Spain 2010: summer holiday planning guide
It's not hard to work out why the country's popularity waned last year for Britons: with the pound so weak against the euro, the widespread perception was that Spain had become expensive. But looking forward to this year, that is not necessarily true. Tour operators, hotels, self-catering agencies, villa owners – all are only too aware that they need to keep prices competitive in order to secure bookings.
Spain 2010: accommodation guide Spain 2010: activity holiday guide Spain 2010: getting there and awayAs a consequence, a Spanish holiday this summer may in fact work out less expensive than in a rival destination outside the Eurozone thought of as cheaper. For example, for a week's all-inclusive package in early June, First Choice quoted me £735 at the Holiday Village Costa del Sol, compared with £785 at the similar-standard Holiday Village Turkey.
Self-catering in Spain can be very affordable, if you choose the right areas. And in resorts and towns popular with British holidaymakers, many restaurants last summer tried to reduce the pain of the exchange rate by offering "credit-crunch" meals, including bargain set-price menus of the day in the evenings rather than just at lunchtimes (as is normal practice in Spain). Expect more of the same this year.
Despite being set amongst several other identical villas, it felt private as our pool and garden backed on to woodland. My family being from country stock and more »
CBC.caVilla's goal and Casillas's save capped another spellbinding evening of soccer in this sprawling city. On Friday, a few miles southwest at Soccer City World Cup: Spain reaches semifinals with 1-0 win over ParaguaySpain choke? Not this timeWorld Cup 2010: Paraguay v Spain - live! - -all 2,839 news articles »
Villa who won the Silver Boot award in the recently concluded World Cup 2010 helping Spain lift its first ever World Cup insists if it were down to him, and more »
As for his most enjoyable match of the tournament, Villa cited Spain's first knockout stage match against Portugal. "That was the match I felt best in. and more »