We are planning to visit Spain in end of September for 15 nights. We are group of six adults, three couples. plan is to arrive in Barcelona and spend three nights in Barcelona and then take a train to Valencia spent two nights there, then travel to Granada, spent three nights in Granada, then travel to Seville spent three nights in Seville and then travel to Madrid and spend three nights in Madrid.
Please let me know if this is a good itinerary or I need to make any changes.
Also what is the best way to travel from Valencia to Granada?
Posted by
Colorado Mountains, USA
7937 posts
It’s good that you’re not doing any one/night stays anywhere. With 6 of you, plus luggage, don’t drive from Valencia to Granada. I don’t think there’s a direct flight from Valencia to Granada, so go by train.
A possible alternative plan would be to fly direct from Valencia to Seville, and spend your 3 nights in Seville. Then go by train from Seville to Granada for your next three nights, before finishing in Madrid.
We got heavy rain in September in Barcelona a few years ago. Don’t expect it to be completely dry.
Posted by
Washington DC
28082 posts
I see a weekday train departing Valencia at 9:14 AM and reaching Granada about 5-1/2 hours later. I was surprised to see an option that good, because the express tracks route you through Madrid (change of trains there). The later morning trains take 2 hours longer, so I'd be grabbing tickets on that 9:14 train once my itinerary was locked down. Do pay attention to the cancellation/change policies, because you will have options.
The above notwithstanding--and I did enjoy Valencia on my most recent trip to Spain--I wouldn't choose Valencia over Toledo, Segovia and Cordoba, any of which would fit more efficiently into the rest of your itinerary.
In addition, I think when you start digging into what you actually want to see in Barcelona, having only two full days there (one hopes not too jetlagged) may look like a pretty significant problem. Barcelona has a lot of highly popular sights that require prepurchase of timed entry tickets. That is challenging on a short visit, because how are you supposed to know how much time you'll want to spend at each sight, how long it will take to get to the next one, when you'll want to eat lunch and how long it will take, etc.? The result of all that uncertainty is that it is safest to allow a generous amount of time between scheduled sightseeing stops in Barcelona, which makes it hard to cram a lot into one day. If you are not the typical tourists who want to see a bunch of Gaudi-designed buildings, the Picasso Museum and the Palau de la Musica Catalana, you will survive the two-day challenge. Otherwise, think about this carefully.
I think three nights is quite short for Seville as well, but at least you should all be over your jetlag by the time you get there. And three nights will not be comfortable in Madrid if you're major art lovers and want to hit the three major museums, which are far from the only sights in Madrid.