I just want echo the recommendation to save Madrid for last. I have done that on my two most recent trips to Spain and loved it! It worked out really well for shopping (you won't have to drag a bunch of stuff all over Spain) and it was good to have lots of things to do those last few days--partly to get back on an "American" schedule (no siesta time in many places!) and partly to get a good last jolt of Spain!

Great advice on the shopping, too, in both Toledo and Madrid. Good luck! Let us know what you're planning.

"Let us know what you're planing" That's very good, Carole! Where I did my graduate work it was called Regional & City Planning. For WhatsinSpain it's Urban Planning.

Sorry about that! :p

I just wanted to refer WhatsinSpain to my 11/24 post - I added some afterthoughts

Hi! Thank you very much for all your helpful advice. I have come up with a revised plan, that excludes San Sebastian and Bibao this time:

Dec 19: Madrid (1 night) - Dec 20/21:Salamanca(2nights) - Dec 22:Avila (1night) - Dec 23:El Escorial (1night) - Dec 24/25:Madid (2nights) - Dec 26: Cordoba (1night) - Dec 27/28: Sevilla (2nights) - Dec 29:Arcos de la Frontera (1night) - Dec 30:Ronda (1night) - Dec 31/Jan 1:Granada (1night)- Night Train (Granada -> Barcelona) - Jan 2/3/4/5:Barcelona (if possible, a day-trip to Montserrat) - Jan 6: Cadaques - Night Train to Madrid - Jan 7/8/9: Madrid

What do you think of this modified plan?
Also, I have questions to ask for you.
1. Where do you recommend to go or what to do on Chrismas eve and Chrismas day in Madrid for this would-be lonely backpacker? (As a matter of fact, I can't speak Spanish at all.)
2. Alhambra in Granada will be open on Jan 1?? I have looked for the open-hours, but they didn't mention any closed day. Does that mean it is open everyday?
3. What would be the best way from Cadaques to Madrid? Do I have to come to Barcela to transfer? I want to use a night-train or a night-bus.

Thanks in advance for your useful tips!

Of course it's up to you but PERSONALLY, I don't like staying anywhere just one night. (Well, unless the town turns out to be a "dump" and none of your selections are.) You arrive, get checked in, blah, blah, blah...you just don't have time to get a feel for the place. I think you're still taking on too much, and too much "in and out" of Madrid. As nice as Avila and Salamanca and El Escorial are (we've stayed at all of these places and visits to all would be great), I personally prefer Segovia as a "base." (Actually, we liked nearby Turégano but only because we had a car and could drive in and out of Segovia whenever and to many other places in Castilla/Leon.)

P.S. We did similar trips YEARS ago, when we were young, four/five weeks traveling by car all over España (well, we missed the Valencia area and the southeast). We also did Spain AND Portugal on a five week drive with friends. So your itinerary for three weeks is not impossible. "With age comes wisdom" (or something like that) which has made me more thorough. (Or maybe it's simply a matter of slowing down as we grow older!)
Perhaps someone else will offer some suggestions?

Yeah... El Escorial and Toledo are one day trips from Madrid. I would also suggest you head south from Granada through the Sierra Nevada to Almeria on the coast. A short distance from this city there is a national park called Parque Natural del Cabo de Gata. It is a must if you want to view a natural beach. The town of Aqua Dulce is located minutes from the park. I was in Aqua Dulce on the feast of San Juan. There were fires lit on the beach and at midnight everyone jumped into the ocean to wash their face. It was a great time and a great town. A friend of mine was in Sevilla for Christmas once and she said that is was dead, nothing going on.

[ 12-11-2001: Message edited by: Antonio ]

Hi 'Whatsin',

Keep in mind that December 25th, January 1st, and January 6th are National Holidays, everything but a few things like movie theatres, and the subway is closed. What I mean is you'll probably find that both the train and bus schedules change from their regular timetables, there are less trains and buses, so most people reserve well in advance(meaning at the beginning of December) and seats are scarce later on.
So it is a good idea indeed to travel on those days because there's not much else to do, but on the other hand it could be impossible to do so.


pim

whatsinspain-

I just returned from a 17-day trip to Spain in October with a somewhat similar itinerary:
(by car)
Toleldo (2 nts)
El Escorial - day trip on way to Segovia
Segovia (2 nts)
Avila - day trip on way to Salamanca
Salamanca (2 nts)
turn in car in Madrid; then take AVE
Cordoba - day trip
Sevilla (3 nts)
rented car:
Jerez de la Frontera - day trip
Arcos de la Frontera (2 nts)
route of Pueblos Blancos - day trip
Ronda (1 nt)
turned in car:
Granada (2 nts)
airplane to:
Madrid (2 nts)

It worked out great. I can't think of changing the way we did it. Madrid was best to do last - I was able to get my "europe legs" and save the largest city for last.

You may want to consider Segovia - it is spectacular. I was not very impressed by Avila - it was worth a quick trip to visit the walls but that's it. El Escorial was a good day trip - but that's it also. I'd stay in Segovia and do these as day trips - just my opinion. You could also go directly to Salamanca instead of spending your first night in Madrid and then add a night to Arcos, Ronda or Granada (3 1-nighters and an overnight train in a row are a bit much). Did you consider Toledo? It was one of my favorite cities.

I'll try to put together a post of some great restaurants and tapas bars we found. The food was the best I had in Europe and this was my 4th trip.

I was just in the Andalusia area from Dec 28th thru Jan 4th where I rented a car ins Sevilla and dropped it off in Cordoba and then took the high speed AVE train back to Marid. Though your itinerary seemed great overall, I'm not sure what you found in Arcos that caused you to spent 2 nights there. I would have substituted one or both of the nights to go to Cadiz, explore the Costa de la Luz and see small towns like Zahara de las Atunes. Perhaps exploring Gibraltor or even taking the ferry from Algeciras to Ceuta and taking a day trip to Tetouan and Tangiers in Morocco, which I did and which was just fabulous. Malaga is also not a bad stop on the way to Granada. Also, instead of 2 nights at Granada, I would have spend a night in Cordoba. Though the Alhambra in Granada is great, the Mezquita in Cordoba is also intriguing.

Just my 2 cents worth. When you say you could not have done it any better, are you sure you wouldn't have changed anything in retrospect, like 3 nights in Sevilla. I'm sure just stating on opinion because I don't think there is an optimal itinerary that is the best for EVERYONE.

Cornelio:
I agree. There is no optimal itinerary for EVERYONE, however I would not have changed one day in the itinerary we put together.

I hate one-nighters and try to minimize them - I'd rather do a day trip from a home base then do one-nighters. Just my opinion.

Two nights in Arcos was fine for us. It was about mid-way through our trip and a little less hectic. We didn't arrive there until late afternoon, since we had gone sherry tasting in Jerez earlier in the day. After settling in at the hotel and walking around in the small town, we had a nice nap then headed out for tapas and dinner. The entire next day we did the route of the Pueblos Blancos and did not arrive back into Arcos into late afternoon. Again, took a nap, walked around and explored, took time to sit back and watch people instead of running past them, and had a very nice dinner. Just because you're staying somewhere for 2 nights doesn't necessarily mean you're there the entire time. I would have loved to see more of Andalusia, like Cadiz, but I didn't want to be rushed and I didn't want to miss the white village route. We stayed at one of Rick Steve's favorite places, El Convento, and it was fabulous. We had a balcony that was larger than our room and a breathtaking view.

We did 3 nights in Sevilla, as you must have missed from my posting above. I still need to go back - there was just so much beauty and charm.

We didn't do a day-trip to Tangiers because one of the friends that went with us had just been in January. She wasn't too thrilled with it the first time (her opinion), at least as a day trip, and didn't want to go back.

In Granada we had tickets for the Alhambra at 8am and also for the evening at 10pm. We avoided the morning tour groups and crowds and also saw how enchanting the Alhambra was at night. It would have been difficult to arrange just one night in Granada if we wanted to see the Alhambra 2x and also visit the Cathedral and Albycin. We also found an incredible restaurant there and had to do our 3 hour siesta! (both days)

As for Cordoba, I stopped there myself (my friends went on ahead to Sevilla) when I took the AVE from Madrid to Sevilla. I had 8 hours there and was able to visit the Mezquita, Juderia, and Alcazar which were the 3 sites I really wanted to see. It would have been nice to spend the night there but it also would have meant cutting out a day in Sevilla and I (my opinion) thought an 8 hour day trip was adequate.