Spain

Spain is really several trips. Madrid and Andalusia are best in May, June, September and October; July and August inland are punishing, with Seville and Cordoba regularly above forty degrees. The north, meaning San Sebastian and Rioja, holds up through August. The Balearics run May to October.

Madrid and Barcelona take any aircraft, and Ibiza, Malaga and Bilbao all handle private arrivals. Inside the country the train usually wins: Madrid to Seville and Madrid to Barcelona are both around two and a half hours on the AVE, door to door faster than flying.

Among our preferred hotel partners, Mandarin Oriental Ritz Madrid stands beside the Prado and is the most thorough restoration in the city. Rosewood Villa Magna is on the Paseo de la Castellana, and Four Seasons Madrid occupies a block of restored buildings at Canalejas. Mandarin Oriental also has Barcelona, on the Passeig de Gracia, and Six Senses Ibiza sits on the quiet northern coast at Xarraca Bay.

Ask your advisor about Semana Santa and Feria dates in Seville, cellar visits in Rioja and Ribera del Duero, and yacht charter out of Ibiza and Palma.