15 nights in Spain - Help with Itinerary Please

Posted by Patti (St. Petersburg) on 01/10/17 11:10 PM

We are going to Spain for 15 nights in mid June. I am struggling a bit with our itinerary. As it stands now:

Arrive Sunday 0900 in Barcelona: Stay either 3 or 4 nights (leave Wed or Thursday)
Wed or Thurs - AVE train to Madrid for 1-2 nights (depending on how long we stay in Barcelona)
Friday June 23 - Pick up rental care and drive to Granada ( we have heard the Festival of St. John is good and wanted to be in Granada on June 24th for that)
Sunday: Drive to Ronda for 2 nights (Sunday and Monday)
Tuesday: Drive to Seville, drop car and stay 2 nights
Thursday: Train to Toledo - stay for 2 nights
Saturday: Train to Madrid - stay another 2 nights and fly home on Monday morning.
We are in Madrid 2 different times - is this silly? Am I placing too much emphasis on being in Granada for the festival? It this too much for the length of the trip? Too many nights in Toledo or Ronda? We have all hotel reservations but they can be cancelled. Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks.
Bronzemouse

Posted by David in Brisbane

Brisbane, Australia

01/11/17 06:24 AM

7175 posts

By flying from Barcelona to Granada, something like this would work ...

Sun 18 June Arrive Barcelona - 4 nights
Thu 22 June Fly to Granada - 3 nights (check flights with Vueling)
Sun 25 June (Pick up car) Drive to Ronda - 1 night
Mon 26 June - Drive to Sevilla - 3 nights (Return car)
Thu 29 June - Train to Toledo - 1 night
Fri 30 June - Train to Madrid - 3 nights
Mon 03 July - Depart Madrid

Posted by jaimeelsabio

Mid-Atlantic area

01/30/17 01:09 AM

7162 posts

If you've never been to Madrid I don't see it as being silly since Madrid has plenty to offer. If you've been to Madrid before, why not drive from Barcelona to Granada and stay in a couple other towns you otherwise wouldn't have seen. For Ronda you only need one full day since it isn't that large. Check the towns on your driving route between Granada and Ronda to see if there is anything in them you may want to see. From Ronda to Sevilla you may want to arrange to drive by some of the "white villages." Most are nice to see from a distance but otherwise don't have much to offer, except Arco's de la Frontera. Don't spend all your time seeing things at the expense of your time in Sevilla. Two nights in Toledo is fine. Lot's to see in it and you need at least a full day. It's easy to walk around.

Posted by Chani

Tel Aviv

01/30/17 07:21 AM

15791 posts

David's itinerary is much more efficient. If you don't want 3 nights in Granada, there's plenty to see and do in Barcelona for one more night. How you allocate the nights after Granada doesn't matter so much to the overall plan. Tweak it for your interests.

Posted by David in Brisbane

Brisbane, Australia

01/31/17 02:23 PM

7175 posts

Tweak as much as u like.

Posted by Douglas

Oak Park, Illinois

02/01/17 02:55 AM

4535 posts

You are probably struggling with the issue of getting to Granada. It isn't well connected. I would do something more like David's plan: fly or go direct to Granada from Barcelona rather than spend two visits in Madrid. You may find you love Madrid, but you may also find that the second visit is a letdown since you've already seen it. Another option instead of flying would be to take the train from Barcelona to Valencia, stay a night or two there, then drive to Granada>Ronda>Sevilla. You may find that's a more interesting trip and Valencia is very underrated.

If your plan is to use a couple days and the car to explore the White Hills and towns, two nights in Ronda should be perfect.

Toledo is an option for reducing to one night if you need to. A great city, one of my favorites, but you can spend a long second day there and take a late train into Madrid. If you are also able to take an earlier train from Sevilla the day before, you'll have several hours to spend that afternoon. With two nights you can really relax and enjoy exploring the town (and not leave Sevilla so early).