Spain in 17 days
 

Hello everyone,

This is my first post here on Fodors. I hope you can help us plan our summer (late July/early August) vacation to Spain. We are a family of four (myself, my husband and our two children, ages 18 and 16) and we have travelled to Europe for our summer vacations 5 out of the last 6 summers, spending time in Italy, Germany, France and Greece.

We have been to Barcelona, spending 8 days there a few years ago as part of our trip to France, and we do not have to visit there again.

We have return flights into Madrid and have 17 full days to spend in Spain. We have a few ideas in mind but your help and ideas would be very helpful and appreciated. Our options are to see Madrid and its surrounding area and then travel North or South.

Our family does not mind the heat (we know how hot it can get in the South of Spain) and we would also want to spend time on a beautiful beach in a medieval beach town. We are under the impression that the water temperature in the south is much warmer than in the north. We will also be renting a car and we do love to drive from place to place, sometimes stopping along the way to our destination.


1. Spending time in Madrid, seeing Toledo and/or Segovia as day trips, then travelling to Seville, visiting Cordoba as a day trip, then travelling to Valencia for a few days and then spending a few days at a beach town on either the Costa Blanca or the Costa de Valencia, before returning to Madrid for a day or two before returning home. Instead, we could travel to Granada, spending time there, then travel to a beach town on the Costa del Sol or Costa Tropical before returning to Madrid.

2. After spending time in Madrid and its surrounding area, we would travel to the North of Spain. We could either go to the Basque area, including San Sebastian, or travel to the northwest of Spain, including Santiago, spending time in that area. We would also spend time at a beach town in either of those two areas before returning to Madrid.

It seems that many people say that if you are seeing Spain for the first time (not including Barcelona, which we have already seen), travelling south and visiting Andalusia is what one must do before seeing any other part of Spain. Is this true?

So many questions, I know, but I cannot think of a better place to ask these questions.

Thank you so much



AndreasTravels

One must do what one wishes to do! Take all advice that you must do this or that with a grain of salt. A lot of people have this idea that Andalucia is more quintessentially Spanish, but all of Spain is Spain. If you are drawn to this fascinating region and don't mind the scorching heat, then by all means do so, but a trip to the north could be just as fulfilling. I loved visiting both regions, so it's basically a flip of a coin.

Hi Yorkshire,

Thank you for your quick reponse. As much as we think we should head south, the north looks fascinating.

Which area of the North do you recommend if we choose to go north? The northwest or the basque areas? Which are the highlights of either areas?

Do you know of any medieval beach towns?

Is the weather in August warm?

Thanks

I am sure it is warm even in the north in July/August, but you may wish to delve further into sea temps and such since you want beach time. I like wunderground for getting weather data.
I have only visited the Basque region but have considered and did cursory research for visiting Cantabria (where there is hiking, caves, and I imagine much more) and Galicia (I recall reading about some amazing beaches but not sure about Medieval coastal towns). I loved San Sebastian and its beach, and I am not usually one for city beaches. Surfing is popular here and in a few other towns. Along the coast there are a number of charming towns in both directions.
Click on destinations at the top of the page to get an overview of the highlights. The northwest is much less discussed here than Basque region, but I am sure there are some experts lurking.
There is a book called Everything but the Squeal that you may wish to check out--more about gastronomy, but a nice travelogue of the north.

You mentioned water temperature. I can tell you it is icy in Galicia. A little less so across the north but ... if that's important to you, go for a beach along the Med.

As suggested, two totally different parts of the country.
Andalusia offers Alhambra, Cordoba, Seville with all their treasures in addition to
beach towns including Malaga. Valencia is also a beautiful city with grate beaches.
The North (" green" Spain )could not be more different...Bilbao, San Sebastian ( gorgeous and popular),
famous restaurants , possible cross toFrance,many small charming towns .
( not familiar with Galicia)
Going south might provided more variety ... spectacular churches, Moorish architecture, lovely cites,
numerous beaches to chose from.

I don't think either option is a bad one -- in fact, I think the biggest difficulty you will have with either plan is figuring out how to keep it to only 17 days!

And while I haven't been to the north yet (planning now), I've been very impressed by the diversity of options there, so I think you'll find variety with either option.

Good luck!

The Basque country/Euskadi is the culinary heartland of Spain if not all of Europe, top of the shelf big cities and small villages, fabulous beaches, rugged coastline, wonderful green landscapes and a local culture people take great pride in.
http://tourism.euskadi.eus/en/
http://www.euskoguide.com/

Plain fantastic documentary about the Basque food culture: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Jbipbzoc1Y
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqdjeGqnVKc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOaLtnbKOos
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yAoT3fPIACc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwmBAvqa_0U

Andalucía is an adventure for a lifetime. Phoenician, Roman, Jewish, Christian, Moslem and Gitano culture and history all around and hand in hand with modern life. Diverse and beautiful mountain landscapes and a famous both Mediterranean and Atlantic coastline: http://www.andalucia.com/

This video of Córdoba gives you an idea of the Andalucian life and spirit:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GyfGdpF55Uk

,... beaches to choose from..