Although Spain can be visited all year round, on this text we are going to talk about the best time to go to Spain.
Climate conditions change greatly throughout the year, and they also change from one region of Spain to another. Spain is not a large country when compared to the US or Australia. But you will be surprised to know how conditions can change from one part of the country to another.
On this text we want to help you with your choice with tips and information: each period of the year offers opportunities and drawbacks for a road trip. And we want to be sincere with you: the fact that Spain is open all year round doesn’t mean the 12 months of the year are equally suited for a road trip.
SEASONS AT A GLANCE
Seasons are clearly defined in most of Spain, even more so in the regions of the interior of the country. The Canary Islands are a completely different matter, and we’ll deal with them later.
Spain in winter
Winter in Spain, between December and March, is the coldest period of the year. It is not unusual for temperatures to drop below 0ºC (32º F). The highest mountains are covered with snow, and it is the period of the year when ski resorts open their doors to the public.
When a cold wave hits the country, there might be road closures due to the presence of ice and snow on the surface. These road closures are not restricted to mountain regions, they are common in the interior of the country too.
Another outstanding feature of the winter period is that the number of hours of daylight is quite small, compared to other periods of the year. You can expect sunset at around 6 pm in winter.
While we don’t think winter is a bad period of the year for urban tourism in Spain, it is definitely not top of the list when it comes to planning a road trip.
Winter is a good choice for a road trip in Spain if…
- … you intend to visit a ski resort or a snow destination.
- … avoiding mass tourism is a priority – it is the period of the year with less tourists in Spain, even more so outside the main cities. If you plan on visiting nature destinations, including National Parks, you will have the privilege of doing so on your own.
- … you want to stretch your budget to the maximum. It is low season all throughout Spain. This is particularly the case for cities like Barcelona or Madrid, with the lowest accommodation prices of the year.
- … you want the opportunity to see a Spain completely different from the traditional postcards.
Winter is not a good choice for a road trip in Spain if…
- … you want to make the most of your daytime. As it gets dark at around 6 pm, you won’t be able to cover as much as you would do in other periods of the year.
- … stable and firm weather is your thing.
- … warm weather is your thing. Temperatures inland tend to verge on the freezing point for most of the winter nights.
- … you want to avoid any risks associated with winter driving.
- … you intend to visit the Balearic Islands – it is not the right time of the year for that specific destination.
Spain in spring
Spring in Spain, between April and June, is a period of transition from the harshness of winter to the sun-drenched days of the summer. A cold wave might make the temperatures drop, but the extreme temperatures of winter are gone.
Days grow longer, and in May and June, in particular, the number of hours of daylight is quite spectacular, with the sunset at around 9:30 pm.
Spring is a good choice for a road trip in Spain if…
- … you want to make the most of your daytime. As the season approaches June, daylight hours increase considerably.
- … you are after pleasant weather. Neither too cold nor too hot.
- … you want to avoid the tourist crowds that visit Spain during the summer. Tourism arrivals slowly increase, but it’s still nowhere as crowded as during July and August.
- .. you want to stretch your budget. While the lowest season of the year is gone, prices are still much more friendly than during the height of the summer months.
- … you plan on visiting nature destinations, including National Parks. They look so lovely during the period!
Spring is not a good choice for a road trip in Spain if…
- … you intend to visit the Balearic Islands – it is still too cold to be able to enjoy the beaches.
Spain in summer
Summer in Spain, between July and September, is the hottest period of the year, with dry weather and plenty of sun on the sky.
Days continue to be quite long during the period, allowing for an excellent enjoyment of your time.
Summer is a good choice for a road trip in Spain if…
- … you are after hot and sunny weather.
- … you want to make the most of your daytime.
- … you want to visit the Balearic Islands, it’s the right time of the year if you intend to enjoy the beach.
Summer is not a good choice for a road trip in Spain if…
- … you want to avoid the crowds. It’s high season in Spain, which translates in hundreds of thousands of tourists along the coastline. You will find the most expensive prices of the year too.
- … extreme heat in specific regions of the interior of Spain (Andaluzia comes to mind) might make for a very uncomfortable experience.
Spain in autumn / fall
Autumn in Spain, between October and December, is a period of transition from the sun-drenched days of the summer to the harshness of winter.
Days grow shorter, and in November and December, in particular, the number of hours of daylight hours is quite small, with the sunset at around 5:30 pm.
Autumn is a good choice for a road trip in Spain if…
- … you are after pleasant weather.
- … you want to avoid the tourist crowds that visit Spain during the summer.
- … you want to visit nature destinations. It is a beautiful time of the year in the forests and the mountains of Spain.
Autumn is not a good choice for a road trip in Spain if…
- … you want to make the most of your day. In November and December the number of daylight hours is quite small.
NOT THE BEST TIME TO GO TO SPAIN: HIGH SEASON
We all know that high season means high prices and hordes of tourists. Probably no the best time to go to Spain. Let’s have a look at the main critical periods of the year in Spain, tourism-wise:
- Semana Santa (Easter Week). There is a long list of cities in Spain where the celebration of Easter is a huge thing. Even in cities where such tradition doesn’t exist (like Barcelona or Madrid), many tourists make the most of the long bank holiday.
- July. School is over and July is the first month of holidays for Spaniards – and half of Europe too. You can expect crowds and full prices everywhere.
- August. For decades, Spaniards took their holidays in August. It is still very much the case, and along with July, August is the most expensive period of the year accommodation wise.
- December Bank Holiday. Two important bank holidays, on 6 December and 8 December, end up forming the most important extended bank holiday of the year. Expect high prices and absurd crowds in the main cities.
- “fiestas”. Local festivities are such an important part of Spanish culture! While fascinating to watch, they usually imply crowds and high prices. The fiestas calendar is far too complex to detail here, but it is always a good idea to check accommodation prices in the places you plan to visit to avoid any surprises.
GOING TO THE CANARY ISLANDS?
It is not by chance that the Canary Islands are known as the Islas Afortunadas (Lucky Islands). Due to their latitude, they enjoy a sub-tropical climate where low temperatures are unheard of.
If you are planning a road trip on the Canary Islands, choose whichever month of the year suits your calendar (and budget) best!
THE PERFECT MONTH TO GO TO SPAIN
We opened this text stating that Spain can be visited all year round.
But if you want to know our personal opinion about the best time to go to Spain, there is one fantastic month to tour Spain, the month of June. For several reasons:
- extremely long hours of daylight. In mid-June, you can expect total darkness after 11pm.
- the temperatures are just wonderful, a bit on the warm side, but safe from the summer heat.
- you can enjoy the beach.
- for road trippers, the sight of the fields full of flowers is wonderful.
- while prices tend to go up as the month advances, they are nowhere as expensive as in July or August.
If you can’t make it to Spain in June, consider May, September or October as worthy alternatives.
Travelling to Portugal?
If you’d like to know when is the best time of the year to visit Portugal, have a look at the text The best time to go to Portugal.
planning to visit Spain with my wife
That’s great, Hasim.
Hi Tony,
We are 2 families with young kids planning to visit Spain in this May (2023). We plan to arrive at Barcelona and depart from Madrid. Planning for a trip of 2 weeks. Want to see the real beauty of the country by road (not focussing much on the cities). Can you suggest us the best road trip possible during this time? I understand Spain is a vast country and not possible to cover all of it in 2 weeks time, but, whatever is possible and the best parts.
Thanks for your videos and blogs. These are very helpful.
Gracias !!
Nilesh…. (From India).
Hi Nilesh, we intend to create a consultancy service to help with requests like yours, but so far it is at a planning stage. Hope it will be ready sometime during 2023. In the meantime, we hope you can make the most of the tips with share in our videos. Best wishes for 2023!
Hi Tony,
Thank you for the info. I will be visiting Spain this April and will rent a car for a road trip.
Thanks a lot, James.
Hello, Tony
My name is Bogdan, I’m from Romania and since I discovered your vlogs, I’ve fallen in love with Spain. I don’t know if I will have time to visit everything that I have proposed (a few vacations), but I will definitely try to do it! I start in October with Seville and Cordoba – one week, then we’ll see again next year.
Thanks for the work you do!
Dear Bogdan, many thanks for you words, hope you can make a superb trip!
Hello, Tony. Again, Bogdan sends you all the best!
As I told you above, in October I planned a trip to Seville and Cordoba. And I did it! It was the best vacation I’ve ever had. Mostly thanks to you, TONY.
I said above that I fell in love with Spain….only that I did it from your vlogs, now I’ve seen everything live and my desire to return is maximum!
Next year I want to go to Madrid, Toledo, Aranjuez, Excorial…
Once again, I congratulate you and thank you for the work you do!!!!!
What a wonderful thing to hear, Bogdan! We are so happy you had such a great time! All the very best to you!
Hi Tony. I just returned from a trip to Madrid, El Escorial and Toledo, as I said last year I would!
It was a special experience! At El Escorial we were allowed to film and take photos! And Toledo is simply fascinating! Including the fact that in Toledo, you don’t really go on a straight section…you always go up and down! And you have a TOLEDO SWORDS store on every street corner! Unfortunately, one cannot be brought on the plane!
You, Tony, are the main reason for my love for Spain!
I always get inspiration from your videos before I plan my vacation! I hope to take many more vacations in Spain!
Who knows, maybe we’ll see each other!
Once again, delighted to hear of the success of your trip. Yes, Patrimonio Nacional (the Spanish National Heritage) now allows cameras inside their properties, including El Escorial. All the very best to you!
Hi Tony, we’ll be visiting Madrid for few days around Christmas. I understand that many restaurants and tapa bars will be closing early on Dec 24. Would the fast food establishments such as MacDonald’s be open for dinner on December 24 (and would the fast food be open on Dec 25)? Thanks
Hi Felix, there should be plenty of restaurants and fast food parlors opened both on the evening on the 24 Dec and during Christmas Day too.
Hola Tony,
My husband, Felix, and I are in the initial planning stages for our trip to Spain. Particularly Seville and the town of Osuna. My husbands last name is Osuna and he has deep roots there. Looking forward to viewing all your videos and asking questions. Thank you again.
Hi Loretta, be very welcome to the site and the channel. All the best!
Hi Tony,
We are planning on going to Madrid and Spain December 25-Jan 05. Would you suggest doing Madrid or Spain first or vice versa? Are most things open during theses times?
Hi Han, the order in your itinerary depends on many factors, but theoretically Madrid could be equally done at the beginning or at the end. Most things will close on 1 January. Outside Madrid, shops will close on Sundays and bank holidays.
Hi Tony & Cecilia, we are planning a +/- 30-day trip to southern Spain between mid Jan and mid Feb to escape winter in Boston. We have been watching many of your YouTube videos and find them very helpful. Our itinerary is as follows: Barcelona 6 nights, Valencia 4 nights, Seville 4 nights, Cadiz 2 nights, Malaga 3 nights, Cordoba 2 nights, Granada 4 nights and we depart from Madrid after 3 nights. We plan to use the train between cities except possibly for the Cadiz – Malaga leg where we may rent a car. Are there any changes that you would suggest? Other than the Barcelona stay we could make changes.
Hi Rich, your itinerary sounds quite reasonable but for the Madrid part, which feels on the short side of things. You could take one day from Valencia and one from Málaga and transfer them to Madrid. Otherwise, it looks great. All the best.
Thanks for the prompt response.
We recognized that more time in Madrid is needed, but thought we would circle back there when we go to northern Spain on a future trip.
I was also thinking of reducing Granada by a night (from 4 to 3) and adding a night to Cadiz (from 2 to 3). Does that seem reasonable?
Rich, it doesn’t make sense to allocate the same amount of time to the city of Granada as to the city of Cádiz. Granada has far more content.
thanks. After watching the videos on Cadiz (yours and others) we became very concerned that we had not allocated enough time but we will take your advice.
We are sorting through our lodging options. Would it be ok if we bounced some of the hotels we are considering off you before we finalize our bookings?
Go ahead, our time is limited but if you keep it short, we’ll do our best!
Hi Tony, I come across your Youtube Channel & delighted to find it.
I have about 4 weeks holiday to spend & now I’ve decided to Spain & Portugal – around March and April 2024. But I am a bit overwhelming with the choice of destinations/attractions.
Would you kind enough to suggest or sequence the itinerary for us so we don’t backtracking I can land in Barcelona or Madrid.
We don’t mind to drive on the rent car if that is easy to cover the trip to Portugal or Andalucía cost and time efficiently
Barcelona, Valencia (Las Fallas), Madrid, Salamanca, Porto, Lisbon, the south to Seville or smaller cities for Semana Santa , Cadiz, Rhonda, Granada, Cordoba, Toledo back to Madrid
Let me know if you can assist or discuss on different venue, also use your guide apps
Kind Regards
John
Hi John, be very welcome to the site and YouTube channel. We intend to create a consultancy service to help with queries like yours, but so far it is at a planning stage. But we’ll leave you with a couple of useful tips. This video on how many days to dedicate to the most important Spanish cities should be of help. If you are planning to visit Andalusia during Easter you should have booked your accommodation quite a while ago, it’s the highest season of the year in the region. All the best.
Thank You for your reply and video, saw the accommodations options in Andalusia – there are still some available but the rate are high, may consider small town or other regions, Cheers.
👍
Hi Tony,
I’ve been watching all your Spain & Portugal videos. They are very helpful and have lots of tips. We are coming to Spain & Portugal this summer (this is the only time is possible due to the school). We are landing in Madrid June 22nd in the morning and spending there until June 25th. We are planning to rent a car and do a road trip through Spain & Portugal.
I have a favor to ask your opinion about our itinerary, not sure if we should start with Andalusia or not because of the heat. I know you always suggest to stay more for each city; however, unfortunately, we don’t have that much time.
Should we start first with south due to hot weather as Toledo, Cordoba, Granada, Gibraltar, Seville, Lisbon, Porto, Salamanca, Madrid (leave the car), Valencia (train), & end Barcelona ( we have a plane ticket from Barcelona).
Or this is our initial plan:
Madrid June 22 – 25
Toledo 25
Stay in Salamanca on June 25th
Porto June 26
Lisbon June 27 – 30
Sintra ( not sure if we should include this place due to so many tourist queues to the palace and road congestion)
Seville July 1st
Gibraltar July 2nd
Cordoba July 3-4
Granada July 5
Valencia July 6
Barcelona July 7-10
I would appreciate if you could give your opinion and recommendation about the itinerary. We are aware we may not see everything in each city we plan to visit but we don’t know when we can have this opportunity again.
Thanks a lot,
Jane
Hi Jane, we intend to create a consultancy service to help with queries like yours, but so far it is at a planning stage. But looking at the time you intend to dedicate to quite a number of cities, the question is why? There are many places in Spain you won’t be visiting during your trip so, why not dedicate the time they deserve to the ones you are going to visit? If you go to Seville one day, how you will decide which must-see places you are not going to see? Your present itinerary looks like a mad rush we try to discourage people from doing. All the best.
Hi Tony,
Do you have a video about electrical outlets in Spain and Portugal? I’m coming from the USA and I think I may need a converter?
Love your work, thank you. Maureen
Hi Maureen, we don’t have such video but if you google “type f European plugs” you will see images.
Hi Tony,
Do you provide Madrid local tour/guide? We are coming in Madrid in December 2024.
Thank you,
Carla
Hi Carla, we do not provide local services, only our self-guided walking tours you can check here. All the best.
Hi Tony,
I’ve been watching all of your Spain videos on your YouTube channel and I fall in love with Spain. You provide very helpful and lots of tips for Spain travel. That’s the reason I am planning my first Spain trip along with my family for 10 days in August, because only that is the time we can spare due to kid’s school vacations. My itinerary would be look like this.
23 August landing in Madrid
23-26 Aug (3 nights) in Madrid city, + covering Toledo day-trip
26-28 Aug (2 nights) in Valencia city,
28-01 Sep (4 nights) in Barcelona city, + covering Montserrat day-trip
01 Sep Departure flight from Barcelona
Please suggest if it is good, OR any changes required in this.
Thanks & Regards
Shyam
Hello Shyam. Yours feel like a rushed trip. Very little time for all the cities you are going to visit. We recommend a minimum of five days for Madrid and Barcelona, and three nights for Valencia. We would skip Valencia and just to Madrid and Barcelona. All the best.
Hi Tony,
Thanks for the valid suggestion. I have changed the plan and now we are coming to visit Spain in June month (last week), because the hotels and flights are too expensive in August).
As per your advise, we are going to explore only 2 cities (Madrid & Barcelona). Our itinerary will look like as below.
21 June Morning – landing in Madrid
21-25 June (4 nights) in Madrid city, + covering Toledo day-trip
25-29 June (4 nights) in Barcelona city, + covering Montserrat day-trip
29 June Departure flight from Barcelona
Please suggest if any modification required in this.
Regards
Shyam
Sounds like a much better trip. Your time in both Madrid and Barcelona is still very short, but better than before. All the best!