Itinterary Advice - December Trip to Europe and North Africa

Your trip sounds grueling to me. A lot of traveling with not much time in some of the destinations. Is one night worth it in Paris? I haven't been to Tangier but I know the consensus of many people is that Tangier is not the real Morrocco. it is dirty and you will be harassed by people trying to sell you junk. It's like going to Tijuana to say you've been to Mexico. And You won't see much of Seville in one day.

I would eliminate Belgium and Tangier. Take those 3 nights and add them to Seville and Paris. Or better yet, skip Paris (unless NYE in Paris is of utmost importance to you), and add those 3 nights to Seville, since you are already in Spain. Eliminates a lot of traveling. And Seville is worth at least 3 full days. Perhaps you could do a day trip to Cordoba from Seville.

Hey Erica,

1) Since it will be winter, should we pretty much expect weather delays at every stop?

It all depends Erica on the forecast for that day. I don't think that would apply to every stop.

2) Should we try to fly out of Madrid or another Spanish city instead of going back to London to fly out?

Fly out of Madrid to SFO instead of going back to London. Going back is wasting travel time.

3) Should we try to make Seville an overnight from Rota or a full day trip should be good?

Make an overnighter to Seville from Rota.

4) In the area of Spain we'll be in, what other cities are recommended to visit? Is Jerez de la Frontera worth a see? We'll have most or all of the day on the 6th, depending on if we leave from London as planned or try to leave from a Spanish city.

Yes you can visit the town of Jerez as well as notable places such as Cordoba or Granada

5) Any other suggestions to consider?

Is it really that important to go to Tangier? You can use that time to visit another nearby town in Spain like Malaga Spain which is an absolute gem in Andalucia.

Thank you both for the replies!

kmkwoo - The Paris one-nighter was my MIL's idea as she heard NYE in Paris is awesome. We have already been to Paris so didn't want to make it a super long stop. However if we don't do Belgium we'll probably add those days to Paris instead---just trying to see some places we haven't seen before rather than only repeat places we have been (already been to both London and Paris so trying to keep time in both minimal). As for Tangier, we heard it was an easy trip from Rota, like 1.5 hour drive to Tarifa then just a 30 minute ferry, so we thought it would be a nice excursion from Southern Spain and there are some points of interest in the city I'd love to check out.

RJean - appreciate you answering the questions one by one, very helpful. We'll definitely look into a full overnight in Seville and a flight out of Madrid instead. My MIL thought it would be better to fly in and out of the same place but I think in this case it won't be. Cordoba or Granada definitely seem like nice additional stops in Southern Spain so I will look into those! As for Tangier, same as I mentioned above--since we'll be so close we'd like to at least spend 24 hours there as there are definitely some points of interest in the city I'd like to see and my husband would too.

Each traveler has their own pace. As you have been before, I assume this pace works for you.
1) Weather depending on your stops. Last Christmas, it was drones grounding planes in UK, not weather.
2)Yes, fly from Madrid instead of London
3) May I suggest Jan 1 stay in Seville and leave for Rota Jan 2 or morning of Jan 3...or something that doesn't require a return to Seville having arrived there on Jan 1.
5) I might investigate a flight from Seville to SFO, even if it means a transfer in Madrid. It could be more efficient use of time than spending the better part of a day on a train to Madrid. Just expanding options.

Thank you Maria, great suggestions! We'll look into doing Seville first when we arrive there. I am also pretty sure we'll leave out of Madrid instead of going back to the UK to leave. I will look into leaving out of Seville with a connection in Madrid too, you are right it may be worth the extra $$ for the ticket to save time and money on a train from Seville to Madrid.

If possible, I would suggest that you move your trip forward by a day or two. Christmas Eve is a busy travelling day for those working in London who are heading home for Christmas and rail services wind down early, so trains will be very busy. I don’t know whereabouts in Devon you are heading to, but from Heathrow to Plymouth involves taking a bus to Reading then picking up a train, which would be a door to door travel time of about 5 hours. Allow 2 hours to get through Heathrow, so 7 + hours from landing to arriving at your cousin’s. This isn’t something that I would want to do whilst jet lagged. The other disadvantage is that you would be getting on the busy train at Reading, rather than at the terminus.

I too would drop Tangier certainly and also probably Belgium. Fly from Exeter or Bristol to Paris.

Seville can easily occupy you for 3 full days. Cadiz and Jerez are nearby day trips.

If you've been to London and Paris already and are simply using them as stop offs along the way then why not eliminate them entirely?

You don't say where in Devon you're going to be staying (it's a large county). Bear in mind that December 26th is Boxing Day, a public holiday, and much will be closed so plan your options in advance.

Weather in December can potentially cause delays in flights, I've had a flight delayed due to snow and ice at Heathrow in early december but equally I've had many flights in december that went without a hitch. Any particular reason for Brussels? I haven't been but the general consensus is that it's not really worth a visit.

You can fly to Seville from Bristol airport (closer to Devon than London) with Ryanair for about £50 (not including luggage fees) during that time (I can't find any flights from Exeter so I suspect that those are seasonal). This would eliminate the requirement for travelling back to London, going to Brussels and then Paris before heading to Seville. You could choose to either spend a bit more time exploring Devon and the wider area or fly straight to Seville and spend more time in Spain.

Tangier often crops up on this forum with the general advice (mine included) that ti's not worth it however you've stated that there is something particular about Tangier that you and your husband are interested in (but haven't mentioned what it is) so I won't continue with my advice not to go.

NYE is pretty much the same in most major cities. It's expensive, it's crowded, there are fireworks and then there's a nightmare trying to get back to your lodging. I avoid NYE in any large city now, in fact if I'm at home I'll usually be in bed before midnight. I cannot see that the celebrations in Paris will be significantly better than the celebrations in Seville other than it'll likely be warmer in Seville. I'd prefer to be in Seville than Paris on NYE if I had to choose.

My advice is to leave out London, Brussels, Paris and Tangier and devote the majority of your time in Spain.

I second Jennifer's suggestion to cross the Atlantic one day earlier. I cannot imagine that you will be other than totally wiped out by the time you take an overnight flight followed by that long trek to Devon, even if all transportation links function perfectly. I think you're at risk of still being pretty out of it on Day 2, which could make your important family activities a bit stressful.

If you drop Belgium and France, you might be able to fly to one of the great destinations in Morocco (I'd suggest Fes or Marrakech) and then from there to Seville. I haven't checked winter flight schedules, but it might work.

The first side trip I'd make from Seville (time permitting) would be Cordoba. Cadiz is pleasant and does have a good Picasso Museum (haven't been to Jerez), but Cordoba has a lot more character and plenty of indoor sights (starting with the Mezquita) if you're unlucky with the weather. I suppose if you have just a spare 2 or 3 hours, Jerez or Cadiz could be a nice stop more or less on the way to Rota.

Morocco is a great place to visit, but not Tangier. Fes, Marrakesh, Agidar and Rabat are great to visit.