After a guided 10 day Art and Wine Tour (Barcelona, Bilbao & Madrid) ending August 4 we have 8 days on our own and are looking for ideas/suggestions.
1) best way to rent a car
2) suggested itineraries considering we will leave Spain from Barcelona and prefer to stay south and east of Madrid
3) definite places include Figueres/Cadaques, Cordova
4) how to avoid lines.
Thanks!

i don't think it's the lines that will bother you as much as the intense heat!!!!!!!Be prepared!

1. Why do you think you need a car?
2.Too difficult for me in such a big country - what do you want from this itinerary? And yes, as above - phew!
3.Fine, but they are a day, apart whatever your transport
4. What do you mean by lines? We may be divided by a common language, but is this to do with road traffic or drugs?

Do you mean Córdoba?

Spain will be hot, even in the northern beach towns.

Where does the tour end?

Southern Spain will be hot, hot, hot. Without knowing your interests or what you want to see, it's near impossible to advise you.

Do you like history, architecture, food, wine, beaches?

Thank you for your replies. We end our guided tour in Madrid. Although we spent a memorable week in Ibiza in the '70s we are now focusing more on art, architecture and people. We want to drive to enable us to more easily visit small out of the way towns. We understand it will be hot...thanks for the warnings but are committed to this trip. And yes, I did mean Cordoba.

Any advice on renting a car? In the US or in country? Again, thanks!

Try kemwel.com or autoeurope.com for car rentals.

Driving is easy in Spain, as long as you don't try to drive in big towns. The time I accidentally ended up in Madrid rush hour traffic was a truly memorable experience!

I agree that it will be very very hot.

The Veranos de la Villa (Summer in the city) festival goes on in Madrid through July and August. On August 5th, fabulous and unconventional flamenco singer Diana Navarro from Málaga performs in the spectacular outdoor scene in the Sabatini gardens just outside the Royal Palace. Could be one of the highlights of your trip:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kytOb_x73XQ

Buy, tickets online. I've used this service several times and it's perfect. Print your own tickets: http://www.entradas.com/entradas/dia...o_1_2_28_73160

Go back to the Basque country for the final days, nothing beats plain fantastic San Sebastián. The culinary capital of Spain if not all of Europe, some of the finest city beaches on the continent, beautiful landscapes, a local culture that people take great pride in and European Capital of Culture 2016. A favourite for Spanish and French summer visitors for some 150 years, also because of the cooler climate.
SS in New York Times recently: http://travel.nytimes.com/2011/08/07...tin-spain.html
"Is San Sebastián the best place to eat in Europe":
http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandsty...rink.shopping2

... and low price flights from Bilbao to Barcelona around the 10-12 of August for some 30-40€ ++. 70 minutes from San Sebastián to Bilbao airport with direct bus. http://www.vueling.com/booking/booki...ciona-tu-vuelo

"definite places include Figueres/Cadaques, Cordova"
Cadaques to Córdoba is a 2-day drive. 12 hours actual driving on toll roads, plus rest stops, plus a meal break, plus finding your hotel at the end of Day 1, plus time for getting lost on the way.

So that accounts for 2 of your 8 days.

Oh, and yes, I have done that drive, twice. I am in no hurry to repeat the experience.

You have 8 days including travel time. Stay in the Madrid area and visit nearby towns and then take the AVE to either Cordoba or Barcelona but not both.

It will be sweltering and a car in most Spanish cities is more of a pain than an advatnage.

Get on a plane and head to Santiago de Compostela and tour around Galicia. At the end fly to Barcelona and connect wih your flight home. I cant even fathom going voluntarily to the south in August.

Oh heck, I have just noticed this.
"suggested itineraries considering we will leave Spain from Barcelona".

So driving from Cadaques or Figueras to Córdoba and back will account for 4 of your 8 days.

Since you are flying out of Barcelona, leave the Costa Brava for the end of your trip. From Madrid take the train to Cordoba and back to Madrid. Fly to Barcelona and pick up a rental car at the airport. Tour the Costa Brava, return the car to the airport, and fly home. Enjoy !

cruiseluv said "I cant even fathom going voluntarily to the south in August."

he funny thing is that I live, quite voluntarily, in "the south", near Ronda in Andalucía, and love it here in the summer.

Good for you Tony. Not everybody likes to sightsee in extreme hot weather.

What do you call "extreme hot weather" in temperature terms?

The heat thing is of course very individual. I love Andalucía also in the summer, and vast numbers of people keep coming back at this time of year again and again.