We are planning a special trip to Spain in late August-early September for about 2 weeks. We would like to combine some history, scenic views, relaxing beach time and some red wine if possible. We are thinking of traveling to Madrid, Grenada and Seville. What areas would you recommend for beach and wine that would not be too difficult to get to?
Thank you.
Do consider the heat--if I were going to Spain in August-September, I would go north, but if you have your heart set on Andalucia, then the beaches southeast of Cadiz were quite pretty. Once you are at Cadiz by train, you can take a bus along the coast, but you would want to consider a car for this area. Vejer de la Frontera maybe?
Are you flying home from Madrid?
What kind of wine do you like? I think you can find that pretty much anywhere. Jerez de la Frontera is a sherry center, so that might be of interest. I only drink white, so that is usually what I look up first.
I agree with the post above, August early September is not the time to go to Spain. At that time of year I would go to Switzerland. J
If you must visit España in August, then I would do Bilbao, Vitoria-Gasteiz, and Donostia.
Granada and Sevilla have no beaches. The maximum temperatures are likely to be close to 40°C.
All of España has red wine.
Just to give you an idea, look at this site for daily weather conditions in Madrid, Granada and Sevilla.
The places you mentioned are all inland, so as already mentioned, there are no beaches. An hour or so south of Sevilla is Cadiz and an hour or so south of Granada is Salobreña. Both have beaches if you want to day trip to them. How you’re getting around will affect the ease of getting to a beach town.
Yes it could still be hot, but don’t let that stop you if those are the places you want to go. Just have plenty of water with you.
Red wine = tinto. You don’t want to ask for vino rojo as you’ll get funny looks.
We have been to both the Basque region and Andalucia in early September and loved both. Last September in Andalucia we had no issues with heat. We did not focus on beaches but found lovely ones in and to the northwest of Tarifa toward Cadiz, in Nerja and in Malaga. There is great wine everywhere. Enjoy!
I live in a cold Nordic climate so heat is rough on me. I was in Spain in late August to mid-September, from Madrid to Córdoba to Seville to Granada to Malaga.
It was hot (30°C) but it wasn't unbearable. I tried to avoid being outside during the hottest times. This meant tours or sightseeing around 9 am. We went to the Prado around 11 and it's air conditioned. Otherwise,
we rested at our hotel in the late afternoon. All of them had air conditioning.
Going out in the early evening was lovely. My friend and I enjoyed dining al fresco at Plaza de San Francisco in Seville. Lights lit up the buildings, somewhere a band was playing. Magical.
In Córdoba they used mist to help cool us off at restaurants during the day. Córdoba and Seville were really the hottest places we visited. I don't remember being all that hot in Granada. Málaga was hot but tolerable.
Can't recommend any beaches but Cádiz. I just didn't want you to get dissuaded by the heat.
