I have 10 or so days in Spain in July and want to know what you think I should definitely see, what I'm missing, or whether I'm doing way too much in the short time.

We arrive in Madrid in the morning. We were going to spend two nights there, and probably do a day trip to Toledo the next day.

Then we're going to head up to Bilbao the following morning, see the Guggenheim, and stay around there or in San Sebastian for a night. Tour around the following day doing something, and leave that night. We want to head all the way to Seville from there. Is that ridiculous? Can we do an overnight train ride? If so, that's what we were going to do. (Are there cheap student-fare flights from San Sebastian to Seville?????)

Then we'll be in Seville and have around five days from there to get to Barcelona where we're meeting friends. We were going to stay in Seville for two nights. I was then thinking about spending 3 or so days going to a couple cities on our way towards Barcelona. I thought we could just take buses. We definitely wanted to go to Granada to see Alhambra. We also thought about Valencia or Cordoba. Any cities we should definitely see that are between Seville and Barcelona? Will traveling like this be more difficult and take more time than I think???

I appreciate any help!

Thanks,
Adam

Adam--
That's a lot of zig-zagging around, and you're likely to be spending more time in transit than IN any particular places. Perhaps setting up your trip more as a circle would work--if you're determined to cover so much ground.

I would recommend going fewer places, though, and having the time to get to know them a little better. I have found that those quick overview trips don't give me the chance to find out whether I really like a place or not...and you run the risk of missing out on them on return trips, because after all, you've already "been there, done that." I went to Sevilla for a quick 2 days in 1990, and have never been back--not because I didn't like Sevilla, but because I have seen the highlights and can't justify the trouble to return--but I can't claim to really KNOW anything about Sevilla, because I just passed through and hit the main sights. I really think giving yourself the time to fall in love with a few places is a nicer way to go. If you don't like somewhere, move on...but giving yourself the chance to really explore a city/town is, in my opinion, preferable to breezing through on your way to someplace else.

Even if you stick with your ambitious itinerary, I would definitely recommend constructing a "circle" version of your trip, rather than going north, then south, then north again. Spain's pretty big!!

Have fun!

We've now thought about it some more and we've decided to skip Bilbao -- it's just too far out of the way.

So now this is our plan. Tell me what you think.

Madrid - 3 days (including a day trip to Toledo)
Seville - 2 days
Cordoba - 1 day
Granada - 1 day
Barcelona - 3 days

What do you think?
The biggest problem right now is how to get from Granada to Barcelona? How long will it take? Should we look into one-way flights?

Also, do you think it will be too stressful? Should we only do Cordoba or Granada but not both? Or is the extra travel and stress worth it in that case?

Thanks!!!

Adam...you are trying to pack WAY too much into your 10 days....slow down and take in 2 cities, maybe 3 (like a day trip to Toledo). I don't know about you but I've travelled both ways (western Europe in 2 weeks and 1 or 2 cities in 2 weeks) and I've vastly enjoyed the 2nd method better. That way you just don't see the tourist highlights to say you've been there but you can walk the streets, shop with the locals, stop and listen to them talk, etc...you get the picture. You will actually get a real feel for the Spanish culture this way than scurrying around and spending all your time on the train. Then if you like it you can arrange your next vacation to take in more areas. Just my 2 cents worth...

Leche

Adam, if hot weather isn't a problem for you, I'd do Madrid and Toledo then the southern route you suggested, i.e. Cordoba, Sevilla, maybe a couple of days on the Costa del Sol then Granada. Otherwise, do Madrid and Toledo, see Segovia, then head north to Santander or San Sebastian. Skip Barcelona this trip...great city but too far out of the way. If you can, spend the night in Toledo and in Segovia. You'll get a much better "feel" for those places.

Adam, while I agree with most of the reponses telling you to slow down and just visit a few cities, I have to admit that our schedule this summer is just about as wild as yours! I would skip Barcelona for this trip (if I were you, that is!) because it adds a lot of travel time that could be better spent in the two areas you are focusing on. If you use Madrid as your headquarters, you can do Toledo (and maybe even Segovia, a favorite of mine!) as day trips. Our tour group has us flying through Cordoba with a stop at the mezquita and that's about it...not my favorite way to see Cordoba, but if all you want is a taste, you can do that. I feel strongly about Granada and Cordoba and less strongly about Sevilla in spite of having spent a lot more time there...go figure! Anyway, if you can fly in to Madrid and out through Malaga, you can cut out some of the zigzagging and do a straight run down. There are 2 fast trains, the Ave (fastest) and the Talgo which can take you from Madrid to Andalucia. Check the RENFE site for details and prices.

You don't say how much Spanish you speak, and I think that can make a difference as to where you go and what kinds of activities you plan. If you don't speak Spanish at all, you might not get to savor one or two cities because part of that, I think, is interacting with the people. If you want to see all the things you've read about and that would satisfy you, that's another thing altogether! On this tour, for example, we just want to give the kids a taste of Spain, so our schedule is not quite as bad as it seems. Also, I'm traveling with middle school kids who need constant change to be happy!

I'm rambling, but I think if you concentrate on Castilla and Andalucia and try to streamline your travel plans, you might be able to see most of what you planned with less hastle!

[ 05-08-2001: Message edited by: MadridMan ]

[ 05-08-2001: Message edited by: la maestra ]

Wow, it sounds like I'm making the right choices myself. I will be in Spain for 13 days and plan on going the Madrid-Toledo-Sevilla-Ronda-Malaga-Granada route (with a few stops in between) and then flying back out of Madrid. I'm glad to see that most of you recomend taking more time in some fewer cities than zig-zagging all over. I chose to leave out Barcelona like you all recomended as well. I'm sure I can hit it next time I am there.

Thanks for all the great suggestions!

I definitely agree that I'm traveling too much. I'm thinking I should probably cut out Cordoba, and add the day somewhere else. Is this a mistake? Should I at least try to see it (even if just stopping there during the daytime between Seville and Granada)? How is Granada in July? Is the extra day better off spent in Seville or Granada?

One problem though is that I am meeting friends in Barcelona, so that travel is unavoidable. But we are likely going to fly from Granada there, so that won't be too bad.

So, right now, it's really Madrid for a few days, with a day trip to Toledo (will that be a pain or is a day trip do-able?). Then Seville for a couple, and Granada for a couple. Then I'm meeting friends in Barcelona for 3 or so days.

That's a really good point about the language. I am going to brush up on my Spanish, but it'll still not be that good. I'll be able to survive and do little things, but in terms of "interacting," it'll probably be limited. So I wouldn't get as much more out of extra time in a place as someone who was fluent. Am I right? What do you think?

Thanks again!!!

My husband and I just got back from Spain and had a very successful trip visiting many cities in 16 days. Our itinerary was as follows:
Bilbao 2 days
Santillana del Mar 1 day
Leon 1 day
Salamanca 2 days
Merida 1 day
Seville 2 days(took a side trip to Ronda on the way to Granada)
Granada 2 days
Madrid 4 days (took a side trip to El Escorial)
We rented a car and drove until Granada. Then we took a train to Madrid. The traffic there was out of our league. I think you can have a successful trip visiting many cities but you have to do alot of up front planning so you know exactly what you want to see and the hours that you can see it.

How was Rhonda, KHN? Would we be able to get there fairly easily without a car?

Here's my updated schedule for Spain in July:
Madrid - 3 days (inc. a day trip to Toledo)
Seville - 2 or 3 days
Granada - 1 or 2 days
Barcelona - 3 days

Does that sound do-able? We're flying from Granada to Barcelona to save time. Anything we definitely shouldn't miss? Should we consider stopping in Cordoba for the day between Seville and Granada if we have the time, or is that way too big a hassle?

Thanks,
Adam

I would skip Córdoba, if I were you, Adam, not that I didn´t like the city, but I recommend you not to take in too much... Ronda is a beautiful town, especially the old Muslim part called "La Ciudad" that stands on the southern side of the gorge. It´s really worth a visit! Stay in Granada for 3 days if you can.
Saludos, tiajohanna