Spain in July
 

My husband and I are planning a 2 week trip to Spain in July. Are we crazy? I'm starting to wonder if it is going to be way too hot to do anything...

I was planning on starting in Southern Spain-visiting the white hill towns, Sevilla and Granada, and maybe a town along the coast. Then, flying to Madrid spending a few days and finishing up the trip in Barcelona.

Any advice or opinions would be great!

I think you'll find very different weather conditions if different parts of the country.

Madrid's elevation and being more northward, it will probably be fine.

Granada is also up in the mountains.

Barcelona will probably be ok.

Sevilla is a different story. Two years ago we were there in the first half of June. We were sitting at an outdoor restaurant (in the shade) having a drink and a thermometer in a traffic circle showed 30. That's over 100 degrees.

I asked a sales girl in a department store and she told me it get REALLY hot in the summer. 45!!!

On the other hand. You live with what you have.

If I remember correctly, it wasn't the temperature alone that was unbearable, it was a combination of that and the sun beating down on us.

Take with a light-colored umbrella and don't plan on totally filling your day. Walk relatively slowly and drink water.

Unless you have health issues, you should be fine with a bit of care.

My favorites were Sevilla and Barcelona.

We've done parts of Spain in both July and August and no, you are not crazy but there are some things to consider.

Spain used to be the number one detination for holiday makers from some European countries in August; the UK comes to mind but that may have changed.

It will be hot but Madrid has a much drier heat (like the US desert southwest). I can remember being in Madrid, eating dinner at 11:30 Pm and the temperature was 98 degrees F.

Barcelona is very, VERY humid on the other hand.

I thought Seville was drier than Barcelona when we were there this past July. Say what you will about some of those wonderful hotels in the Barrio Santa Cruz but if you can get a hotel with a pool in Seville by all means consider it.

Air conditioning is a no-brainer IMO.

Have a great trip.

Peak season for many of Spain's tourist destinations begins 16 July (la Virgen de Carmen): the more of your visit you can complete before then, the less expensive overall it will be.

Our last visit to Sevilla, we got up early to do some walkabout tourism, had a midday meal and went back to our hotel to bathe (swimming pool) & take a siesta. We emerged again around 7PM for some evening stuff.

Myer: 30 Degrees Celsius is more like 85 Farenheit, not 100!

40 C = 104 F; That's when Sevillanos say it's getting hot. I saw it as high as 42 C (107.5 F) in Sevilla in August; but it also broke 40 C in Madrid that year.

My advice to ZoeB: if you go to Sevilla in July, take cork soled sandals so the soles of your feet don't get burned.

Have you given any thought to a visit to northern Spain?

No, I don't think you're crazy. That's when I usually go to Spain due to the school calendar. But I would concentrate on the North and leave the South for some other time. I went to Sevilla in late June and between say 11AM-6PM it was extremly hot. I would love to go back but will never do it in the summer .

Northern Spain is IMO beautiful. Galicia, Asturia, Cantabria and Basque area. And the weather tends to be much more pleasant.

Hello ZoeB, I have a friend who was born and raised in Seville. She and her family now live in my city in the Sacramento Valley that gets quite hot during the summer months.

Two summers ago they went home to Seville to see her family for the month of July. She told me afterwards that they were so hot and miserable that she told her family they will never return during the hot summer months. She indicated that Seville has gotten much warmer over the years.
So just food for thought.

IMHO Spain in JUly is not an option - except for the north coast around San Sebastian.

Have been to Madrid May 1 and it was high 90's and humid. Andalucia is often well over 100 in the summer.

Yes - it;s too hot to do much. If you do go be sure your hotels and ar have really good AC - and realize that you can dothings only in the early am and at night - the middle of the day is unbearable.

And don;t wear any shoes with heels - the macadam on the road melts and you will sink all the way into the road.

This question comes up quite often. Almost invariaby thje consensus seesm to be not to do it. My best friend, who grew up in Puerto Rico, took her family for 2 weeks to Andalucia and swears to this day she will never do that again. If I were you, I would plan no more than 3 days down South and the balance for destinations in Northern Spain.

to clarify....my friend took her family to Andalucia in JULY, so she is a better point of reference that most in that she did exactly what you are thinking on doing.

>She indicated that Seville has gotten much warmer over the years.<

Sevilla has NOT gotten warmer. Sevilla is infamous for its heat for hundreds of years. But your friend has become more sensitive to heat because she has become accustomed to American air condition.

Spain in July will be very, very hot, even Madrid and Granada. And do not expect air condition as common as in North America. Yes, your hotel will have a/c. Your rental car will have a/c. But most tapas bars, many restaurants, many shops don't. And public buses don't.

I know that Americans are very sensitive to heat. The climate in Spain will be similar to the climate in, say, Oklahoma or Texas in July. So, decide for yourself if you will feel comfortable with that.