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When to go to Spain:

Personally, I like spring and fall for visiting southern Spain. In my visits the weather has been nice during the day and cool in the evening. Best of all, from the first of October to the end of March airfares are priced low and almost all hotels and hostales are cheaper. Also, from October through May tourist crowds are nonexistent. Even during the first few weeks of June we found tourist crowds to be small with very little waiting required. During the summer expect a lot of heat, particularly in the south of Spain. In June of 2001 a Madrid street sign was reporting a temperature of 48º C ( 118º F ). Temperatures of 100º + are not normally reached until August.

If you want to swim in the Mediterranean, then the hot summer or early fall is the time to go. Hotel/Air packages for the Costa del Sol can be unbelievably cheap during the winter months, but don't count on doing a lot of swimming. While air temperature is very comfortable in the early fall and late spring, and people will get in the water, I stuck to wading.

Hotel staff and English:

English-speaking hotel clerks are found in moderate to expensive hostales and hotels. If you speak no Spanish, just stick to the tourist areas and you should fare well. For more information on communicating using English only go to I only speak English.

Spend as much or as little as you want:

One of the nice things about Spain is that you can spend very little (€15) or a whole lot (€1,000+) per night, depending on what you desire in an accommodation. For my June 2001, family of three, visit to Spain we averaged €120 a night for hotel rooms. (At the time this was about $100 USD per night, but with Jan. 2005 exchange rates this would now be over $150 USD per night) For decent quality, expect to pay more for hotel rooms in cities such as Madrid and Barcelona. In the smaller cities, however, you can often pay much less and get a nicer room than you had in Madrid. I believe most middle to middle/upper class U.S. citizens would be satisfied with the hotels we received for this €120 a night average. Some rooms had character, one was very large, all were functional and clean, and in all we felt secure. None of these hotels came with pools or exercise rooms, though some had cafes and one had free Internet access for guest. If you are looking to spend as little as possible for lodging, try getting to your destination early and checking out the hostales. Ask to see the room before you register; some hostales are very nice and cost little. Also, remember you are going to pay less in off-season than you will in the high season.

In March 1999 I spent three weeks in Spain by myself. I flew out of Detroit, stayed in a mixture of hostales and hotels, and bought most of my food from grocery stores. Total cost, including plane tickets, food, gifts, train tickets, and a new camera with film - $1,400 (1999 exchange rate). Take away the camera and gifts and the cost was $1,100 for three weeks in Spain.

My family trip in June of 2001 was two weeks in Spain and the total cost was around $7,000 for three of us. In 2005, I would anticipate with the current exchange rate, a two week summer vacation for a family would run around $2,000 USD in hotel cost. With today's exchange rates, that $7,000 trip would be closer to $10,000 USD.

Keep in mind, while the current weak US dollar makes Europe expensive, Spain continues to be less expensive for the traveler than France, Italy, the UK, and Ireland!

Car parking:

In my experience, most hotels and hostales offer car parking, but it hardly ever is free. Expect to pay €4.00 - €12.00 a night, for car parking.

More hotel FAQ, Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, Page 4.

Hotel FAQ, page 3 of 4:

Types of accommodations in Spain.

Where should I stay?

Must I make a hotel reservation?

Other tips and observations.