South of Spain in mid-August with kids.
 

We are going to Spain for two weeks on the 2nd week of August. We are in the process of constructing our trip itinerary. We are flying to Madrid, and we are renting a car. We are traveling with 2 kids, 5 and 8 years old. The original plan was to drive from Madrid to Barcelona, then Valencia, and head down South, stay on the seaside in close proximity to Granada, head back to Madrid with stops in either Seville and Cordoba, or both. We trying to make the trip fun for both us and the kids, so we don’t want to overwhelm our days with activities. We’ve traveled with our kids before so we now how much we can do in a given day.

I have started researching places and I am very concerned about the temperatures in mid-August in the South. It seems it gets very hot down there. Since we have nothing booked yet, we are starting to consider going North/West (Bilbao, San Sebastian) but our hearts are set on the South. A few questions:

1. Has anyone traveled with kids in August to the South of Spain? Could you please share your experiences?

2. How hot does it actually get? Is it dry and hot or hot and humid? We are from Chicago and it does get hot and humid here (upper 90F)

3. In case we decide to head South, Are there any places/hotels you could recommend (swimming pools/close to the beach)- kids friendly?

4. Places/towns we should avoid?

Any help/advice is greatly appreciated.

Thank you,

Have not traveled with kids - but it does get MUCH hotter than Chicago. 100s is common and it has been as much at 120 degrees. Also, not everyplace has AC and much of it is european style AC with limited effectiveness. The locals will be indoors in the afternoons and you would need to sightsee in the morning and evening and stay in a pool in afternoons. (You must make sure your hotels have strong AC and nice pools.)

We have been to Andalusia twice in April and it was plenty hot for the beaches - in the 80s. (We also had a temp of 99 in Madrid in late April.)

I would not reco taking kids there since they can be more subject to heat stroke than adults.

I would definitely head for San Sebastian instead - that is where the Spanish with enough money tot ravel go.

Yes, it's real hot in southern Eruope in August, so would northern Africa be real hot in July-August. It's routinely around 35C, or upper 90s, if that is acceptable to you, in Seville, for example. But it is hotter than Chicago, stats don't show averages of upper 90s for CHicago in August, but they will for Seville. Places on the coast should be a bit cooler, like Malaga. It's dry, not humid; in fact, July and August are the least humid months there. Gets down to about 70F at night.

I can't think of any places to particularly avoid in southern Spain if you are determined to go there in August.

We have been many times in August, will be in Seville again this August.

I think our highest experienced temperature was 48oC.

We are from Scotland, the last place in Europe which can be classed as hot. Temperatures in Southern Spain were no issue to us as it is usually very, very dry heat with a breeze.

We are absolutely unable to cope with the humidity of 25oC in say Singapore or Savannah.

I have played football in Seville in 45oC.

I have laid on the floor wishing to die in Savannah in 30oC.

Don't get me wrong it's hot in Spain but the nature of the heat makes it bearable and you will also find many businesses open early, close for a siesta then re-open until late in the evening.

We have eaten many times in Spain on our own at 9pm in rural Spain, only to find the locals appear at 11pm. Children and all.

And a hotel with a roof top pool in Seville is a great way to spend the afternoon hours.

If you go with your original plan, I would take the train from Madrid to Barcelona and not drive unless there was something in particular you wanted to see and could spend a few days traveling between Madrid and Barcelona. There are a number of castles in Aragon worth visiting, and Zaragoza is worth a stop (but it will be very warm in August).

There is a lot for you and your children to do along the coast south of Barcelona, including Port Aventura along the Costa Dorada, but the area will be packed in August when everyone who can is at the beach.

I'd also take the train from Barcelona to Valencia and pick up a car there.

Whatever you decide to do in August, you need to confirm your reservations now.

Yes, but americans re used to AC - strong AC - everywhere but outdoors - that brings the temp down to the low 70s. So while it may be 95 outside - it's perfectly comfortable most places - including every store, restaurant, hotel, church, museum, car, t rain, bus - anyplace people will go.

MarBet:
If the extreme heat of Spain is going to be an uncomfortable issue for you and the children, don't do it. No matter what some diehards say, weather CAN make or break a trip..in my own case, we've avoided travel to any sizzling climate regions of Europe during the height of summer. We did however, have wonderful trips in August to Norway Sweden and Denmark, even to the degree (pardon the pun) of wearing jackets and sweaters. What a pleasure!

We were in Spain during Easter time once and even then it was much hotter than California where we live. NYT above is right...Norte Americanos are misguided by the relative efficiencies of their AC's to whatever they will find anywhere else.

Your kids would love Nor, Den, Swed.

We were OK mornings and just fine in the evenings, but didn't function well in the afternoon in Southern Spain in July/August. Be sure you have a pool for afternoons and protection for the children from the sun.

Dinner is late in Spain anyway, but we have stayed in places in Andalusia where the host did not even begin to cook dinner until after 9:00. It was just too hot to think about eating.

Keep lunch and dinner times in mind and have snacks for the little ones in the afternoon. Many things close in the afternoon and do not open again until very late afternoon or early evening.

I would definitely not drive from Madrid to Barcelona. It is long and not fun. Take the fast train if you go to Barcelona.

Driving and parking is not always easy in Seville either. Have a good map and check with your hotel or apartment about available parking.

Tower's right.

Scandinavia in high summer can be incredible but winter in the Lofotens in unbeatable.

I have travelled with young children in Southern Spain, and it's no joke. Temperatures hit 40C - 104F every day, and while the place we rented had good air-conditioning and a pool, we just couldn't do anything between say 12 noon and 5-6 pm because of the intense heat and just about everything other than bars and restaurants was closed. This seriously affects what you can do, and while it's ok if you are staying on the coast, inland sightseeing - other than for an hour or two a day - was out of the question. Seville in July and August is low season, not because of lack of foreign tourists (on the contrary) but because of intense heat and any right-minded Spaniards wouldn't dream of going there.
I suggest you head north towards the Cantabrian coast, and leave Southern Spain for another time, in spring or autumn - we had fabulous holidays at both times.

After Seville you could head down to the Costa De La Luz which is on the Atlantic coast and frequency gets a breeze to keep temperatures more bearable during the day.

There's some stunning beaches, good surfing and great small seafood restaurants.

I was inMadrid and Andalusia in late August.... It was everything
others describe, but I was young and managed just fine.
With young kids....not so sure
There is a lot to see and do in Cantabria ( Santander is very nice spot)
and gorgeous Basque Country.

If you decide to come and stop by the beach and come to Malaga you´ll find the Feria de Malaga from 15th to August 2nd. There are performances for children and adults, music and dance and also there are attractions for children such as the wheel or roller coaster and many more.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feria_...sto#Activities

For children you can also find on the Costa del Sol:

Water-amusement park:
http://www.aqualand.es/torremolinos/en/

Aquarium
https://www.visitsealife.com/benalmadena/en/

Zoo
http://www.bioparcfuengirola.es/en

Right now it is 104F where I live (But its a <i>dry</i> heat ;) ) and I'm doing just fine. BUT I did ALL of my errands before 10AM and - and I drove to each w/ the car a/c on and dashed into the a/c'd grocer/bank/hardware store.

This afternoon I'm hunkered down inside w/ the a/c on full blast drinking ice cold beverages. I am not outside sightseeing. And if I had young children they would not be outside for sure.

Dinner is late in Spain -- great. That helps a <i>little</i>. But do you want your kids eating dinner at 11PM every night?

I would definitely re-think going to Spain in August and would NEVER do it w/ a 5yo and 8yo.

From the age of 6-7 my brother and I stayed several times along the Andalucian coast over two-three weeks in high summer with our parents. We both look back on fabulous vacations. Have kept coming back, also in summer, but be sure to spend most of the time along the coast where the temperatures usually are some good 10F lower than inland.

BritishCaicos has got an excellent suggestion: Go down to 3000 year old Cádiz (Phoenician Gadir) after a couple of days in Sevilla. Excellent beaches and a bit cooler summer climate, much due to the Atlantic sea breeze.
http://www.andalucia.com/beaches/cadiz-city.htm
http://www.spain.info/en/reportajes/...do_el_ano.html

The beach at Bolonia is beautiful.

http://www.cadizturismo.com/espacios...et_language=en

Unfortunately Kimhe, the property boom of 10 years ago took much character out of the area. We visited many times and loved Zahara de Los Atunes ( such a beautiful name). Locals trained Andalucian horses on the beach in the morning and huge bulls to fight in the afternoon. The beach is 12 miles long and up until the boom had one lovely family hotel : Antonio.

The boom led to huge number of apartment block been built which are now very under-utilised.

Has anyone been to Coto Donana national park?

We have never managed it.

All the Costa de La Luz is full of madrileños, is very fashionable for stag and hen parties, specially on the weekends and Conil is not quiet anymore. Surprisingly last year it was more quiet in Estepona than in Conil or Zahara.