I'm trying to plan a belated honeymoon in August and we want to go to Spain. We will have 3 weeks and plan to rent a car and explore, preferring not to make alot of reservations ahead of time. Will we find it too hot and/or crowded to enjoy ourselves? Any places you would specifically recommend we head for or stay away from? We have just begun to research the trip and I would love to hear any ideas. Thanks!

Diane, <BR>A friend of mine just got back from Seville last week. She said it was over a hundred degrees ; so avoid the South if you don''t want to swelter. I have been there in July and it was hotter than Hades. I enjoyed it, but really had to take it slowly and made sure the hotel had air-conditioning. <BR> <BR>Another friend of mine is from Barcelona and he used to vacation in Galicia in the summer. Much cooler temps and very interesting. <BR> <BR>The beach areas will be very crowded. If you plan to venture there you will need reservations and do it pronto. <BR> <BR>M.

The problem is that the south-central inland is hot in August. The mediterranean coast is generally crowded and of course you would have to have reservations ahead of time since it gets 100% of occupation. I would suggest you the north ( Santander-Santillana del Mar-Picos de Europa-Oviedo-Gijon), The northern meseta ( Segovia-Salamanca-Leon-Burgos ) or the Canary Islands combined with some destination inland. For example Barcelona/Costa Brava/Pyrenees-Lanzarote island-La Palma island or Northern Route and Castilla cities-Lanzarote island-Tenerife island, etc