Holidays in Spain offer you a country with something for everyone. You can go skiing in the Sierra Nevada and be sunbathing on the beach by late afternoon. The Costa del Sol is good for golf-lovers and tennis-players, while windsurfers head for Tarifa, on the Atlantic coast. There are stunning examples of Moorish architecture in the south and for cultural city breaks Spain is hard to beat. The Spanish are well-known for their love of children, so it’s the ideal destination for family holidays. The Balearic Islands of Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza and Formentera, off the east coast, are very popular with tourists. Further afield, the Canary Islands of Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote and Tenerife, off the west coast of Africa, are renowned for their subtropical climates and year-round sunshine.
Family holidays on the beach
Beautiful mountains and countryside
Outdoor sports
Exploring sleepy white villages
Late-night partying
Red tape and bureaucracy (especially at police stations)
Driving down to Malaga in August (the traffic is horrendous)
Spain is a full member of the European Union. EU citizens do not need a visa
You are required by law to have your passport with you at all times and may be asked to produce it when making credit card purchases Tourists are a target for theft, so don’t carry much cash with you and never leave valuables in the car
From April to early November the weather in Spain is pleasant pretty much everywhere, though July and August can be unbearably hot and humid (36°C/97°F). In Andalucía there are usually plenty of warm, sunny days throughout winter, but there can also be long periods of heavy rainfall. In the greener north, particularly in the Pyrenees and Galicia, there can be quite a lot of rainy days throughout the year.
Flights to Malaga in the south take approx two hours and 40 minutes from the UK; flights to Gran Canaria take four hours and 15 minutes.
All the major international car hire firms are well represented throughout Spain. Roads are good outside rural areas but driving standards can be poor.