Golf Holidays in Spain
Although not a traditional Spanish sport, golf is becoming increasingly more popular throughout the country. Several professional golfers, including Severiano Ballesteros, Sergio Garcia and José Maria Olazábal, are from Spain and have proven to be instrumental in promoting the sport within Spain, making it Europe’s premier golfing holiday destination. Of course, tourists from North America and the United Kingdom also enjoy a round of golf on holiday, so more and more golf holiday packages are being marketed.
The coastal area of Costa del Sol is the most popular golfing holiday destination in Spain simply because of the year round warm and relative dry weather, as well as the beautiful scenery. Even for non-golfing family members and friends, this is a perfect combination as golfers can spend the day on the links and the family can spend the day at the beach, shopping through the many villages and towns or visiting historical, cultural and family fun sites that are numerous along this stretch of coast. (more…)
Related Pages
January 24, 2008
Spain Vacation Packages
Spain is such a phenomenal country with almost any type of climate, landscape or type of activity you could imagine, so booking a travel package is usually a matter of narrowing down your choices. Many vacation packages to Spain feature a theme or central activity in the package, which allows tourists to focus on different areas of interest. Some of the most popular theme vacation packages for Spain include flights, accommodations and tours in the most popular cities such as Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia as well as Seville and Granada. In addition to the city vacation packages there are also multi-destination packages that feature travel in a particular region of Spain, such as the Basque Region or the areas making up Andalusia.
Spain vacation packages can also include specific types of activities such as a journey along the Mediterranean coast, the Costa del Sol or the Costa Blanca. Each one of these types of vacation packages provides flights, hotels as well as transportation and typically guided tours of the various areas along the route of the holiday adventure. Some of these packages are very structured while others allow more flexibility for individuals to travel somewhat on their own while still staying with the group for part of the vacation. (more…)
Related Pages
January 21, 2008
Barcelona
Barcelona Spain is often referred to as the City of Marvels due to the outstanding number of breathtaking and historical sites to see and activities to participate in. Barcelona is the capital city of Catalonia and is the second largest city in Spain - and definitely one of the major tourism areas for the country. Located on the warm Mediterranean coast, Barcelona has year-round attractions for visitors from all over the world. There is a wide range of both outdoor as well as sightseeing options for travelers and visitors, and the nightlife and social events in the city are second to none in Europe.
Originally built by the Romans, Barcelona is a mixture of ancient and modern architecture and development. Even through it is a business center for Spain and is one of the most important port cities in the area, cultural events are still considered to be equally important to the local economy. Emphasis is placed on the preservation of history without stopping modernization of the city. (more…)
Related Pages
January 18, 2008
Camino de Santiago
The Camino de Santiago is also known as the “Way of the Saint” and is a pilgrimage to the Cathedral in Santiago de Compostela in northwest Spain, where pilgrims walk tracing the route of Saint James. It is believed by the devout that the remains of the apostle Saint James are buried at the Cathedral in Santiago de Compostela, and the event of participating in the Camino de Santiago is seen as a spiritual undertaking by many people throughout the world.
The Camino de Santiago was a popular pilgrimage throughout the Middle Ages and was considered to be one of the ways to earn a plenary indulgence. A plenary indulgence was a way for the pilgrim to earn a remission from the punishment of a sin after guilt has been forgiven. Each pilgrim on the walk could start at different locations, although the main route was considered to be the actual Camino de Santiago. In current times many thousands of pilgrims make the trip every year, some traveling by foot and others by bicycle, while still others make the trip either by horseback or donkey. (more…)
Related Pages
January 15, 2008
Maps of Spain
There are many different types of maps for Spain. Some of the common ones are physical, political and antique maps. Maps serve many different purposes and therefore need to be selected according to the purpose of the map. For example, the physical map will show that Spain is located on the Iberian Peninsula in the South Western part of Europe. The Balearic and Canary Islands, plus the Moroccan enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla belong to Spain. The country of Spain has France and Andorra on the northern border, Portugal and the Atlantic Ocean on the western border, the Mediterranean Sea on the southeastern and east border and the Strait of Gibraltar and Morocco on the southern border.
There are maps that explain the climate for Spain. These maps will show a Mediterranean type climate in the southern and eastern coastal regions, while the central Meseta area will be hot in summer and cold in winter. However, the foothills of the southern regions will have warm winter temperatures and the Atlantic coast will have cooler summer temperatures with the rains decreasing as they move inland. (more…)
Related Pages
January 12, 2008
Spanish Recipes
Since the country of Spain has so many different areas and cultural food specialties, it is hard to identify the one food that is uniquely Spanish. The influence of Africa and Europe is evident in both the types of foods as well as the preparation of the food. Seafood is an important element in many Spanish dishes, as is olive oil, fresh produce and the cheeses and meats that are made within the country.
Two of the most popular places to find Spanish recipes are either through a regional Spanish cookbook or through online recipe sites. In most of these sites you will have to first identify the area of Spain you are interested in, then look through recipes that are common in that area. Since most Spanish recipes are simple, yet elegant and refined, it is easy to find what you need for the preparation in your local grocery store. (more…)
Related Pages
January 9, 2008
Spain Tours
Taking a guided tour through Spain is a wonderful way to learn about the amazing history and cultural diversity of the country. Guided tours through Spain can be short or long, depending on the type of company and guide that you are using. Smaller personal tours are very popular in many of the larger cities and areas of Spain and they may be one to several days in length, depending again on the tour company and the needs of the visitor.
When booking a tour to Spain don’t be afraid to ask exactly what attractions, historical sites and areas you will visit on the tour. Many of the guides and tour companies are relatively flexible about adding stops along the way, although there is typically an additional cost for this type of personalized tour. Even with the larger bus type tours there are usually several options as to the kind of attractions that are seen along the way. Tours of wineries that provide wine tasting as well as demonstrations of wine production are very popular throughout Spain, but are particularly common around Jerez and in Cadiz. (more…)
Related Pages
January 6, 2008
Vacation Rentals Spain
For those visitors planning to spend more than a day or two in one area of Spain, a vacation rental may be a low cost form of accommodation. A villa or small or large house, condo or apartment may be just what you are looking for if you want to have more privacy and freedom than is offered in a typical hotel or bed and breakfast. A vacation rental is typically a home or condo that is very well maintained, located in a popular area, often along a major transportation route, and allows the guest to have a home away from home for the duration of their holiday.
Since the vacation rental home or villa offers the possibility of cooking your own meals, doing laundry and even just enjoying time in the courtyard or garden of the home it is often much less expensive than staying in a hotel or other type of accommodation. With so many different areas of Spain, deciding what you want to do on your vacation will impact on where you choose to stay. (more…)
Related Pages
January 3, 2008
Travel Deals to Spain
Finding travel deals to Spain is relatively simple if you have access to the internet. Most travel companies offer flights, hotels or even car rentals to other countries, but they may also offer package deals including all of those features at a cost that is much lower than purchasing each one separately. Typically, combining at least the flight and the hotel and staying over one Saturday will give you the best possible discount on your travel package.
Knowing a bit about Spain and the smaller centers closer to the major areas you wish to visit can also help in finding low cost travel deals to Spain. Since the larger metropolitan centers are often the most expensive in terms of hotel or villa rates, choosing a smaller center within easy train, bus or driving time from the major center can be a very cost effective way to travel. In addition consider where the hotel or accommodation is located in relation to major bus routes, taxi services, train stations and routes as well as car rental facilities. Even the best discount travel deal can end up costing more if the transportation costs are huge once you arrive at the location.
(more…)