Spain - 8 days in March
 

Hi,
I know 8 days is too short a time for a wonderful country like Spain, but thats all I have. We have 8 days of leave in march and want to visit the country. Our interests are varied except we are not keen on visiting any museums or historical or architectural sites. Can anyone suggest whats the best we can do in 8 days in Spain. Thanks

I did a little bit of reading and I think I want to do around 3 days in barcelona and 2 days in Marabella. I want to visit one more place. My interests - Bull fighting, flamenco, opera, good food and shopping. Definitely no museums and architectural sites. Please assist

Las Fallas de San José (Valencia): March 13-19. That might fit in nicely as you travel down the Costa Dorada to the Costa Blanca and on to Marbella (Costa del Sol). The latter is not my cup of tea and it is a long way from Barcelona.

May i ask what your other varied interests are? It might help, as if one eliminates historical sights, architecture and museums, seems all that is left is scenery and food.

you might enjoy las fallas , as suggested. www.fallas.com

NEDSIRELAND,I actually chose Costa Del Sol because of it having a beach. I dont have to visit that in case there are beache resorts near Barcelona. We want to have two days on a beach resort where we can relax and do some water sports.

lincasanova, we would basically prefer two days on the beach and another couple of days in a city like Barcelona where we can enjoy restauratns, nightlife etc. The balance stay, if possible could be dedicated to adventure sports.

I'll just check out what Las fallas is all about. Then maybe we can do Barcelona, a beach place and Las fallas.

The Climate of mainland Spain is not Tropical. In March you may expect Mediterranean water temps around 10 degrees Celsius (50F). That's too cold for me!

There are numerous Beach resorts on the Costa Blanca between Valencia and Alicante: Denia, Benidorm, Campello, Playa San Juan, etc. They will all be fully booked for Semana Santa (17-23 Mar.).

The Costa Brava extends from France to Barcelona where the Costa Dorada continues down toward Valencia.

March is not really conducive to water sports unless you are surfers or scuba divers with wet suits. And the Med Coast is not known for its surf.

unfortunately, northern spain is not exactly the place for this kind of activity in march as you have been informed.

maybe one of the canary islands might have good enough weather.

or MAYBE down on the costa del sol as you first mentioned.

it is snowing in the mountains and raining in most places this week.

we have our heat on full blast in the afternoons. winter coat at night . i am in valencia. 3.5 hours SOUTH of barcelona.

at least the beaches around cadiz/tarifa will offer you a possibility of water sports if you can handle the temps. then go up to sevilla/jerez, puerto de santamaria.
at least in teh south would be your best chance of better weather.

Ok!! I've just realised that Spain is too big and I have not read enough of the places. I'm a little lost but I've gathered that North Spain is out because of the weather. But we definitely want to do Barcelona. So after Barcelona, we head to the southern region. In the southern region I need to plan for around 5 days. Something that does not involve too much of commute between places as we have very little time. Where and how does one reach from Barcelona to south of spain in the fastest manner? Flight..? To where?

unless you are jus tinto beaches.. the area around barcelona is beautiful.

otherwise down to the festival in valenica by train or bus, or fly to jerez/cadiz/malaga area.

www.whichbudget.com
www.lastminute.es

I could suggest going through my trip report for ideas. Link is given below.

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...uple&fid=2

I would suggest flying out from Barcelona to Malaga, and using Malaga as a base to cover places like Granada, Ronda, Cordoba etc. And lots of beaches in and around Malaga, where weather may be more favourable

Oops, on the link given above, you may have to scroll down until you reach a thread titled: "Trip report: 17 days in Spain & Portugal". That is the link to our trip report.

Lincasanova, I’m not totally into beaches but would like to spend two days on the beach since we do have an option. What are the other interesting areas around Barcelona? Will weather be a problem, since its north Spain? Otherwise 3 days in Barcelona, 2 days in Valencia and then down south. Now I need to figure out which beach place in south? As Indiancouple suggested, we can fly to Malaga.

Indiancouple, are you guys staying in India? I’m from Mumbai. I went through your trip report. Sounds awesome! I’m also relieved that finding Veg food was not a problem. How I wish we had more days.. But alas, its only 8 days.. So which place would you suggest to visit if I had only 3 days in Malaga? Out of the 8 days, I’m thinking of splitting 3 days in Barcelona and 2 days in Valencia as suggested by Lincasanova. That leaves me with balance 3 days. Don’t want to visit any historical site, though.. Either a beach or an adventure sport…

In April 2007 my husband and I had ten days in Spain. Here's how we broke them up:

3 days Barcelona
1 day Ronda
2 days Marbella
4 days Seville

My favorite place was Seville. We saw a bullfight (these mostly take place during April Fair)and Flamenco show, wondered the streets and shopped, grabbed dinner/wine at street cafes, etc. It was a very romantic city.

We could have spent another day in Barcelona, there's so much to do there! If you're not into historical/architectural sites, you can skip Ronda. Marbella was a nice break to just sit on the beach and relax, but the sand on the beach is rough and the area is pretty built up commercially.

MiniAK,
Yes we do live in India. As for veg food in Spain, it is not a major problem if you do some research in advance. I strongly suggest you visit the site www.happycow.net and take a printout of all veg restaurants for cities that you are visiting.
If you have 3 days in Malaga, I would recommend keeping a full day for Malaga itself, as we found it very interesting. Since you are into beaches, I would recommend one day for Nerja, which is a very short distance away from Malaga. And perhaps a day for Ronda, which is very pretty. Of course the prime attraction in Andalusia is Granada for the Alhambra, but you said that you are not into historical sites.
Personally, I agree with an earlier poster that the best city in Spain in Seville, but you dont seem to have enough time for it. I would consider scrapping Valencia and opting for Seville if it is possible.

Audie,

Your itenary sounds good. I think we'll skip Ronda and reduce a day in Seville. Then it fits perfectly. As indiancouple also suggested that Seville is the best.

Also, dont bull fights take place in March as well. If not, then I'll have to reconsider the destination as my husband was really keen. He will be throughly disappointed if we go to Spain and dont watch a bull fight.

Audie, how was the weather in April? Do you'll suggest visiting these places in march or will it be a bit dull due to the weather. Someone told me its not a good idea to visit Spain in March...

If you guys had to choose a place for 8 days in march, which would it be? Switzerland, Paris (and nearby provinces) or Spain..

"Someone told me it is not a good idea to visit Spain in March..."

I would respectfully suggest that you supplement that opinion with additional information.

Keep in mind, re your question about April, that the Sevilla Feria is in the early part of that month and that accommodations will likely to have been booked out months ago.

March in Europe, as many pointed out is not" beach weather" . Also , Barcelona is ON the sea with many beaches.

To check out the bullfighting calender, visit www.tauroentrada.com . They give a listing of all bullfights anywhere in Spain.

We had a wonderful trip to Spain last year in late March and early April. We sceduled it specifically to experience Semanta Santa (Holy Week). Easter is early this year and Holy Week will be March 16-23. This is an incredible experience, throughout much of Spain, especially in Seville which you have mentioned. That means, lots of people, higher prices, booked hotels and many things closed. The bullfight season opened on Easter Sunday. I couldn't even tour the arena. I highly recommend the unbeliveable experience, but if that isn't what you want, you will not want to be in Seville at that time.

plenty of bullfights in valencia the week of fallas. march 12/14 til the 19th. not sure of exact schedule.