different, and both be good.

I can understand your desire to see all these places, but I must admit that I, personally, would find your itinerary too rushed. I strongly recommend that you get some good guidebooks (or spend some time with a few in your local library), identify the things you most want to see in each location, check their opening/closing times on the internet, and mark them on a calendar. Then pencil in your transportation and add some time on either side (for getting to/from your lodging, checking in/out, packing/unpacking, getting oriented, etc.). Only then can you see how things fit together and whether this itinerary will suit your needs and interests.

BTW, note that many things in Spain are closed on Monday, and often for all or part of Sundays too; and many things in Spain will also be closed daily for a very long mid-day break.

Good luck!

Seville and Andalusia can be very hot in the high summer, like an average high of 95°F. Are you ready for such temperatures?

If I get to choose between Malaga and Seville which one you recommend?

Apples and oranges. Have you looked at the sights in each place and determined what your must sees are?

I must admit you couldn;t pay me to go to southern Spain inAugust - in Seville the average highs are almost 100 degrees and it can go as high as 120.

You have limited time and I would stick with the north which, except for San Sebastian, will be plenty hot enough. Trying to do all of these places in so little time is just going to be expensive, exhausting and IMHO too much.

I would cut days from both Barcelona and SS. You can do a day trip to Cordoba from Seville, but not one to Granada. That needs more time. Malaga should be cooler than Seville since it's on the sea.