Is Late Autumn or Early Spring best in Spain?

[Deleted member 56550]

Hi Guys,

I have not yet convinced my darling wife that a full winter in Spain is a good idea, but she is starting to think a month in the sunshine would be nice.

I'm thinking of going in either Oct/Nov or Jan/Feb.

Which do you think would be best for a couple of newbies, from the weather, site availability and ease of travel points of view?

Also where is best to aim for, to get the most out of our month.

Looking forward to your suggestions.

Regards,

Paul

 

[Deleted member 9237]

The way the weather is going now thats a hard one to answer this should be the rain time now but we are still getting 28/30 degs for me early spring can be good f But saying that i have had Christmas on the beach a few times since i have been here so i would wait till others that have come over to offer there advice. If when you get over and run into any problems in the Alicante area just send me a message and i will see if i can help. :goodluck:

 

[redhand]

We spent for the first time 5 weeks last year end jan to begin mar between lagos portugal and cordoba spain
Once we got down to seville we didnt see rain i think or if we did it was short lived most days warm 15° plus, t shirt and shorts
Wasnt long enough going 7 weeks next jan

 

[Moped]

Where best to go to make the most of your trip depends on your interests. We had a good 2 months last February/March touring down and back along the east coast from Valencia down to La Manga. Beast from the East time in the UK and cooler than normal in Spain but still plenty of beach type days. If January you probably need to go further south. Spent 4 weeks in Benidorm as it hooked us with plenty of entertainment and night life. My preference would be to repeat Benidorm experience in 2019 although Mrs Moped wants to go Malaga/Gibraltar way.

Not sure about Spain pre Xmas for us as it would force us to return to UK middle part of December and we prefer to have no return deadline and having the flexibility to return to the UK in our own time booking ferry at last minute. So not so much about weather but more about freedom to extend stay beyond March.

 

[QFour]

It’s cold early in the year. The earliest we like to get here is the middle of April. We do September and October and head back, as it’s cooling down and more likely to rain. I like it warm, dry and sunny.

Mrs QFour

 

[John H]

As others have said, it depends on your interests but simply from the point of view of weather, the north can be wet and cool in both spring and autumn. The warmest and driest weather will be in the south-east (Alicante round to Malaga) but the winds can be severe at this time of year. Like Ken, some years we have had Christmas lunch on the beach; others we have been wading knee-deep in water to get to Christmas lunch. But whatever you choose to do, I am sure you will enjoy this beautiful country.

 

[Deleted member 56550]

Hi Guys,

Thanks for all your comments, sounds like Feb/March might turn out to be the ideal time for us.

We don't have any birthdays etc, so no reason to return if we are enjoying ourselves.

We will probably wander along the Spanish coast in a southerly direction, until it's warm enough for us, and maybe we could sneak into Portugal before returning to the UK.

Thanks again, will definitely let you know how our plans develop.

Regards,

Paul

 

[Deleted member 56550]

Not sure about Spain pre Xmas for us as it would force us to return to UK middle part of December and we prefer to have no return deadline and having the flexibility to return to the UK in our own time booking ferry at last minute. So not so much about weather but more about freedom to extend stay beyond March.

Hi Moped,

Doesn't booking the ferry at the last minute mean you get ripped off price-wise.

For the smaller trips we have taken so far we have booked outward and return ferries well in advance on the assumption that it would be cheaper.

Regards,

Paul

 

[John H]

Hi Moped,

Doesn't booking the ferry at the last minute mean you get ripped off price-wise.

For the smaller trips we have taken so far we have booked outward and return ferries well in advance on the assumption that it would be cheaper.

Regards,

Paul

Hi

As a general rule, it is a lot cheaper to book in advance but that could mean on your way to the ferry! You can test it by looking up the cost of a ferry for tomorrow and then looking up the cost of that same ferry for six months down the line. In most cases there will be little or no difference (or at least there hasn't been on the ferries I use!)

 

[jeffmossy]

Hi Paul

I throw another hat into the ring.

Go in November/ December.

Fly home, storing your van.

Fly back February/March.

The reason for this is
It’s a five day drive there.
Flights are cheap
Storage is cheap.
When you fly back your there, no driving.
For us it has worked.
As folk have asked, what do you both like to do?

Good advice , but if you have a doggy this option wont work :dog:

 

[trevskoda]

It all depends on if you can hack heat,went march to gib spain ,n/africa 23c and i was cooked and new wife dont do sun as all pure white irish.
This year at home hit 27c and i spent a week hiding in the fridge,so for me i would go at night mid winter.

 

[QFour]

Hi Moped,

Doesn't booking the ferry at the last minute mean you get ripped off price-wise.

For the smaller trips we have taken so far we have booked outward and return ferries well in advance on the assumption that it would be cheaper.

Regards,

Paul

Usually book return ferry on way back through France. Would not say it’s more expensive.

 

[Moped]

Hi Moped,

Doesn't booking the ferry at the last minute mean you get ripped off price-wise.

For the smaller trips we have taken so far we have booked outward and return ferries well in advance on the assumption that it would be cheaper.

Regards,

Paul

Hi Paul

We use the aFerry website and generally look for the cheapest western channel midweek crossings. The difference between booking a return and 2 separate singles on the sort of crossings we do is minimal. Anybody can check this out for themselves by comparing quotes for crossings. Also compare prices for the same crossing in say 1 weeks time and 3 months time. Note though that prices in summer are higher than winter. Very often the prices are the same for similar off peak crossings. Brittany Ferries have no competition on the western channel routes and Spain so have little need to incentivise or manipulate their pricing structure. Dover Calais may be entirely different but we never use this route. We sometimes find that prices fall on certain routes nearer to the potential return date, maybe in an attempt to encourage travellers who are browsing to choose that alternative route to fill spare capacity.

Another consideration may be you mention smaller trips. If this means short duration visits then, yes, you may get a very good deal on say a 5 or 10 day return or the like as an offer. We can never benefit from these short duration return deals as our stays are for months at a time and not days.

Cheers
Moped

PS to return to the topic 2019 ferry prices may well be higher than 2018 ferry prices so from this point of view a November/ December trip may be better. Worth checking out maybe?