Greetings to everyone!

I plan to go to Spain next year, and I have never been to Europe. I am starting to plan. I am asking those veteran travelers if the proposed plan of mine is the way to plan a trip to Spain?
1. determine the cities to visit and days that one will stay there
2. get a map of each city
3. find bus, train, or metro scedule for each city
4. make hostel reservation for each city before one leaves
5. determine attraction that one will see in each city
6. if one is not eating in fancy restaurants, find a deli, grocery store, or a type of dennys in every city (seems tough to find before one leaves)
7. how does one find bus and metro scedule for each city in spain? (travel book?)
8. Did I leave anything out?
9. Spain message board rocks!

i don't know if you're still trying to find an answer to this... but i can offer some advice... if it's your first trip you may want to stick to larger/more well known cities (more people will speak English, transportation is more readily available, and you have lots of options). If you know people who've been to the places you're looking to go to... talk to them about where they stayed... (i can help w/ places in Madrid, Granada, Rome, Venice and Florence).
As for transportation... you can find metro maps/city maps online for most large cities (Madrid has a GREAT online metro/bus site!)
let me know if this helps at all and if you have other specific questions... i have more to say if you need/want to hear it!

Hi, mikerod76-
Your plan seems pretty comprehensive, but I would also encourage you to leave some room for flexibility. One of the best things about traveling in Spain, in my opinion, is stopping in tiny pueblos for lunch, visiting a pretty church you see as you pass it, etc. That said, though, I agree that for a first visit, it helps to give yourself some "easy" days in cities with good transit, lots of lodging, etc. You can find transportation information online, in some cases, though some things won't be in English.

I have traveled to Spain 4 times, and only on two of those trips did I have ANY plans made in advance. I went once during March and once in late July/early August and still managed to find places to stay, things to do, and food to eat with little prior planning (I do speak a bit of Spanish, though).

However, it pays to have a couple of good guide books and it is certainly worthwhile to book accomodations in advance for at least part of your stay--especially as it's so easy to do via e-mail. Some of this will depend on your budget--if you're looking for a cheap bed in a youth hostel, that is different from booking a night in a parador or a converted castle.

You should be able to find maps for many cities online or in decent guidebooks, and you should always stop in the information center for each city for better maps and tourist guides in English. Those are usually clearly marked with the lowercase letter "i" on signs or maps.

If you're looking for the equivalent of the American restaurant "Denny's," as you suggest, head for the much maligned "VIPs" mentioned elsewhere on the board. But if you want good food, try eating at some of the other places mentioned on the board or in guidebooks. You can get a good meal in Spain for a very reasonable price, and of course there are grocery stores for staples and snacks. You don't need to figure all that out before you leave, though, because you will be exploring as you go along!

Have a fabulous trip!
Tara

Between Madridman's links and a Let's Go travel book, you should be fine. What month are you going?

Cristobal:

I will be going in october. Will it be busy there? Will the airline ticket be expensive during this month? The reason I am going into detail is becuse I feel I will spend more money if I am not prepared. Right? Thank to everyone for their help

When I say there, I mean Madrid for 2 or 3 days, Barcelona for 2 or 3 then train up to Paris and then train down to Rome. I am starting to think this is to much for 2 weeks. My father wants to go to spain as I do, but I really want to go to Rome. There is SO much to see there. I have not been to Spain. From what I read all over this board is that most travelers to Spain enjoy the culture of Spain than actual sites. Don't get me wrong there is probaably things to see; however, Rome has tons. Oh, by the way I am Cuban. I say this because others were writing bout the English issue. Thanks yaw

Hi, Mikerod76,
Yes, many of us post about the culture, but don't worry, there are enough sights to see in Spain to make even a Roman excited!! Just a few: the aqueduct in Segovia (this rivals anything in Italy, I promise!), the ruins at Merida, the Alcazar in Segovia, the Alhambra in Granada, the cathedrals in Toledo and Sevilla, the ENTIRE CITY of Toledo, the Roman bridge and lovely cathedrals in Salamanca, the Palacio Real in Madrid, the Prado, and I could go on and on!! The culture is certainly enchanting, but there are fabulous sights to see and places to visit.

One of the things I love about Spain (and I adore Italy too) is that it seems, in many places, to be more "real." In many places in Italy, there are velvet ropes between you and the "sight," whereas in Spain, you can almost reach out and touch things (you could, really...but a guard might get mad). Italy is fabulous, and I will certainly go back for both the sights and the culture (yummy food!), but Spain is a very worthy destination too. Many of the places you would visit as a first-time visitor to Spain (Madrid, Segovia, and Toledo rank high on most people's lists) are every bit as lovely (I think even prettier--but I don't want to start any arguments!) than typical first-time destinations in Italy (Rome, Venice, Florence).

Best of luck in choosing your destinations for your first trip to Europe! I have been 6 times so far, and don't feel like I will ever get enough time to see all I want to there.
Tara

October has good weather and you can find some good airfares. To cover all those cities in just 2 weeks will be tough. You will spend half your time on night trains and looking for hotels. If your heart is set on Rome, I would reccomend a flight from Spain to Italy. A train will take a very long time. Italian trains(Slow.....) With 2 weeks, I suggest that you stay in Spain. I remember rushing through Eastern Europe, a couple years back, and I regretted it. I had 90 days, saw 16 countries and still didn't have enough time.

Like Cristobal says, it's better to avoid rushing unless you're completely determined to see both Spain and Italy in this trip. Each of those places is just too rich to digest in a week. You would never feel like you had enough time (I think).

My vote's for Spain, of course...but you would have a fabulous two week trip in either place.
Tara

A little word of advice here. Don't try to go see too many cities at once. First, the sights begin to loose their significance once you have packed them all in. And secondly, the best way to appreciate being in a foriegn country is to soak up the local life. The best way to do this, I think, is relaxing and taking it easy (NOT in the hotel room, though!). You have to calm down to really appreciate the atmosphere. I spent two days in Rome. There is WAY too much to see in Rome. My friends and I jokingly called it the "trail of tears" because it we all felt like Roman slaves on our tourist route. We never had any time to relax and appreciate the atmosphere, which is really important. Also, again if you see so many sights really close together they loose their significance. What I did think was cool is how they still have SPQR written all over everything which dates back to the Roman empire. It means Senatus Populusque Romano, I think, the Senate and the Roman Republic. It is written on the Arches of the Foro Romano down to the Manhole covers on the streets! Well, my advice is to stay longer or cut out Italy. If you are like me, the most memorable parts of your trip won't be seeing Notre Dame, but the day that you relaxed in a sidewalk cafe and saw the peculiar sights (like thousands of people rollerblading in the middle of the street)