We have a wonderful itinerary planned, arriving Barcelona October 16 with 6 nights in BCN to explore the city and take a couple of day trips. Then we're going to Madrid 4 nights, Seville 3 nights and Granada 2 nights, then flying to BCN and then home. We are monitoring the situation in Catalonia and hoping dearly for a peaceful outcome for everyone's sake. But if things become too volatile we would like to re-route, keeping all the arrangements from Madrid onward intact since we have a lot of reservations and some day trip trains all booked and paid for. Does anyone have any suggestions, should we need to make contingency plans, on where we might enjoy a lovely time that would make for a logical alternate itinerary? We prefer not to drive, and like a slower relaxing pace without a lot of hotel changes and enjoy architecture, art (but not too much), scenery and culture. I hope we don't need to do this but any suggestions would be much appreciated.
Posted by
Washington DC
28084 posts
I have no experience traveling in Europe in late October, so take these ideas with a large grain of salt:
If you'll be comfortable in Catalunya as long as you're not in Barcelona, I'd suggest Girona. It's a lovely small city with several significant sights, and it's a convenient base for visiting Figueres (Dali Theatre and Museum), Cadaques (pretty white coastal town) and Besalu (small town with fortified medieval bridge. All those destinations can be reached by public transportation. You could probably get to other coastal villages as well. You could also go farther west to or beyond Ripoll, but in that case you might need two bases.
In neighboring Aragon you have Zaragoza and the off-the-beaten path small city of Teruel. Not sure there's six days' worth of stuff to do in that area without a car, though. With a car you could go on to the atmospheric hill town of Cuenca, which is also linked to Madrid via the AVE train. Although Teruel and Cuenca are fairly close together, I don't think there's any public transportation connecting them. AVE tickets from Cuenca to Madrid might be costly for October travel by now.
Your four days in Madrid could be expanded to allow more time for Toledo, Segovia and Cuenca. Alternatively, you could spend 2 or 3 nights in Toledo (it's worth it) and a couple of nights in Cuenca. Salamanca is also worth a couple of nights. Again, the cost of the AVE to Cuenca might be an issue at this point. The regional train is really too slow for most tourists.
Perhaps Mallorca? I've never been there and have no idea what it's like in the fall.
Posted by
Brisbane, Australia
7175 posts
You’ll be fine I think and should be able to proceed as planned without any problems.
But an idea in case ...
Oct
16. Arrive Barcelona. Fly to Bilbao (2)
18. Bus to San Sebastián (3)
21. Train to Burgos (1)
22. Train to Madrid
Posted by
Ontario, Canada
4656 posts
I'm with you Irene. I fell asleep last night thinking of alternatives (after I looked and saw that rebooking my flight home would cost about $3000-gasp). I arrive in Madrid, but leave from Barcelona, so I need to figure out a plan B and C for mid November.
A lot depends on what services will be running. If metro, buses and Catalan trains are on short or no service, then you may not be as able to get out of Barcelona right away, so I would book airport hotels for your arrival night, and departure night.....a hotel with a shuttle service or within walking distance to the airport. From there, you get transport when you can to wherever you can. Personally, I would want to get out of Catalonia - not due to personal safety concerns, but about practicalities. Valencia would be an alternative with a good train route to Madrid allowing you to continue on. I would go for 4 days and add more time to Madrid for those day trips mentioned.
It's good to know what your alternatives are. The tough part is deciding whether one changes plans to avoid 'potential' issues - and absorbs the costs incurred; or wait and see what happens - as if services aren't functioning, they seem to be providing alternatives (meaning less costs to you).
Posted by
California 🦋
5294 posts
If you decide to skip Barcelona, this is my suggestion:
Fly to BCN then take train to Toledo ( via Madrid) 3N.
If possible add 1N to Madrid, especially if you plan to day trip to Segovia.
Another option is to spend 3-4 nights in Córdoba, and if possible, add another night to Sevilla.
Hopefully, the present situation will settle down and you can proceed with your current itinerary.
Enjoy your trip!
Posted by
Brisbane, Australia
7175 posts
Another idea ...
Oct
16. Arrive Barcelona. Train to Zaragoza (2)
18. Train (via Madrid) to Segovia (1)
19. Train to Valladolid (1)
20. Train to Salamanca (2)
22. Train to Madrid
Posted by
Ontario, Canada
4656 posts
There are trains, buses and flights to Valencia.....buses right from the BCN airport. A few days in Valencia, 2nights in Cuenca, any left over use in Madrid. Or bypass cuenca. Fast train Valencia to Madrid is under 2 hours.
It is anyone's guess, but there is a good chance of martial law being imposed if Catalan leaders continue with plan to announce independence on Monday. I am not interested in worrying about what is happening in Barcelona while in Spain, and have a date set prior to departure to decide - stick with Barcelona plan or move to a Madrid/Valencia plan....even if I still have to fly out of BCN.