Hola a todos,

My wife and I were thinking of spending sometime in mainland coastal Spain, some time around the Christmas period.

It has to be mainland and coastal (or near the coast).

It would have to be a reasonably mild climate for the time of year (e.g. nicer than the UK at this time!). That got me thinking of places like Málaga or Murcia.

Any other suggestions? I had also wondered about Barcelona (somewhere I'd certainly want to go at some time), but I suspect the weather up there will not be great in December/Jan?

We were not looking for anything special in the way of Christmas festivites, etc (the opposite if anything), just moderately comfortable accomodation and good food, and temperate weather.

Obviously availability of accomodation in a holiday period is an issue.

Muchas gracias,

M.

i have been to barcelona on new years day for the last three years the weather has been warm enough to wear just a tee shirt around 11,00am after the sun has got above the buildings,it goes cool again when the sun goes down,but you only need a light coat. dont be put off the weather can be beautiful at that time of year but there are no guarantees im afraid. i am also going again on new years day hpoefully the weather is great
have a great time in this great city.

Hey I know everybody is going to say where they live is the best, but is you want beach type weather then I would say Almeria, it has great beaches, great bars etc and restuarants, Its only 2 hours to Granada and to Murcia and there is cheap flights into Almeria with ryanair and easyjet. Is you are thinking about going there have a look at www.vivaalmeria.com they have some great videos highlighting the best bits of the areaand I'm even in the one of mojacar pueblo dressed in my moors outfit!

Have you looked into the Costa de la Luz? Being from the UK, you could get good deals on flights to Jerez with Ryanair

Your 'Mainland' requirement puts the Canaries out of reach, so I would suggest Huelva, a not too attractive city near the rio Guadiana that's the Spain / Portugal border on Spain's southwest coast. The Renfe rail line ends there but there is also frequent, inexpensive bus service from / to Sevilla (Damas SA) and less frequent between Huelva and the Portuguese Algarve (Damas SA and a Portuguese bus service: EVA-Bus).

try Valencia. good flights there from UK
just a thought

Muchas gracias amigos!

Plenty of good suggestions there.

(Pedmar, we recently had a holiday in Valencia & Alicante, and one day we'll _definitely_ go back, but looking for somewhere else this time, but thanks for the suggestion).

(Would be great to work off all of them in subsequent trips! :-) but logistics will play a part in the decision on this occasion).

Saludos muy cordiales,

where have you decided to go??

I prefer the other southern coast (i.e., Costa de la Luz from Cadiz up to Sanlucar de Barrameda) or west of the Donaña wildlife refuge (¿Costa Ballena?). I don't know if some promoter made up that name or if it has always been called that ... I guess Huelva is the western end of that coast.

Huelva is a busy Port city, with Oil refinery and PetroChemical plants, but it's generally inexpensive to stay there, especially in the City. We have stayed in Mazagon, on the coast near the Parador Cristobal Colón. Across the rio Guadiana in Portugal is the Algarve.

You'll find mostly peak season prices for accomodations at all Spain's coastal resorts at Christmas-time.

montmorency,

Why don't you try Torrox right east on the coast from Malaga...? Small fishing village feel, totally unspoiled coastal, nice hotels, etc.. Check it out!

pax