Rural tourism in Spain
A country house is Spain's most rewarding off-season plan, and also where most people get caught out for not asking four things beforehand.
What to ask before booking
Whether you're renting the whole house or a room, because they're not the same. Whether there's real heating and what kind. What's open in the village on those dates. And how far it is from the main road, because some accesses are dirt tracks that don't show in the photos.
Whole house or room
A whole house gives you independence and pays off from four people up. By the room is cheaper and usually includes breakfast, but you share common areas. Listings aren't always clear: ask.
Areas that work in spring
Sierra de Francia and Las Batuecas, the Alpujarra, the Sierra de Aracena and the Jerte Valley when the cherry trees blossom. All green, mild temperatures and low midweek prices.
Areas for summer
The north, without question: Picos de Europa, Pyrenean valleys, inland Galicia and the Sierra de Gredos, which has natural river pools. Seeking altitude or latitude is what brings the thermometer down.
Areas for autumn
The best season for rural stays. Beech and chestnut woods in the north, the Ribeira Sacra during the grape harvest, the Maestrazgo. Good weather, low prices and colour.
Areas for winter
Villages with a fireplace and something to do indoors: Sierra de Madrid, Sierra de Béjar, inland Catalonia. And the hot springs of Ourense, which only make sense when it's cold outside.
What it costs
A whole country house for four to six people runs 90 to 180 euros a night depending on area and season, which split between you is very little. Midweek and outside long weekends it can halve.
The commonest mistake
Booking without checking what's open. In small villages out of season, restaurants close Mondays and Tuesdays and sometimes there's no shop. One call to the owner asking what's open avoids the only real disappointment this kind of trip delivers.
Keep reading
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