I will be traveling to Spain ( Andalucia ) arriving in Madrid June 21st and staying until about the 2nd o July. I am a High School senior who will be graduationg June 20th. I was wondering what the high season in Spain is. Also, I will still be 17 whn I go. ( I will be "backpacking" alone) and was wondering what the "party-scene" is like. Will I be albe to drink? etc...
Thanks I appreciate it!

Sylvia

High season on the coast of Andalucia is July and August, especially the latter when the Spanish are on holiday. The big cities tend to be rather quieter at this time of year and extremely hot.

Yes, you'll be able to drink!

[This message has been edited by El Boqueron (edited 01-22-2001).]

I'd say that the "high season" for most/all of Spain would be the HOT, sticky summer months when the streets are filled with shorts-clad student groups and tour buses.

Not so sure you'll be able to drink since Spain recently raised the drinking age from 16 to 18. Some bars might have a leniant policy though. There's a thread in the "Eating, Drinking, & Entertainment" forum about this topic as well as other useful info on "the party scene" in Spain.

Have a great time! Saludos, MadridMan

Sylvia - you won't have a problem getting a drink in Andalucia unless you look about 12!

You will have no problem drinking, and nobody will ask you for an ID. Maybe they will ask how old you are, but I even doubt that. Just please do all of us Americans a favor and be responsible when you drink there. Almost every person I saw in Spain who was obviously drunk and stumbling was a young American student, excited about being able to drink. Please don't overdo it! From my experience, drinking in excess is not a habit to the Spanish, even to young people. Maybe that is because it is not as forbidden, but that is a different topic altogether...

Apparently elfroggy has never been to Pamplona during los Sanfermines... Although los americanos were doing their best to embarrass us all there, they were being sorely outdone by the Kiwis and Aussies. I have no idea if there's any drinking age in the South Pacific, but they definitely made the remaining masses look like teetotalers.

I do agree, though...if you go to a bar, at least act like you've been to one before. I suppose I'll never understand why the lure of booze is so strong in those who are still underage. Hopefully you'll see all that Spain has to offer and realize that a hangover could really cheat you of some great sightseeing and imbibing of a different sort: that of the culture.

You shouldn't have any trouble getting alcohol, but if you're at least mildly attractive, you won't have trouble attracting the attention of the 'men-folk' either. Be careful...I'll end this as I'm starting to sound too much like your father.

Actually, I was going to include Pamplona during Sanfermines as the one exception in my experience, but I decided not to mention it in my previous post! It seemed like the majority of the city had a bit too much to drink at that point, no matter where they were from. Interesting that you pointed it out and I thought it, too.

I have to admit, I saw many a young Spaniard throwing up on the streets and sidewalks of Salamanca. Thank God for street cleaners. YUCK!

What I didn't see were college age kids all gross drunk like in the States. I think they take you out and get you pretty hammered on your sixteenth birthday (or used to). Maybe there were just an inordinate number of fifteen year olds in 93-94...

I have to agree with Nicole. Perhaps Salamanca is the capital for drunk Spaniards -- my study abroad program drilled it into us that if we were falling down drunk, we'd be the only ones -- and that was not the case! I saw a lot of young Spanish boys (ie 16-year-olds, perhaps that has stopped with the new drinking age) endlessly running around drunk and saying gross things to all the girls. And, come to think of it, there were some not-so-young Spanish boys doing the same!

[This message has been edited by Majesty318 (edited 01-23-2001).]

For hotels, Paradores and the like, it's high season anytime after June 1, especially along the Costa del Sol. European tourists (especially 'Brits,' with their strong Pound sterling) swarm to southern Spain on charter flights and even on Virgin Express which now serves Malaga. They are looking for warm, sunny beaches. The last time we got an off-season weekend special there or anywhere else in Spain was the last weekend of May.