I'm going to be spending a semester studying in Spain. A dream come true! I'll be in El Puerto de Santa Maria and Madrid for a month each. But I can also stay in Salamanca or Alicante for a month. Which one do you recommend? It will be in late September and October.

Rissa writes: A month in el Puerto and the Cadiz area should be enough beach time. Alicante is a nice sized bustling port city but I think for a September/October time frame I would opt for Salamanca: more student activities.

Eddie,
Thanks so much for your advice!
Rissa

You might want to read the thread "Salamanca or Caceres?"

I went to the University of Alicante, and it was fantastic. It's a small school and the town is great. But, if you're on the coast in Cadiz, you might want to try Salamanca. Let me know if you need more info on Alicante.

I suggest Salamanca, but the only drawback is that there are, at times, too many non-Spanish students there.

The university's prestige, and the opportunity to hear the local castellano are indispensible, and should override the fact that every other street corner would have some borracho from the US puking his parents' tuition money into the gutter.

I love Salamanca, and the city is, in and of itself, a treasure.