Pure Travel
  • About
  • Destination Inspiration
  • Tips & Advice
  • Guide
  • Travel Writing
  • Cookie Policy (UK)
  • Conservation
  • Privacy
  • Travel Writing Competition 2025
  • Reviews
  • Travel Resources
  • T&C
  • Contact Us
  • Conservation
  • Privacy
  • Travel Writing Competition 2025
  • Reviews
  • Travel Resources
  • T&C
  • Contact Us
Pure Travel
Pure Travel
  • About
  • Destination Inspiration
  • Tips & Advice
  • Guide
  • Travel Writing
  • Cookie Policy (UK)
  • Travel Resources

Escape the Summer Doldrums… or not

  • July 29, 2013
  • Jules

The Dalai Lama has been noted as saying that everyone should visit somewhere they’ve never been before at least once a year. This is sound advice, even if you don’t go in for Buddhist monasteries or volunteering for charitable endeavors on your vacation time. The logic behind his statement is that it will expand your perspectives, give you a space in which to know yourself in ways that are usually obscured by daily routines, and enhance your body of experiences. That sounds rather like what any vacation should offer, as well as time to unwind and refresh yourself. Spain has many of these alternatives for the serious traveler, many times forgotten among the huge number of offers of “sun and beach” packages.

Plan a Road Trip

Whether you choose one or more destinations for your journey, planning a road trip in and of itself can be an exciting undertaking. Making plans is good for you, and if you put your mind to it, you can find destinations that offer you exactly what you’re looking for in a vacation that are only a car ride away. The first thing you need to do is decide what sort of adventures you’re craving, or what interests you haven’t explored lately. Some great guiding themes for road trips can be: history museums; homes of famous artists, writers, or musicians of the past; natural wonders, of which there are more than you can imagine; and explorations of particular regions, such as wine country or dairy country. Plot out how you’ll go, where you’ll stop to dine or rest, and what sights you want to see. Spain is crowded with little villages (“pueblos”) with a beautiful history and landscapes.

Go Camping

Spain has many National Parks that offer an abundance of hiking, camping, and sightseeing opportunities. Pick one you want to visit and plan an extended camping trip. It can be as elaborate or as rugged as your experience level allows. You can even plan a vacation in one or several of the scenic townships that surround these parks and plot daily hiking adventures that allow you to return each night to hot food and indoor plumbing. The “Picos de Europa” (north Spain, in Cantabria and Asturias) or the Teide (Tenerife) are one of the many choices possible for nature lovers.

City Lights

Plan a visit to a city you’ve never seen. It need not be one of the most common landmark urban areas, like Barcelona or Madrid. With a little research, you can find a city that offers to satisfy your enthusiasm on a particular subject with museums, amusement parks, or antique shops. Seville and Granada are examples of large Spanish cities that are worth a visit.

Stay in a resort

On the other hand, if you prefer the typical tourism which made Spain famous, you’ll surely find great deals of “sun and beach” that can be combined with alternative programs. A resort offers you the chance to enjoy the comfort of a good hotel on the beach, and at the same time to plan alternative routes. For example, in Tenerife there are excellent resorts where you’ll have the opportunity to visit the natural parks of the Canary Islands and the charms of its small cities within the same stay.

If you’re the type of person who puts off vacation time because you think it has to be an exotic locale or an important life event, you might take a moment to ponder a destination more ordinary. It might surprise you how much fun you’ll have, and you just might make a habit of it.

Share
Tweet
Related Topics
  • destination inspiration
  • Escape the Summer
  • holiday ideas
  • summer holidays
  • travel resources
  • travel tips
Jules

Previous Article
  • Destination Inspiration

Top 7 Most Beautiful Chateaux in France: In Pictures

  • July 29, 2013
  • Jules
View Post
Next Article
  • Destination Inspiration

Top 7 Things to do in Edinburgh Scotland

  • July 30, 2013
  • Jules
View Post
You May Also Like
View Post
  • Travel Resources

5 Best US Wildlife Destinations: Manatees, Wolves & More

  • Jules
  • May 28, 2025
A glamorous woman on holiday
View Post
  • Travel Resources

Travel Light, Smell Divine: Small Perfumes for the Modern Explorer

  • Jules
  • May 27, 2025
Great Migration
View Post
  • Travel Resources

Serengeti Migration Safari: Nature’s Greatest Show on Earth

  • Jules
  • May 21, 2025
Relocating - a family in new home
View Post
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel Resources

Trading Zip Codes and Time Zones – What It Really Takes to Relocate Across State Lines

  • Jules
  • May 19, 2025
Drone shot of a beach
View Post
  • Travel Resources

How to Plan a Trip That Balances Rest and Fun

  • Jules
  • May 12, 2025
A view of Cannon Beach Oregon
View Post
  • Travel Resources

Adventure Together: Creative Ideas for Your Next Family Trip to Cannon Beach

  • Jules
  • May 12, 2025
A young man looking out over the mountains while on a hike.
View Post
  • Travel Resources

How to Add More Outdoor Fun to Your Family Travel Plans

  • Jules
  • May 12, 2025
View Post
  • Travel Resources

Family Travel Made Easy: Tips Every Parent Should Know

  • Jules
  • May 12, 2025
Pure Travel
  • About
  • Destination Inspiration
  • Tips & Advice
  • Guide
  • Travel Writing
  • Cookie Policy (UK)
A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step

Input your search keywords and press Enter.

Pure Travel
Manage Consent
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Manage options Manage services Manage {vendor_count} vendors Read more about these purposes
View preferences
{title} {title} {title}