Clothes for Parador of N Spain trip

LoieD

Looking for suggestions for appropriate clothing for trip leaving Barcelona on Sept 19. Can shorts be worn? Is it cooler in the mountain areas???

Claudia Sails

Look on the web page for the tour you are taking then click on the Before You Go tab. There will be a about 10 tabs to click on with a ton of information for your tour including a What to Pack. Under Preparing to Go there is a tab for Weather that will give you historic avg temps and rainfall. Just prior to your trip, do an internet search for 10 day weather forecast for the main areas you're going to. Then you can adjust your packing accordingly.

British

The what to wear question is coming up so often for all the Tauck destinations, that I actually am feeling very anxious about what to pack for my upcoming trip. Even though we are going on our fourth safari, I find myself anxious about the non-safari part of the tour. All of a sudden I am thinking, am I taking the right things? What will people think? And so on and so on, yet I have never felt wrongly dressed on all of my other tours. And the train dinner when the non Tauck website for the tour with the woman in the red evening dress, low cut and bosom hanging out, I am now wondering if I have time in the next two weeks to get an enhancement but still be able to fly to Africa, yikes am I going crazy!

[Deleted User]

Yes the age old question. I took this trip last year. First, you need to dress to your own comfort level. There were more dress up occasions on this trip than I had anticipated and I had to end up having shirts laundered so that I had enough dress shirts. I did have a jacket with me wore it at least 7 or 8 times. Did everyone do this. No. But most did. One guy on the tour ended up buying shirts and a jacket in San Sebastian because he felt under dressed. If it is the same as last year, we did have dinner in really nice places virtually every night. One your own dining nights its up to you. In the northern areas you should have a least an extra layer. Going up the mountain in the Pico De Europa was more than chilly. By comparison I was there April May.

joycesw

We took this trip four years ago on September 25, so I assume the weather will be similar to what you will experience. I'm not sure if you are male or female, so I'll cover both. In reviewing my photos, I see that I took one pair of shorts and wore them on a warmer day in Barcelona and to play golf in La Seu d'Urgell. That was it, so not sure why I bothered! Interesting the next days in Barcelona were chilly, and on our final touring day it poured rain and was a bit chilly! We did spend a few extra days in Barcelona so had a variety of weather patterns. The point is to dress in layers and be prepared for anything! I recall I did wear capris or long pants for the rest of the trip. Tee shirts, both long-sleeved and short with blouse or sweater cover-ups were the norm. It was very chilly in the morning when we left La Seu d'Urgell (for an almost unbearably long bus ride) but was very pleasant in Pamplona. In the last few years I have taken a ruana (sort of a cross between poncho and shawl...different cut), and it has been fabulous for a trip like this. It takes the chill off but is not cumbersome and then can use it as a blanket for the long bus rides. We had a smattering of rain throughout the trip and had another day of pouring rain in Santiago de Compostela. We took the gondola to the top of the mountain at Fuente De, and it was quite chilly. Gloves were appreciated and a windbreaker was a blessing, but the views were well worth it! It was warmer in Lisbon but long pants were still comfortable. I do not think my husband even brought shorts. He wore long pants and usually a lighter-weight long sleeve tee. He, too, used a jacket and sweaters, although, in a few photos they are tied around his waist as the day progressed.
As far as evenings, yes, many of the Paradors are quite lovely, but I did not think they necessitated a jacket for men. For instance, the one in Santiago de Compostela is very nice, but you have to remember that a number of pilgrims who have walked El Camino de Santiago are staying there (they are not all starving college students) and they haven't packed a dress jacket in their backpacks! My husband has been quite comfortable for the last few years on Tauck trips with a nice long sleeved woven shirt and dress pants. Yes, the Hotel Maria Cristina is fantastic (one of our favorites), and their dining room is quite elegant, but, again, there were many there in the type of dress I have just described. Ladies are fine with the usual dress slacks and tops. As you get closer, check the Accu weather forecast and that will give you a good idea of any weather patterns that may be developing.

jack47

LoieD: We are on the same trip, and we have the same questions. We have been to Barcelona before but not at this time of year. Going solely on the international weather forecasts (which extend only to Sept. 25) it looks like it may be comfortable in Barcelona (high in mid-70s) with some chance of rain. Pamplona seems cooler (high 50s to low 70s). Porto seems like Barcelona with no rain, and Lisbon is forecasted to be rather warm. I'm bringing shorts which I hope to wear most of the time and a few slacks. My wife tends not to pack shorts regardless of wear we go. See you Tuesday.