AC in León and Burgos in August?

Haven’t been there during those months in years. In May 2017 we stayed at hotel Abba Burgos. It has AC and is in a great location; about a 5 minutes walk from the cathedral. It cost €90 per night including an outstanding breakfast buffet. No idea what it costs during the summer months. If you have a car, there is a parking garage for a fee. It was way to find with GPS.

In Leon we stayed at the Parador at Plaza San Marcos. Unfortunately, it is currently undergoing renovation.

You can go to timeanddate.com and look at historical day-by-day temperatures for July 2018, August 2018, July 2017, August 2017, etc.

The answer is: "Good heavens, yes."

I traveled through that area in 2016. Those towns are far enough from the coast that they don't really have the same climate as places like San Sebastian, Bilbao and Santiago de Compostela. I never did figure out where the dividing line was--it probably shifts with the weather patterns. I hit Burgos earlier, before it was terribly hot, but Leon was a different story.

As for keeping your windows open, remember that a window screen is an extremely rare thing in Europe, so you may end up with flying critters in your room. And quiet in Spain comes rather late since the locals do not sit down to dinner before 10 PM. Especially if you're in an area with restaurants and bars, you'll hear pedestrians having conversations as they pass under your window after midnight for sure, and possibly considerably later.

Thanks Jaime and acraven, I did just have a look at past temps (head-smack; should have remembered to do this before I bothered you guys). It looks like temps were around 14 at night for end of July (low 30's during the day). So if temps are somewhere between those two for most of the night we should be ok.
Thank Jaime for the suggestions. I ask bc I already booked places and like the ones I found in L and B but they dont have AC. I could change but looks like I will be ok. Zaragoza and BCN I made sure to check, but forgot on these. I think Ill stick with it and hope for the best (we were in Paris a few years ago during a heat wave of 37-39 and I hadn't given any thought to AC. We were on the 4th floor. We survived ; / )
thank you

I never did figure out where the dividing line was

Hi Acraven, from my understanding the dividing line climate-wise is the Cantabrian Mountain Range, which stretches from the Pyrenees to the Galician Massif, the Picos de Europa natural park is part of this range. Basically, the Cantabrian Mountains divides "Green Spain" to the north, and the dry high Castilian plateau to the south (which includes León and Burgos).

You can read more about it here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cantabrian_Mountains :)

FYI, Rick Steves' Spain doesn't have extensive hotel recommendations for these two cities, but for each location, three of the five listings specify AC available.

Jessica, you are a brave soul. Please report back after your trip. I occasionally am forced to choose between air-conditioned/poorly-located and not-air-conditioned/centrally-located, and I have never dared to choose the latter. I have sometimes not found an affordable air-conditioned option, and for me that has been really borderline, but often manageable as long as I have a fan. I suggest asking for a fan in your room a week or two before arrival, in case the place has them but not enough for every room.

We tend to stay in [registered] airbnb's bc we are 5 ppl and this is most cost effective. Hotels are great when they fall within the budget, or even a little out of it, especially with breakfast. I try to go back and forth between these, as a comfy hotel with coffee already made for me can be just the ticket when traveling with 3 kids ; )

Jessica: remember that temps can be above averages. On my first trip to Spain, my friend and I decided to risk that Seville would not go over the reported average June high of 94 F; and, after all the temps could even be lower. Well, every day got to over 100, 104 a couple of times. A young couple almost missed our morning walking tour because, they explained, they were staying at a place with no AC, and they got very little sleep.

@Rosalyn - indeed! This is what I am considering. I think it will be ok

Hi Jessica,
I was there in July of this past year. When I was in Leon it was actually rainy with clouds and cool temperatures. In Burgos it was quite hot and I ended up buying a lightweight, summer dress because I was absolutely roasting! Windows open would not have been enough. The weather in that part of Spain isn't super predictable but when it's hot, it's HOT. I would make sure to have a place with AC just in case...better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it, I say. :)

I say yes to AC. I was there this past end of june and it was hot. I also stayed at Abba burgos and it was fine.

I was in both cities in July two years ago and was pretty glad I had AC. I had just come from (and afterwards went back up to) the North coast and the weather difference was striking. Yes, there is a 'mountain' range between Burgos/Leon and the coast and the cool rainy weather is on the coastal side. It was hot and sunny in both Burgos and Leon and my understanding was that was the norm.

That doesn't mean you'll die without AC but have you looked for accommodations with it? We had no problem finding centrally located places to stay with AC and we are somewhat 'budget' travelers.

Here's my trip report that includes those two cities and I give the hotel info where we stayed - https://andiamo.zenfolio.com/blog/2017/9/crisscrossing-the-camino-5-weeks-in-northern-spain-part-4---burgos-to-santiago

Just realized I didn't include the hotel info in that post.

Burgos - "Through the Arco and across the square is one of the most magnificent cathedrals I’ve seen – so big – so white – so beautiful. And right next to it was my hotel. Talk about a great location. Hotel Meson El Cid - There are actually three buildings: the restaurant, and two hotel buildings; reception is in the middle building (the white one) to the left. Very nice rooms, plenty large, huge bathroom with all the amenities, mini bar, great AC, good Wi-Fi. €69/double. You could pay extra for a cathedral view."

Leon - Hotel Via Leon – beautiful building, carefully restored to have all the modern amenities, nice furniture, large room, bathroom with circular tub/shower and two pottery sinks, great tile, mini bar, great AC, fast Wi-Fi, TV. Staff helpful and friendly. Location superb, one block off the main street just between the Casa de Botines/ Palacio de los Guzmanes and the Cathedral. Only 67€/night double. One of the few hotels we took breakfast on this trip. This was 6€ each which I felt was reasonable

Wow, thanks all --
For now, I have the reservations in both w/o AC. They are refundable. I will keep looking to see if anything else looks better. The biggest challenge is that we are 5, and hotels often cant accommodate us in one room, and two rooms gets pricey. When this happens we opt for Airbnb's, which, in these two cases, dont have AC. But, considering we did that 5 wk trip during a heat wave without even looking to see if places had AC (and many didnt), I think 3 nights is tolerable ;p
Thank you again. Love hearing peoples experiences