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2 Weeks In Spain

Note: I am open to traveling via train or flight between stops! I would like to minimize transit time where possible.

I will be visiting Spain June 24 (leaving the US on the 23rd) - July 9 (leaving to spend a week in Paris from there). I am wanting to explore primarily a few specific places in northern,central and southern Spain as I would be returning to Barcelona and the eastern coast at a later date (separate trip!). I am having difficulty figuring out what the best route would be. I am willing to travel via train OR fly between destinations as needed. I would rather pay to fly if it would be more than 4-5 hours transit time solely to save time if possible! Help please!!

I would prefer to spend 2-3 nights in each place other than La Rioja and San Sebastian. Not sure how to "order" these stops. Also open to any other stop suggestions within this "route". I have 15 nights total to work with.

Madrid (3 nights)

Toledo (I know it could be a day trip but want to spend more time here! 2 nights maybe!)

Seville

Cordoba

La Rioja (OK with 1 night here if needed)

San Sebastian (OK with 1 night here if needed)

Malaga or Granada (but I'm OK with saving one of these for next time if needed!)

Posted by
26829 posts

It sounds as if you are flying into Madrid and arriving on June 24th, then returning home (probably from Paris) in July, but do not have your transportation booked yet from Spain to Paris. Am I correct?

I'll first give you some transportation resources that may be helpful, in case you are not aware of them:

  • Rome2rio.com provides a broad look at all kinds of transportation available between two points. You can usually drill down and find links to the appropriate bus companies for the proposed routes. The cited trip durations and fares can be pretty inexact, but this will get you started and usually will highlight trips that will be tough slogs, information you may need in determining the most efficient routing through multiple stops. In Spain buses--which are quite comfortable--are often faster than trains when you're not traveling between major cities.

  • Skyscanner.com has schedules for flights within Europe. I'd recommend booking directly with your chosen airline, but only after carefully checking all the extra charges you may encounter and verifying that the airports to be used are actually located near your desired departure and arrival points.

  • Renfe is for train service, though locating schedules for the local trains can be tricky. You will not be able to find schedules for June/July yet, so just work with a date in February that falls on the same day of the week you expect to travel.

  • Because of the difficulty of locating local trains on the Renfe site, the Deutsche Bahn schedules can sometimes be very helpful.

You didn't say what you want to do in La Rioja (which is a region rather than a specific place), but I assume you have an interest in wine. I do not, and I haven't tried to visit wine-related sites anywhere in Europe, but I'm not sure how much you can accomplish in that rather rural area without a rental car. From the transportation standpoint I think La Rioja fits better with a visit to the Basque Country (Bilbao, San Sebastian, Vitoria-Gasteiz) than with trips to Madrid or Barcelona, so it does make sense to tackle La Rioja and San Sebastian on the same trip. The question is whether this is the trip. I don't believe you have time for this area as well as all I think you'll want to see in Andalucía. It would be a shame to go all the way to Andalucía and miss Granada, I think.

Although Rome2Rio does not know about it, there is regular bus service running between Vitoria-Gasteiz and Logroño, both of which have decent--though not particularly fast--transportation connections. One of the stops along the way is the utterly charming old hill town of Laguardia, which has a number of wine bars. I have only changed buses in Logrono, but I very much liked Vitoria-Gasteiz (which has a huge historic district) and Laguardia.

The schedule for buses between Vitoria-Gasteiz and Logroño is here. The first of the four charts is the summer schedule from V-G to Logroño. The third is the summer schedule from Logroño back to V-G. In each chart the top half is for Mon-Fri (non-holidays) and the lower half is for Sat/Sun/holidays.

There seem to be more flights out of Bilbao than out of San Sebastian, and the two cities are less than 90 minutes apart by bus, though the picturesque FEVE rail route is three times as long. I found just one non-stop flight to Paris from that area on July 9, departing from Bilbao at 2:50 PM.

Out of space. See next post.

Posted by
7175 posts

June 24 - Arrive Madrid (3 nights)
June 27 - Train to Toledo (2 nights)
June 29 - Train to Cordoba (2 nights)
July 1 - Train to Seville (3 nights)
July 4 - Train to Granada (2 nights)
July 6 - Fly (via Madrid) to San Sebastián (2 nights)
July 8 - Bus to Bilbao (1 night)
July 9 - Fly to Paris

OR

June 24 - Arrive Madrid (4 nights)
(With day trip to Toledo)
June 28 - Train to Seville (4 nights)
(With day trip to Cordoba)
July 2 - Train to Granada (2 nights)
July 4 - Fly (via Madrid) to San Sebastián (2 nights)
July 6 - Bus to Logrono/Laguardia (2 nights)
July 8 - Bus to Bilbao (1 night)
July 9 - Fly to Paris

Posted by
3 posts

Thank you both so much for your help and responses! It's so hard to choose sometimes!

I had not heard of a few of those weblinks so will definitely utilize them in my planning. I think "option one" might actually be perfect and am glad I could fit Granada in!

Would the best way to transit from Granada back to Madrid to fly to San Sebastian be via train?

Posted by
26829 posts

I think you should be able to save time flying Granada-Madrid-San Sebastian because the train from Granada to Madrid takes over 4 hours, and then you'd have to find your way to the Madrid airport to get the flight to SS. However, I see only one good connection on skyscanner for the date I randomly chose, and it includes a flight on an airline I've never heard of: Air Nostrum. It's a 1:25 PM departure that takes less than 3-1/2 hours. It's not cheap at $216. But intra-European flights can vary by day, so you might have more choices on the day you actually need to fly.

Vueling has a 5 PM non-stop to Bilbao that would tempt me, given the frequency of bus service between Bilbao and SS. The current price is $98. There is also a very early (6:45 AM) Vueling non-stop for $70.

David's Itinerary #1 looks good to me for someone willing to move really fast, but I see that even he wasn't able to squeeze in La Rioja. Are you sure you want to go all the way up to the Basque Country for what is going to amount to one day in San Sebastian and one in Bilbao? I really enjoyed both those cities, but there are other things it would be nice to see up there, plus your interest in La Rioja, and you won't have time.

What would I do instead? I'd take a side-trip (or overnighter) to Cuenca. You can reach it very quickly from Madrid because it's on the AVE line toward Valencia. Or spend some time seeing Ronda and other smaller towns in Andalucía. And/or add one night to Madrid if you are interested in art.

I confess, though, that you will probably find the Basque Country weather a nice change in July. Your other Spanish destinations are likely to be quite hot.

Important: I assume the main reason for Granada is to see the Alhambra. You need to keep on top of the ticket situation there. Tickets regularly sell out, and we've had some sad posts here from people who missed out or had to buy expensive tours to get access to the site. It appears that tickets are currently on sale just through February 28.

Posted by
7175 posts

Two flights from Granada to San Sebastián, with a Madrid connection ...

Iberia IB547
13:25 GRX Granada
14:30 MAD Madrid
Connect in airport | 1h 05
Iberia IB8322 | Operated by Air Nostrum
15:35 MAD Madrid
16:50 EAS San Sebastián

To Paris from Bilbao, you have 3 direct flights with Air France and one with Vueling ...
Vueling Airlines VY1466
14:50 BIO Bilbao
16:25 ORY Paris Orly

Posted by
3 posts

It may be that San Sebastian may not fit in...although I wish it logistically could.

Perhaps:

Madrid 3 nights
Toledo 2 nights
Cordoba 2 nights
Seville 3 nights
Malaga 3 nights (visit Ronda and Nerja?)
Granada 2 nights

Then off to Paris...

So the Alhambra must only have tickets for a 2-3 month in advance availability. I will definitely stay on top of that. Thank you for mentioning that!

Any concerns or suggestions safety wise? I am a 29 year old woman who will be traveling solo.

Posted by
7175 posts

OK. So the Basque Country is out.
Look at finishing in Malaga, from where you have direct flights to Paris.

Madrid 3 nights
Toledo 2 nights
Cordoba 2 nights
Seville 3 nights
Ronda 1 night
Granada 2 nights
Nerja 1 night
Malaga 1 night

Posted by
26829 posts

I traveled solo through central and northern Spain all summer and didn't observe anything that concerned me. I don't see why southern Spain would be different. Young women do sometimes attract vocal attention (not specifically in Spain), but I wouldn't expect anything to threaten your safety.

Really, a pickpocketing attempt is probably the most likely thing to happen, and you can reduce the odds a great deal by being careful and carrying unneeded valuables under your clothes. Use a cross-body bag and keep your hand on it at all times. Stay alert when you're in crowded areas. I've had more thefts in the US than in Europe, and I've done more dumb things in Europe (basically walking off and leaving credit cards and not realizing it until I had moved on to another city) than been a victim of crime in Europe.