18 nights in Spain Itinerary Suggestions

Posted by diane1164 on 03/05/24 09:06 PM

Hi, My husband and I will be spending 18 nights in Spain. This does not include the days flying in and out of Spain. Ideally, we would fly into Barcelona and out of Granada only because that works best with the airline points we have but are open to suggestions for that. We will spend the first 5 nights in Barcelona because we are meeting friends there.

This is where I need itinerary help. We have an additional 13 nights to spend elsewhere. We would like to visit Madrid and Southern Spain but after reading so many opinions of places to go, we are confused. We prefer to minimize hotel hopping by doing day trips from the cities where we are staying. Which cities/towns would be recommended to keep this to a minimum? Also, how many nights should we allot for each place?
Thanks for the help.

Posted by geovagriffith

03/05/24 09:25 PM

7667 posts

I suggest something like this:

Days 1-4 Barcelona, add a day if you take a day trip to Girona
Take the high speed train to Madrid
Days 5-9 Madrid with day trips to Toledo and Segovia
Take the train to Cordoba
Days 10-11 Cordoba
Take the Train to Seville
Days 13-16
Take the Train to Granada
Days 17-18

Posted by Dick

Olympia, WA, USA

03/05/24 09:30 PM

6504 posts

Eighteen nights minus five in Barcelona leaves 13 for Madrid and the south, time for a lot. I'd suggest five or six for Madrid, including day trips to Toledo and Segovia, and split the rest among Seville, Cordoba, and Granada. You can do all this by train, Madrid to Seville (via Cordoba) and Seville to Granada (also via Cordoba). Give Cordoba at least one night either before or after Seville. If you want to see the "white villages" or Jerez or Cadiz, you can do a day trip from Seville with a car.

EDIT -- Geovagriffith and I are pretty much on the same page here.

Posted by Chani

Tel Aviv

03/06/24 08:04 AM

15582 posts

There is so much to see and do in all the places you've listed and everyone has favorites. A great deal depends on when you are going, weather and local events play a huge part. Next is what your preferences are - food & wine, scenery, history (ancient, medieval, and/or other), art, beaches, nightlife, churches and cathedrals, etc.

You'll get much better advice and recommendations after we know more details.

Posted by diane1164 OP

03/06/24 03:06 PM

4 posts

We will be visiting October 19-November 6, 2024. Our interests include scenery, history (ancient and medieval) and churches and cathedrals.

Posted by Chani

Tel Aviv

03/07/24 08:50 AM

15582 posts

Thanks, Diane. Given that info, I'd make the following adjustments to geo's itinerary.

5N Barcelona, train to Toledo (train change in Madrid)
2N Toledo, train to Cordoba (train change in Madrid)
2-3N Cordoba, train to Sevilla.
4-5N Sevilla. Day trip by train to Cadiz. train or bus to Granada
3N Granada.

If you are willing to rent a car, you can drive from Sevilla to Granada, using 2-3N to see the white hill towns. Then I'd spend 2N in Cordoba, 4N in Sevilla and probably not day-trip to Cadiz.

While Girona has the best preserved medieval center in the area and a lovely cathedral, Toledo and Cordoba are much better. Cadiz is an interesting place for a few hours and has a pretty Atlantic coastline. However the white hill towns are charming and driving around them is very scenic with frequent pull-outs to admire the views and take photos.

I have eliminated Madrid since its main attraction is its superb art museums. Most of the architecture is post-medieval, so all in all it doesn't fit your interests at all.

I recommend you bone up on the Moorish and Jewish history of Spain. You'll appreciate Andalucia much more with that background. Medieval Spain is very different.

Be sure to book your tickets for the Alhambra in Granada well in advance. They do sell out every day.