Jen

A friend & I are considering going to Italy or Spain during mid-late August. I understand many European cities are deserted, except for the tourists, in August as most Europeans take off to the coast for vacation. Any thoughts? Still worth the trip?

michele

It depends on how well you handle the heat and where you are going in each country. Having traveled to Seville and Rome (different trips) in late July I can tell you it is HOT. So make sure you book a hotel with AC, visit places early in the day, drink a lot of water, and bring a hat. The aftenoon siesta, especially in Southern Spain, is a necessity. Yes, I did have a great time, but I would not choose to go at that time of year; it was the only time I had.

Dawn

I agree with Michelle, I've never been to Spain, but have traveled quite a bit in Italy, August would be my last choice, but if you have no choice, it will be hot!! I'd try and get close to water, either Italian Riviera or Maybe the Naples area, or even Venice, and the beaches on the Eastern coast.

Monica Richards

A few years back I went to Greece during August (the only time it fit into my schedule). It was hot hot hot, but anything but deserted! Apparently that's where all of the other Europeans are off to. If you want to see lots of people, consider Greece (great history and nightlife). But in general, if the only time you can go to Spain or Italy is August, go for it. Some stuff might be closed, but it will still be worth the trip.

Beckyt

the best time to go to spain, is in may or october <BR>

Caryn

I went to Spain last August. I did not have a choice of when to go. If you have a choice, DO NOT go in August. It was so hot all the time, it left you exhausted with very little relief. As Michele said, siesta is extremely important and strictly observed. They will kick you out of a tourist sight before siesta begins. There is nothing to do for those several hours except maybe eat. But it is so hot that you have no desire to do anything anyway. The local people do go on vacation which means a lot of stores and other services might be closed. Anything concerned with tourists is extremely crowded. We had so much trouble with getting space on several different trains that we had to repeatedly change our plans (we went on a flexible schedule) and didn't get to all the places we wanted to go. There was even a time in Granada when we went to several laundromats to find out that they were all closed for the entire month of August. We wondered what the local people did for laundry during August. On the southern Portuguese coast we tried to rent a moped, car, anything, and couldn't unless we booked a week ahead. Had we even booked a week ahead, all of our plans were changed since our second day in Europe because of the crowds. We went to the beach at Cadiz in Spain (Very nice, 1 1/2 hours from Sevilla) and wanted to rent a jetski. While we only had to wait an hour or two, when we went back to get it, the price had skyrocketed because of the high demand. We seemed to be pretty lucky and always got a room. We did have trouble in Barcelona, though. Thank god my boyfriend speaks Spanish (but not Catalan) because we had to call literally 40 hotels before we found something. We almost couldn't get an overnight train back to get our plane to go home. So many people squeeze through the small border to Spain that every train was so crowded. I repeat, DO NOT go in August if you can avoid it. Italy I don't know about. Email me for more info.

Caryn

I just wanted to stress one more time how hot it was in Spain in August. I come from NJ where it is hazy, hot, and humid all summer, so I am used to heat. While Spain was dry (thank God), you are sweating all the time. It is HOT!!!!