WHY YOU SHOULD CHOOSE SPAIN THIS SUMMER

For millions – yes millions – of us, it is not about if but when we will return to Spain this year. There is simply no question about that. It is just a matter of where to go first when the situation both here and there has improved sufficiently and safety measures are in place – whether this means vaccine certificates, testing, or both. It is looking increasingly likely that some sort of digital health app that shows vaccine status will be in a trial phase by May or June in key destinations such as the Balearic Islands, before being rolled out across the country.

While some have already taken the plunge and booked their summer holiday in Spain, a lot of people are happy just to plan for now, drawing up lists of dream trips to beaches, mountains and cities. Unsurprisingly, something at the top of quite a few lists is the simple pleasure of sitting on a terrace with a glass of rosé or a beer, gazing out across the Mediterranean or installed at a table in a village in the hills.

For anyone feeling that the last year has had much of the colour drained from it, the sheer exuberance of life in Spain is more appealing than ever. High on my own list is a tapas crawl involving lots of fresh tuna and sherry in the hilltop white town of Vejer de la Frontera in Cadiz province after a long day on the beach on the Costa de la Luz. Who’s with me?

BEACHES Even Benidorm is making an effort

Do you like a beach holiday with so much to do that no one could possibly whine about being bored? Or do you prefer stretches of sand with no facilities whatsoever and no problems with social distancing? Not that you have to worry about that anyway as popular resorts such as Benidorm are marking out safe spaces again on their beaches this summer.

The splendid Costa de la Luz on the Atlantic coast of Andalucia is more or less one long beach that stretches from boho Tarifa to the Portuguese border, with a string of low-key resorts.

If your plans for Devon or Cornwall this year were thwarted by lack of availability, have a look at the Rías Altas in Galicia, where the beaches are remarkably similar – and you can take the ferry followed by a scenic drive along the north coast.

FOOD Farm (or sea) to fork heaven

We’ll just start with jamón ibérico, shall we? Think about it, glistening in swirls on the plate, then melting in your mouth. And some prawns, all plump and pink, just off the boat in Palamós on the Costa Brava. Or let’s go on a seafood pilgrimage to the Rías Baixas in Galicia, devouring oysters, mussels, razor clams and spider crab with plenty of Albariño wine. We could continue along the coast of Asturias, trying a few of the artisan cheeses with a splosh of cider.

And then we would just toddle along to San Sebastián, undoubtedly one of the foodiest places in the world. A few tapas bars in Seville? Difficult to surpass – for both the flavour factor and the fun. A paella on the beach in Valencia, Malaga or Menorca with your feet in the sand and a beer in your hand? Bliss. Holidays in Spain are all about the food, you just do all the other stuff in between.

DRINK More than just Rioja

It’s never too early to start drinking in Spain and it is perfectly acceptable to order a carajillo – coffee with a slug of brandy – with your breakfast before starting on the sherry or vermouth around noon.

While I love Rioja, I would urge you to try some of Spain’s other wines. With nearly 100 wine-producing areas with Protected Designation of Origin, there is likely to be something interesting being made just a stone’s throw from your holiday resort – be that the Costa Daurada, Costa Blanca and Costa del Sol, or any of the Balearic Islands and several of the Canaries.

Feel free to share a jug of sangria – providing you are on a beach, by a pool or having a paella or a barbecue in the countryside – but you might well prefer tinto de verano, which is just red wine, ice and lemonade, and much nicer than it sounds. In Andalucia, also give rebujito a whirl, with fino sherry in the mix instead of red wine. And I don’t think I need to explain the joy of Spanish gin and tonics to anyone. If the thought of putting one of those goldfish-bowl glasses to your lips doesn’t get you booking a flight, I don’t know what will.

CULTURE A bit Moorish

It doesn’t matter if your knowledge of Moorish heritage in Spain is on the scant side when you first visit the magnificent Alhambra palace in Granada. Just wallow in the voluptuous visual onslaught and read up on it later. Then you’ll realise you really should have started with the mesmeric Mezquita in Cordoba before being knocked out by the sensual delights of Seville. The next thing you know, you’ll be booking a cultural highlights of Andalucia tour.

You might want to sink into Gaudí’s extraordinary world in Barcelona, or goggle at Dalí’s creations up the Catalan coast in Figueres and Cadaques – both of which dovetail rather smoothly with lying on beaches.

In Madrid, the magnificent Prado, Thyssen-Bornemisza and Reina Sofía museums already have systems in place to make visiting safe, but make sure you book ahead online and don’t try to do them all at once. You’ll just have to go back to the Spanish capital on a regular basis. I’m sure you won’t need any persuading.

ACTIVITIES Hike, bike and embrace the wild

How active do you want to get? A bit of gentle exercise, a challenge or an extreme experience? Cycle paths cross the flower-filled countryside bordering the Costa Brava, where you can explore medieval villages along the way and stop off at tiny coves to snorkel and swim. Mallorca is particularly good for this sort of combination too, with flat routes suitable for leisurely trundlers and hairpin bends in the mountains for serious cyclists.

In the Canaries, astronomy fans should head for La Palma, where there is very little light pollution and you can observe the night sky from viewing points at strategic spots all over the island. Both here and on neighbouring La Gomera you can hike through magical subtropical laurel forests and dramatic volcanic landscapes.

In northern Spain, venture inland from the wild beaches to the Picos de Europa, Spain’s oldest national park, to climb the limestone massifs or canoe down the Deva river. You might see a golden eagle, a wolf or even a brown bear – Spain is nothing if not surprising.

ISLANDS Better than the Caribbean, never mind Greece

I am not disputing that the Greek islands are spectacularly gorgeous, but the Mediterranean is equally turquoise in the Balearics. Menorca would probably win for idyllic coves that lend themselves to long days spent diving and paddleboarding, while Formentera has perhaps the most blissed-out beaches and is often compared to the Caribbean – as, perhaps surprisingly, are the Cíes Islands in Galicia, where Rodas beach is a perfect crescent of glittering white sand.

The Canaries, meanwhile, are nothing like as developed as you might think. Lanzarote only has a few resorts and is strengthening its position as a sustainable destination with holidays based in rural areas and the emphasis on sports both in and out of the water. Las Palmas, the capital of Gran Canaria, has become a bit of a hub for digital nomads, who hang out in the coworking spaces in the city before surfing and swimming on Las Canteras beach.

For anyone who has realised in the last year that they can work from anywhere, both the Canaries and the Balearics are feasible options, with good infrastructure and frequent flights.

HOTELS Everything from hip hostels to plush palaces

Spain has really upped its game on the hotel front in the last decade or so, with smart places to stay irrespective of budget. The hip hostel concept has really taken off in the major cities, as have places with sleek design but no outdated frills, such as Room Mate hotels (room-matehotels.com), which are expanding to Mallorca with the Room Mate Olivia and to Ibiza with the Room Mate Ángel, both opening in May.

In resorts, meanwhile, tired old hotels are being revamped to create five-star properties that are transforming what you can expect from a beach holiday, like the Ikos Andalusia on the Costa del Sol (ikosresorts.com), which is opening in April.

Spain must be one of the best countries for boutique hotels too, with gorgeous little places dotted throughout the country, whether urban or rural. Seville and Palma in particular are chock-a-block with romantic boltholes in traditional buildings. Only You (onlyyouhotels.com), which currently has two hotels in Madrid, is opening later this year in both Valencia and Malaga.

To immerse yourself in Spanish culture without even trying, just spend a week or two staying in a few of the 98 sumptuously restored castles, palaces and monasteries that are now part of the state-owned parador group (parador.es).

FAMILIES Enough to make you spend a whole day together

Multigenerational holidays are nothing new in Spain; it is just the norm to spend the summer with your extended family, whether in a sprawling villa in the Mallorcan countryside, a traditional granite house in Galicia or an apartment right by the beach on the Costa Blanca.

Follow their example and set up camp on the beach in the morning with a stack of cool boxes packed with food

and drinks. Ibiza is increasingly catering for young families, with chic hotels that offer daytime hedonism at beach clubs, yoga sessions and watersports as well as kids’ clubs.

The great thing about Spain is that children are welcome just about everywhere, so you might even be able to get everyone to spend all day together. Don’t be surprised if you end up dancing in the streets at a village fiesta at midnight.

COUPLES Sunsets and water sports

Whether you want to spend every waking minute together or test your relationship by trying a new sport together – whitewater rafting, canyoning or kitesurfing perhaps – there is no shortage of options in Spain. For a really romantic break, you could stay in a cottage in the Redes biosphere reserve in Asturias in the north and explore the beech forests, limestone gorges, waterfalls and rivers – with lots of spots for wild swimming.

For a summer city break, elegant Santander in Cantabria is flanked by divine beaches and has superb shops and restaurants. Or just nip off to Malaga at a moment’s notice and mooch around the Soho neighbourhood before a lazy lunch by the beach and cocktails at a rooftop bar as the sun goes down.

LOCAL WELCOME Debauchery be damned

Spain is, of course, desperate to get visitors from the UK back to the country as so many people are dependent on the 18 million tourists who usually visit each year. Losing even part of the 2021 summer season would be the final nail in the coffin for a lot of businesses.

Our reputation is not exactly pristine of course, after decades of debauchery in a handful of resorts in Mallorca, Ibiza and the Costas. And that’s just me. But there is certainly a school of thought that Spain should seize this chance to reset its tourism model and quietly discard some of the outdated aspects – the industry has been trying for years to phase out cheap booze-based breaks so this could be an unexpected bonus of the pandemic. Although I’ll believe that when I see it.

Visitors from the UK are a growing market for gastronomic tourism and as soon as we have firm dates for travel I’m sure people will be booking tables at their favourite restaurants in Madrid, Barcelona and San Sebastián, both with Michelin stars and without.