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17 days Madrid, Seville, Jerez/Cadiz, Granada, Barcelona Dec '25-Jan '26

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My husband and are traveling to Spain for the first time. We were supposed to go in May 2020, but...
We do not have a set itinerary yet and have gone through several variations. Initially we were going to fly into Barcelona on Christmas day (arriving on the 26th), stay 3 days, take the train to Madrid and stay 3 days, take the train to Granada on 1/01, stay the night, tour Alhambra the next day and rent a car. We'd then drive to Ronda and stay in the parador 1 night, drive to Gibraltar and stay somewhere on the Spain side walking over to Gibraltar. Next, we were going to drive to Tarifa and take the ferry to Tangier on 3 kings day as we heard many places in Spain would be closed. Next we were going to go to Jerez and Cadiz and stay in another parador. We'd then drive to Seville and return the rental car and stay in Seville 3 days before flying home. This seemed like a lot of movement and rushed.

We're now looking at:

Flying into Madrid (arriving 12/26) and then flying to Bilbao for 2 days to do the Guggenheim and a Rioja wine tour

Flying to Seville from Bilbao and staying 3 days

Renting a car and driving to: Granada, Ronda, Gibraltar, Tarifa (Tangier ferry), Jerez/Cadiz

Returning the rental car and flying to Madrid to stay 3 days (possibly taking a day trip to Toledo) before flying home

This also seems pretty aggressive. We want to see everything but are realizing that is not possible with the time we have. We love wine and really like Spanish wine so that's why we would want to go to Jerez/Cadiz for the sherry. We could skip Bilbao and Rioja as it might not be worth the time we are spending. I'm sure we would have access to Rioja wine all over Spain. I've read reviews that Gibraltar and Tangier may not be worth the hassle for a day. It seems like Gibraltar is primarily the Rock, cave and monkeys.

Madrid, Granada Seville and Jerez/Cadiz are musts for us. We also REALLY want to go to Barcelona, but we can reserve that for another trip if needed and pair that with southern France.

Should we just stick with Madrid (day trip to Toledo), Seville (day trip to Jerez/Cadiz) and Barcelona and find our way to Granada for 1 night/2 days?

Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Posted by
5753 posts

It's clear you have put thought into this. I think you might get more efficient feedback if you condense it into a concise plan (so no one has to count out the days, etc.--I know it's a mental block for me). Something like this:

Arrive Madrid, fly to Bilbao
Bilbao 3 nights {one day for winery tour}
fly to Sevilla 10 nights -----see below
return rental car, train to Madrid
Madrid 3 nights {day trip Toledo}

I think this part needs work. Maybe peruse some of the recent posts about Morocco trips to see what the current thinking is.
Just Sevilla, Cordoba, Granada, and Ronda would be a perfect trip. I'd consider dropping Bilbao and put more time in the south (go to the north in summer).

Posted by
1927 posts

I agree that your post is a little bit confusing. Firstly, it is easier to count by nights, not days. 2 nights anywhere gives you 1 full day, or maybe 1.5 days depending on when you arrive; 3 nights give you 2 full days, and so on. One night in Granada does not give you 2 full days. It will give you 1/2 day (or less) when you arrive and 1/2 of a day the next day.

How many nights do you actually have on the ground for this trip? I can't quite figure it out.

Since you are going in winter, I think it makes sense to concentrate on Madrid and Andalucia. It's also easier to get around. You aren't flying or training all over the place. Stick to one geographic area. Also, can you fly open-jaw, such as into Madrid and home from Seville?

So a possible itinerary could look like this:
Madrid - 3 or 4 nights
Toledo - 1 or 2 nights (I really think you will enjoy Toledo more if you stay overnight)
Cordoba - 2 nights (I added Cordoba because I think the Mezquita is an amazing sight and Cordoba is wonderful. Since you are in Andalucia, it would be a shame to miss Cordoba and the Mezquita. Just my opinion, of course.)
Granada - 2 nights
Seville - 4 or 5 nights

I haven't been to Cadiz or Ronda so can't really comment.

I apologize. I just saw that you have 17 days, which is actually 16 nights. My suggested itinerary is 15 nights, so if you add an extra night to Seville (6 nights), you could take daytrips to Cadiz and Jerez. And still have plenty of time to see the amazing sites in beautiful Seville.

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