3 couples/14 days/Barcelona and day trips

I'd want more than 3 days in Barcelona, and it's an incredibly short stay (assuming it's your first time in the city) if it will be your first stop, since that first day is likely to be severely jetlagged. Of course, I am biased: I love both modernista architecture and art museums.

Your inclusion of Tarragona and Merida suggests to me that you're especially interested in the Roman sites. That's not a particular interest of mine, and I've never been to Tarragona, so I'm not the one to help you there. I did go to Merida last year. Aside from the classical ruins, it's a pleasant enough place, but I didn't find it especially interesting compared to Caceres and Trujillo. I think the ruins are the major reason to visit. My guess is that a full day (i.e., 2 nights) will be enough for you, but it would be better to hear that from someone who shares your interests.

Toledo I love. There are the big-name sights everyone goes to (the cathedral and the El Greco Museum, primarily), and in peak season the path to the cathedral is more or less shoulder-to-shoulder. But the historic district of Toledo is huge, and there are many other things to see, including some lovely mudejar buildings. As of last year you could buy a wrist band that provided access to 6 or 7 of the secondary sites, many of which included tours, usually offered twice a day. I found those very interesting. I spent three nights in Toledo, so I had two full days there, part of which I spent just wandering around the back streets, away from all the tourist sights (and the other tourists). That was the right amount of time for me, but I am inordinately fond of walking the back streets that everyone else ignores.

Girona is also wonderful. For me, the main sights there are the two cathedrals (both with English audio guides, as I recall), the walkable wall, the very good art museum, and the historic district itself, which is lovely for strolling. I spent several nights in Girona but did some day-trips. I'd recommend 1-1/2 days there if you can find that much time. If pinched, you could see it on a day-trip from Barcelona, and if you're unlucky with the weather, that might be fine.

In terms of routing, you're proposing to cover a lot of miles, and I don't think there's a magic solution. Use renfe.com or the Deutsche Bahn to check rail schedules and ViaMichelin.com for estimated driving times. Be aware that others here seem to consider VM a bit optimistic, and its times do not allow for stops, getting lost, traffic delays, looking for parking, etc. I don't think flying will help you except at the end since there's very fast train service between Barcelona and Madrid. Trains make that run much, much faster than it can be driven. For that reason, I don't think a hired car-based guide would be a good idea for moving between Barcelona and Madrid.

Tarragona and Girona are both readily accessible from Barcelona (though in opposite directions), and Toledo is quite close to Madrid. One thing about Toledo: It is at the end of a spur railway line. You cannot head out of Toledo on the train and go anywhere other than back to Madrid. Still, all of these destinations seem to scream "public transportation" to me.

Merida is 5 hours by train from Madrid, perhaps an hour faster by car. I found the trains comfortable and would prefer that to a car. You would need a sizable van of some sort to handle six people and their luggage.

The problem is that you need to return to Barcelona for your flight. The Badajoz airport is fairly close to Merida, and an airline I know nothing about, Air Nostrum, has a non-stop flight from Badajoz to Barcelona (perhaps not daily). The flight is marketed by Iberia. Check schedules on Skyscanner.

I ran out of room before I had a chance to suggest that you consider seeing Barcelona at the end of your trip so you don't have to worry that a problem getting back from (presumably) Merida might cause you to miss your transatlantic return flight. If that's not practical for some reason, I'd try to fly to Merida before going to Toledo. In other words:

Head straight to Toledo
Merida
Barcelona, Girona, Tarragona in whatever order you prefer

or

Barcelona, Girona, Tarragona, in whatever order you prefer
Merida
Toledo
Return to Barcelona

Thank you, ACraven. The information you provided was exactly what I needed. I had not thought of heading to Toledo first and is a good option. So much to see in so little time. I do like ruins and also wandering around the 'back streets' away from tourist areas as well. Some of our best pictures are of places few tourists see.

We are in agreement about train vs car. So much more comfortable, and I know I won't take a wrong turn. One more question if you please. Is it fairly safe to wait to purchase train tickets shortly before departure or do I run the risk of no seat available? We've traveled around Italy a bit by train and always waited until the day of travel to purchase tickets and had no problem. We don't like to book ahead due to weather surprises.

Regional trains cannot sell out, and there is no advantage to buying those tickets early--though walking into the train station 15 minutes before departure isn't recommended, either, especially at Puerta de Atocha in Madrid.

The express trains (AVEs, AVANTs, etc.) can occasionally sell out, but a bigger issue is what happens to the fares as the departure date approaches. You can see it in action by checking the Barcelona-Madrid fare for tomorrow vs. for a date in early September. The really good deals evaporate as those seats are sold, but of course the bargain fares tie you to the selected date and time of departure, so it's a balancing act. Basically, it works like the budget flights within Europe (such as the Badajoz-Barcelona flight you may want to take), though the Spanish train fares aren't quite as variable as the airfares.

Rick recommends booking your return from Toledo (if you're doing a day-trip and returning to Madrid at night) at the same time as the outbound trip, because the last trips back do sometimes fill up. If the worst happens, remember that there is bus as well as train service between Toledo and Madrid.

I think the Madrid-Merida link is a regional one but cannot be sure because the Renfe website isn't talking to my computer at the moment. Edited to add: It's a middle-distance AVANT that seems to cost 47.10 euros every day, so I guess there are no deals to be had on that route.

Incidentally, central Spain will not necessarily be warm in November. It is not Andalucía. Then again, I wouldn't wish mid-summer Merida on anyone; it can be brutally hot.

Tarragona & Girona are easy day trips from Barcelona.
Toledo is an easy day trip from Madrid.
Merida is nearly a 5 hour train trip from Madrid, so I d forget it.

I’d go with something like this ...

Day
1..Arrive Barcelona. Train to Zaragoza (2)
3..Train to Madrid (5)
- with days to Toledo, Segovia, El Escorial
8..Train to Barcelona (7)
- with days to Tarragona, Girona & Montserrat
15..Depart Barcelona

It's always easy for me to say "Drop the place with the ruins" since they are not my thing, but I try to suppress that urge. Still, I think David's suggestion is a good one. As I mentioned in my earlier post, there are other interesting places to see in Extremadura aside from Merida, so it's a shame to spend so much time traveling there to see just one city. Maybe hold that area for a later trip? There are, as David points out, many interesting destinations within the orbits of Barcelona and Madrid, whether for day-trips or short stays.

Traveling from Madrid, in addition to Toledo and Segovia you have Cuenca, which is on the AVE line between Madrid and Valencia. It's a wonderful hill town with a couple of small modern-art museums and hanging houses along a ravine. Very few Americans go there. It can be visited reasonably inexpensively if the AVE ticket is purchased very early. It would be a painfully expensive day-trip or one-nighter if you were stuck with the walk-up fare.

Thanks for the suggestions. I agree and think Merida will have to wait for the Portugal trip (hopeful aren't I?) Visited Madrid and Segovia (my favorite) and Bilboa 2 years ago and loved all three. Will definitely see Montserrat while in Barcelona.

Take out Madrid and Segovia then, and consider two different train routes between Barcelona and Madrid (for Toledo).

Day
1..Arrive Barcelona. Train to Zaragoza (2)
3..Train via Madrid to Toledo (2)
5..Train via Madrid to Valencia (2)
7..Train to Tarragona (1)
8..Train to Barcelona (7)
- with days to Girona+Figueres, Montserrat & Sitges
15..Depart Barcelona

I went to Tarragona as a day trip from Barcelona especially to see the Roman ruins. That turned out to be the least interesting, even disappointing, bit of my day there. There's a small theatre which may impress someone who hasn't been to any other ancient theatres. Honestly, the things that I enjoyed most were the train ride which had a long stretch along the scenic Med coast and the local vermut I had at lunch. There are ancient underground ruins in the Barcelona City History Museum that are more interesting.

This is the best article explaining the Spanish train system.