Hola, I am leaving on my trip to Spain in December and I need you all's advice. My son (16) and I are leaving on the 19th and returning January 2nd. I plan to stay in Madrid until the 23rd, then on to Salamanca, I'll stay there until the 25th. I will return to Madrid and take the Ave to Sevilla, stay 2 days then take bus or train to gibraltar fow a quick look then onwards for a night and day in Granada then back to Madrid for another 3 days. Do you think this is doable? Will it be too cold? Should I get hotel reservations now? Help! Gracias
Posts: 697 | Location: Florida | Registered: 24 August 2001
Wow, a great trip to share with your son, he will thank you for years to come. I personally did not make it over here for the first time until I after college when I was 22. Always wanted to come earlier but it was financially out of the question.
First, let me say that Spain is amazing any time of the year and Madrid is December can get as low as -2� or -4� centigrade but it is not a wet cold so it is ok. Salamanca gets windy and a bit colder.
Do not worry about the cold in Andaluc�a but since you are form Florida, anything may feel cold to you
Your trip sound more than doable, it sounds great!
Reservations are always a good idea but in December they are probably not needed since tourism is low.
Mil Gracias Jeremy for your advice and the reassurance. I wanted to stay near the Plaza Mayor in Madrid, I read about the Hotel PlAZA Mayor, do you recommend it? My concern is safety. Gracias Booklady
Posts: 697 | Location: Florida | Registered: 24 August 2001
Hi again Booklady. Well, indeed the Hotel Plaza Mayor (click on link at left for the photo) is in a nice area. I have never stayed there personally but I have been in the lobby and it looks very nice .
Keep one thing in mind, there is major construction going on currently to build a underground parking garage in front of the "Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores" which is right next to the Hotel Plaza Mayor . It looks like a warzone as does 80% of Madrid right now duer to all the construction, restoration of monumnets, etc...
I am not sure if that work site will be finished by the end of December but perhaps it will be cleared up by then. I will keep you updated on this post if I see it getting better.
I mention this because I am not sure how much the construction/noise will affect a stay at that particualar hotel.
Odds are it will not be a problem since you are planning to be there from around Dec. 30-Jan 2 (�?) and I truly doubt there will be anyone working on those dates, especially construction workers .
As for your safety concerns, not sure if you refer to the hotel or in general but Madrid is on whole a very safe city. I would not worry about much. If common sense prevails all will be OK. You can see my PLAYING IT SAFE FORUM for topics on safety concerns.
One thing to keep in mind during the dates you are to be here is that it is "Noche Vieja" (New Year's Eve" and it is a great time to be in the city. There is much reveling inthe streets and the eating of the 12 grapes at midnight with the bells of the clock tower in the PUERTA DEL SOL.
Please wathv your pockets and valuables if you go to Sol that night of Dec. 31st for it is rampant with thieves that will just grab everything they see and run. I have personally born witness to such blatent robbery. They will throw you down if they have to in order to get your valuables. I usually go but do not bring anything! My advice, don't bring anything to Sol on New Year's Eve that you ar not willing to get stolen .
Other than that, it is a great time!
I also always advise travelers to Spain to look into renting a cellphone for their stay (and notonly because I rent them ) because it provides for great peace of mind while here. Perhaps getting one for you and another for your son would put you more at ease with everything. You can see my rental info at www.onspanishtime.com/web/cellphones.htm
Take care and hope to see you on the other forums as well.
Even though it is the winter, during your time there, especially around New Year's eve, you may want to reserve your accomodations just to be on the safe side. We travelled to Madrid and southern Spain last Christmas from Dec. 26th through Jan 16th. We stay with family in Madrid so no problem there and I booked everything early in Southern Spain, particularly Granada and Ronda, and was told by the managers of these establishments that they still get booked around this time, but in general there were no problems that time of year. I highly recommend the Alhambra in Granada in January, there may be no flower blooms, but just the fact that you avoid the summer crowds and literally have the place to yourselves, so to speak, is well worth the jaunt in the middle of winter.
Posts: 91 | Location: san diego, ca, usa | Registered: 23 May 2001
I would definitely recommend a reservation through the whole month of December. I spent last summer in Madrid, then left in September to travel the rest of Europe. I had to come back because Madrid is so addicting. So I flew back from Rome for 10 days in December. It just so happened that a European holiday coincided with a Spanish holiday. I had a room for a few days but once the weekend hit, there was nothing to be found except 4 and 5 star hotels. Even those were in short supply. I hit a night train to Granada for the weekend. When I got to Granada, all of that whole area was full too. I ended up paying what I thought to be a high price in Spain, $100 for a 4-star hotel that was really about a 2 or 2.5 star in the US. Moral of the story: it pays to check ahead. I'm pretty comfortable traveling anywhere in Spain or most of the world for that matter. If I wasn't so comfortable with travel problems and didn't speak fluent Spanish, I might have had a really difficult time. With a kid it would have been even worse.
Posts: 1 | Location: Minneapolis, MN USA | Registered: 27 September 2001
Thanks folks for your advice. As it turns out I could not get Hotel Plaza Mayor it was sold out. But I learned about the Bancotel hotel vouchers and I booked the Hotel Suecia for the first five nights in Madrid. What a bargain those Bancotel vouchers are! I hope the Suecia is a nice hotel. Have any of you heard of it? Gracias, Booklady
Posts: 697 | Location: Florida | Registered: 24 August 2001
I stayed at the Suecia (3 nights) on my first visit to Madrid. You will no doubt enjoy it. It's a class act. GREAT location. What are these Bancotel vouchers you mentioned?
Posts: 12 | Location: CHICAGO, USA | Registered: 23 May 2001
Hola, Gracias the the thumbs up on the Hotel Suecia.
Bancotel is the best deal ever. You can reach their website at http://www.bancotel.ch/ They will sell you a coupon book of 5 coupons a talonario, each coupon book is worth around $215.00. I searched for a hotel in Madrid and found the Suecia for one coupon a night so I am staying there for five nights at $215.00! You can stay at the palace for 3 coupons per night, instead of the $250-300 per night. You may want to take a look, aparently they have hotel rooms all over the world. Thanks, La Booklady
Posts: 697 | Location: Florida | Registered: 24 August 2001
Hey Booklady, thanks for the great tip on Bancotel and especially for the web address. I have heard many great things about them and am sure many of my visitors will appreciate it
Hola Jeremy Y Amigos, I need your advice! My travel agent just called and said that my flight back on January 2nd was cancelled and I could either return on the 4th, which I can't because of school, the 1st, or before on Dec. 30th? If I return on the 30th I'll only have 10 days, on the 1st, 12? I am undecided because I am afraid that the January 1st flight will be terribly full and I might get cancelled out again, but if I leave on the 30th I will miss New Year's in Madrid, and I was really looking forward to having fun until the wee hours! My question then is, what would you advice me to do? Booklady
Posts: 697 | Location: Florida | Registered: 24 August 2001
Hola Jer, Well, in 16 short days I will be enjoying your fair city of Madrid. Please tell me how is the weather over there. I know that it has been in the 50's during the day and around 30's at night (from CNN weather) which is not bad for winter. But it does not tell me whether it is windy and wet. Any chance I'll see snow?
Gracias!
Posts: 697 | Location: Florida | Registered: 24 August 2001
. Welcom aboard the forums. 
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- rent or buy a cell phone from me for your stay in spain, more info at 
- already have a cell phone, get a spanish SIM card for it at 
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) because it provides for great peace of mind while here. Perhaps getting one for you and another for your son would put you more at ease with everything. You can see my rental info at 
