My husband and I are travelling to Spain end of May-beginning of June (never been there) and will have 12 days. We are flying in and out of Madrid and we think we have an idea for an itinerary. We will spend the first 3 nights in Madrid, then take the train to Seville, rent a car and spend the next 6 days exploring Southern Spain from Seville to Granada, then fly to San Sebastian and spend 2 nights exploring Northern Spain and then back to Madrid to fly out. Does this sound like we will be overextending ourselves? We don't have any hotel reservations yet.

It's going to be hot in Andalucia in June so you might want to scale back a day or so and add it for your northern Spain itinerary. Also, you might consider other destinations in northern Spain such as Bilbao, Santiago de Compostela, Cantabria or Pontevedra (where the weather will be cooler) or even Zaragoza or Pamplona or Barcelona. San Sebastian is nice, but I like some of those other destinations I mentioned much more.
BTW
A couple of words of advice: 1. Make your car rental agreement before you go - it comes out a lot cheaper that way.
2. There's an Avis location at Santa Justa rail station where you can pick up or drop off your rental car. You don't need (want?) a car in Sevilla. It's cheaper and easier to use public transportation or even taxis.

[ 04-17-2001: Message edited by: Eddie ]

With similar time, and much more experience in Spain, I've done less than your suggested itinerary and felt overextended. (Does that all make sense?).

Example: In 1999 (ten days) we did Madrid 4 nights, drove to Navarra, stayed 2 nights in Valcarlos, 5 km. from the French border, stayed a night in Bilbao, one night in Burgos, a night in Segovia, and one in Toledo.

I remember planning the trip thinking we could "easily do Santiago de Compostela" (which I HIGHLY recommend), but thinking about half-way through "no way is that going to happen on this trip".

Although I sport a strong north bias, I can honestly say that after doing both, touring the north in the summer is much easier on the sweat glands than Andalucia, and there is just as much in the "amazing" category to see. If you take the AVE, you could make a jaunt to Sevilla for that arabesque flavor.

Another recommendation? Do the south OR the north, and plan a second vacation later. Trust me, you'll want to return!

I agree with CaliBasco--I would suggest picking either the South or the North of Spain, and allowing yourselves the time to really get immersed in the places you visit. I used to think that a quick overview trip was a good way to get to know a country and pick out spots to return to, but I have changed my mind about that. I think if you rush, you risk two things:

1) You may not fall in love with a place at first glance, and if you just breeze through, you'll never know if it might have been a favorite of yours.

2) You may see a place superficially, then on subsequent trips think it isn't worth the trouble to go back. I was in Sevilla in 1990 for one or two nights (I can't even remember--it was such a blur!), and I have never been back. It's not because I didn't like Sevilla, but because I can never quite justify returning (long drive, expensive AVE train, blah, blah...) when I have already seen the highlights.

So I really encourage you to choose a more limited itinerary, and give yourselves the chance to discover something wonderful. Obviously, you should be flexible enough that, if you really loathe a place (not likely in Spain, of course), you can leave and head on to your next destination.

Otherwise, will you feel like you can linger for an afternoon in a charming sidewalk cafe or stay an extra night in a town you can't bear to leave? My husband and I have such great memories of Positano, on the Amalfi Coast of Italy, because we extended our off-season stay there by one night and spent an entire afternoon napping on the beach (no tourists there in March! Of course, there were also no restaurants open in town, but that was another story--our pensione owner cooked lovely meals for us!) and eating tangerines. If we had been rushing to see another place, we would never have allowed ourselves the luxury of that incredible day.

Obviously, I'm describing my travel style...which may not be yours! I do know that some people like to cover a lot of ground and see the main things...but I have learned that I don't enjoy that kind of trip.

I hope you find whatever makes yours memorable and fun!

Thank you for the great feedback. I hear what you are all saying - we will be rushing through and won't remember Spain as a beautiful place where we "relaxed" and enjoyed ourselves. Spending two nights in each town won't allow us the opportunity to "experience" the region. We will seriously rethink our itinerary. So, if we concentrate on Madrid and North, do you think it wise to base ourselves in San Sebastian?

Well, I spoke too soon - I think we will concentrate our travels on the South of Spain this trip and then explore Northern Spain, to include Barcelona on our next Spain trip - whenever we are lucky enough to do that. We really want to see Seville and the costa del sol.

My motivation would be different from yours, but if it was me, I would opt for Santander (day-trips to Bilbao & Picos de Europa) or Vigo (day-trips to Baiona, where Columbus made landfall on his return from his first voyage of discovery, maybe northern Portugal and Santiago de Compostela, resting place of Apostle James).

Sorry, our postings got crossed between when you said you would concentrate on northern Spain and when you decided on Andalucia. You can save my advice for your next visit.

[ 04-17-2001: Message edited by: Eddie ]

Dear June 22nd, Go back next year and see the the Atlantic Coast. We spent 10 days doing a circular tour taking in Burgos, Leon, Cambados, Santiago de Compestela, and back along the coast calling at Ribadasella, Comillas and the honey pot village of Santilliana del Mar. It is also worth deviating into the Picos de Europa but that deserves more time.Enjoy Northern Spain