Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00Hello and welcome to TravelSmart, your weekly guide to the best of travel from
00:05the independent. We aim to inspire, entertain and inform you about the
00:11industry of human happiness. And statistically there's nowhere happier
00:16for British holidaymakers than Spain. On the average day no fewer than 50,000 UK
00:22citizens head south for sun, sea and indulgence.
00:30If like me you're one of those millions of happy holidaymakers, you've probably
00:42already got your favourites. Perhaps it's the beaches of the Costa Blanca or the
00:48Costa del Sol, the Balearic or the Canary Islands or maybe one of the great
00:54cities Barcelona, Madrid or Seville. But beside the headliners Spain has so much
01:01more to offer. Cities off the tourism radar, great journeys by rail and foot
01:05and islands where locals far outnumber the holidaymakers. Let's start with some
01:13great beaches where you'll find plenty of space for your towel. Check out the
01:17Costa de la Luz, the part of Spain's southern coast that faces out across the
01:22Atlantic. On Spain's wild west shore, just north of Portugal, the city of Vigo
01:29has an excellent choice of beaches and a couple of north coast playas where
01:35you'll find Spaniards sunning themselves, La Coruña and Santander which has a
01:41direct ferry link with Plymouth. All those locations offer superb seafood
01:47and in Galicia, the province including Vigo as well as Santiago de Compostela,
01:53you can wash it down with the regional speciality cider. I'd add a couple of
01:59great city beaches that few people seem to discover, Valencia and Malaga. In both
02:06you can combine sunbathing and swimming with great culture and cuisine. What
02:13about an elusive city where more foreign tourists will be warmly welcomed? The
02:17secret? Choose somewhere without direct links from the UK. My first choice is San
02:24Sebastian which you can access from Biarritz in France and the biggest
02:28Spanish Basque city Bilbao. Come here for arguably the best food in the nation
02:32with mouth-watering pinchos, the Basque take on tapas only larger and even
02:37tastier. Diametrically across the Spanish mainland, Cádiz is a bit of a stretch to
02:42reach via Seville or Jerez but it is definitely worthwhile. It's the oldest
02:47city in Western Europe with a history stretching back over three millennia. The
02:51picturesque old town juts out into the Atlantic with great beaches close by
02:56during the day and authentic flamenco in the bars by night. We all love a Spanish
03:02island and I've been lucky enough to visit most of them. Of the Canary Islands
03:08tiny El Hierro is a particular favourite.
03:14The island of El Hierro is further south and west than anywhere else in Spain. As
03:20you approach by air or sea from Tenerife a corrugated cone rises from the ocean
03:26softened by a green cloak casually draped over much of the terrain. The
03:33meadows and forests provide superb terrain for hiking and cycling with some
03:39lovely hideaway hotels. I mentioned great Spanish journeys earlier and by rail
03:45the narrow gauge trains that run along the north coast are unbeatable with many
03:49options to hop on and hop off as you wish.
03:53My other great rail adventure is the four-hour link from Madrid to Caceres in
03:58remote extra Madura. Unlike the superb high-speed rail network you'll meander
04:03through gorgeous landscapes and end in a serene city. If you're a fan of hiking
04:08one of the popular challenges is completing the GR11 pedestrian super
04:12highway across the Spanish Pyrenees from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean. Also in
04:17the mountain range you'll find some fantastic skiing in the Spanish district
04:20of Valderran. Trust me you'll love it.
04:26We've had a question through to the Independent from Sandra and Simon, Sandra
04:32would like to know when is the ideal time to see the real Spain? That's a
04:37really good question. I would speculate, and I haven't done this scientifically, that
04:43there's actually more local fiestas, festivities going on in April than in
04:49any other month. You've got of course Easter generally cropping up in April,
04:54really good time to sample the local community and their celebrations. On top
05:01of that in terms of climate, well April is a brilliant time to be in really
05:07any of the Spanish islands, whether that's the Canaries or the Balearics.
05:11Andalusia, you haven't got the searing heat of summer, the centre of Spain is
05:17coming alive, and even in the north and west coasts you're gonna find that it's
05:24a lovely breezy temperature. So yeah I would definitely go for April but
05:30frankly any other month of the year I'd be in Spain too. Sounds like a plan, thank you.
05:37That's all we've got time for now, but do get in touch with your particular
05:47off-the-beaten-track Spanish favourite location or journey. And for more
05:53information, advice and inspiration on Spain visit independent.co.uk
05:58forward slash travel. You might also want to listen to my daily travel podcast. I
06:04know Ben does. Bye for now.