Southern Spain over Spring Break

Best go another time of yr. it will be chock a block with people.

If you are looking to stay away from crowds, traveling in Andalucia during Semana Santa may not be your cup of tea. The crowds are mainly all locals, but they are crowds nonetheless. For us Semana Santa is the most important holiday, more so than Christmas. It can be quite a moving and emotional experience to be in places like Sevilla or Granada during a Semana Santa procession, you should definitely research Semana Santa before making a decision :)

I used this site to research my trip in 2016. Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday is super high season. The processions last hours, from mid-morning to well past midnight and in places like Sevilla and Malaga (where I was), some main streets are closed for the entire week, others are closed for hours because of scheduled processions. Thursday night has the largest, most important processions and in Sevilla they last through mid-morning. Saturday in Sevilla was nearly normal. I left for Cordoba in the late afternoon. Easter Sunday in Cordoba I didn't see large crowds (missed the morning procession, don't remember why) and Monday felt like a normal day (it was my third visit to Sevilla and Cordoba).

I was in Andalucia for Semana Santa this year. Lodging prices were about double those for the week before and the week after. It was hard to find rooms in budget-category hotels at under 90 euros per night even though I booked in December or January. Places were crowded.

Sights adjust their days and hours of operation during Holy Week, and it can be difficult to get accurate information for planning purposes before you visit the local tourist offices. Even doing that, I had a hard time in Granada. If you have a bunch of traditional sights you want to see (museums, cathedrals, historic houses, etc.), you should anticipate needing at least 1/3 more time than usual to cover them because of shorter hours, extra days closed, etc. Plus you should add time for actually observing the processions.

The weather was generally pleasant, but there was some rain, and I had a couple of cold days (with rain) in northern Andalucia on April 10 and 11. I don't know what the weather was like down in Cordoba, Seville and Granada at that time.

Thanks for the info. Very helpful. We are actually thinking of flying into Madrid a few days before Easter weekend. Maybe best to explore Madrid and the area, then go to Seville, Granada, etc, the week AFTER Holy week? The crowds will have subsided, I presume. I'm trying to figure out itinerary. Any advice is hugely appreciated. We have about 10 full days (plus one travel day on each end) to explore. Also, I keep reading that the Costa del Sol is pretty overdeveloped and "soulless"--except for a few towns and villages. Any thoughts on that? Not sure if best to fly into Madrid then drive/take train south from there. Or, try to fly into Seville with connection through Madrid...

Costa del Sol is just the name of a stretch of Andalucia coastline from, roughly, Nerja to near Gibraltar. With Malaga around the mid-point (-ish). Some of it's nice, some very developed (and subject to sneering insults from travel snobs - those who go to Torremolinos seem happy with their choice, even if its not everyone's cup of tea).

There's more coastline to the west (Costa de la Luz) and east (Costa Tropical and Costa Almeria). They also have their good points and their (to me), avoidable parts.

If you're planning to go to the seaside consider where you'll be coming from and what sort of experience you want, rather than concentrate on the particular coastal name. From Granada, Costa Tropical might be best. From Sevilla, Costa de la Luz.

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Madrid will have its fair share of Semana Santa impact as well, so other than being a bigger city to absorb it (possibly) there may still be impact...including price increases. Price out your hotel before committing to the trip and book it to hold it. This is one time I wouldn't recommend a short let apartment. Though most are honest and would respect a price, there are times the host cancels in order to charge more and then you are left high and dry. Or for a little CYA, book a cancellable hotel as well as an apartment - if apartments are your thing.

For the south coast, you may be competing with UK school Easter Break - April 3 - 20.
So supply and demand will have to factor in there too, but for a different reason.

The other consideration is that churches may be closed prior to the actual Easter Date to prepare for the festivities.

I appreciate that considering statutory holidays can increase your vacation dates, but it may come at a price. Only you can decide whether it is worth it or not.

FYI Barcelona will probably be the largest city without any major trip-interrupting Semana Santa processions. We Barcelonans are famously non-religious.

But if you want to see some Catalan Semana Santa celebrations, just as day trips from Barcelona (no need for overnight), there are a number across our region. Like the "Procession of Silence" in Badalona, the Macabre Dance of Death in Verges, and an Ancient Roman Passion Procession in Tarragona.

Thanks for all your replies. I appreciate it. I'm feeling discouraged about making this trip at this time of year, given the replies. However, I don't have much choice. It's my daughter's spring break. I am definitely not keen on massive crowds and high costs, but... only option is to go somewhere else.
For now: We arrive on Wednesday before Easter. I'm thinking perhaps we should head straight to the coast to a small village with a beach--one of the white towns, perhaps (any suggestions?)--and spend the days of Holy Week in a quieter place. Then the week following Easter Sunday, we'd visit Seville and Granada. Maybe the crowds would thin out, prices drop, schedules get back to normal? Does that sound reasonable? Or... best to just find another time of year some other year, to do this? (We've been to Barcelona btw. Loved it....)
Thank you all for your help!

not to add to the pain, but you need to also look at the dates for Feria - the Sevillian flamenco festival week.

Lodging prices still high until after the 12th. Maybe you should just leave it as a place for daughter to find on her own when independent. You need to leave them something good for when they leave the nest 😊