Andalucia Itinerary

From a fellow over-scheduler, I think you need to add in some downtime. If your dates are firm, you will need to cut something. If not, I'd add a day so you can breathe a bit.

Just a couple of thoughts:

1) Do you need both the afternoon and night tours of the Alhambra? Especially since you're also going to the Alcazar in Seville. This is a matter of personal taste, of course, but I actually preferred the Alcazar. Either way, that's a LOT of Alhambra time; give some of it to just soaking in Granada.

2) Are you coming from North America? If so, don't forget about jet lag. Even with a rest on the train, jumping full-on into site-seeing might not be what you feel like by 4 pm. Also, is 12 pm when your flights gets into Madrid, or when you're planning on leaving the airport? If it's the former, it'll be tight (immigration, luggage, getting to Atocha), even if your flight is on time. If you're determined to do it that way, I'd pay extra for flexible train reservations.

Caroline

When you say you arrive in Madrid at noon, do you mean your plane lands then, or you get downtown then? If that's the schedule flight arrival time, I wouldn't count on being on a 1:30 PM train. You might make it, but I'd look at the cost of the non-refundable promo-fare train ticket vs. the last-minute cost and make a decision. Unfortunately, those trains do sometimes sell out, so there's that risk if you decide to wait and buy the ticket when your timing is certain.

If you decide to buy the ticket in Madrid, I recommend doing so at the airport. The ticket-buying process at Atocha Station can be confusing. There are vending machines, but you need to figure out which ones to use for AVE tickets. If you want to buy at a staffed counter, you may encounter serious delays.

Where are you coming from...?

Thursday: 12PM - Arrive in Madrid

Do you mean, you are flying in on a redeye from North America or someplace else far away, and you expect to charge off and do a lot of sightseeing - 3:30PM Jewish Quarter, 5PM - Mezquita, 6:30 - Roman Bridge, etc.? In what world is this realistic?

Hint: when you start scheduling things down to 90 minutes at sight #1, then the next 90 minutes at sight #2, folloed by the next 90 minutes at sight #3...you are not being realistic.

If you are coming off a redeye for this day, you will be a zombie, miserable, and won't get anything out of, say, the Mezquita, of one Europe's best sights. If, on the other hand, this is part of a larger trip to Europe and you'll just be popping over from someplace nearby, it's just a very, very full day that you will probably later regret.

I have to chuckle at your scheduling every day in 90 minute blocks , sight #1 from 1:30 pm to 3 pm, next up sight #2 from 3-4:30 pm, etc. (sheesh, even less: 60 minutes here, 60 minutes there...). This is not how real days actually go. At all.

I believe you need to significantly scale back your expectations.

Just wondering if you ever eat lunch. That’s some very tight scheduling with no daytime downtime. You’ll be exhausted and also, potentially very frustrated when timing doesn’t match your schedule due to unexpected events.

Besides the previous comments, I think you need to add an extra 30 minutes between each time you arrive in a town and your first activity. Your group (especially counting the number of people involved) will need an hour from arrival time to check into the hotel, meet back out front of the hotel and walk to the first activity.

Seems like quite a lot to do in a very short time!

You might consider spending more time in Madrid and Seville instead. Seeing fewer sights and having time to wander around allows you to really enjoy what you are doing.

For example, in Seville, you could tour the Cathedral, then just wander through the neighborhoods. Some wonderful restaurants. We spent several hours in Seville walking to and from the Plaza de Espana, through the parks, along the river.

Ultimately, you need to decide what is most important: seeing all the sights so you can say you have seen them, or soaking up the atmosphere of the city and country. I have learned that I'm happier when I do fewer things and meander around.

Put another way...

Not including your arrival and departure days, you have 5 full days on the ground. In those 5 days, you are planning to visit:

• Cordoba
• Granada
• Seville
• Madrid

5 days, 4 cities.

With only five days, maybe you could consider staying just in Madrid? In your situation, I think one can have a much more rewarding (and sane) experience focusing on one city. With five days, there is plenty to see and do in and around Madrid. Within Madrid, you have some of the best art museums in the world, which will definitely take up the good portion of one day. Just outside of Madrid you have the Royal Palace of El Escorial, the walled medieval town of Ávila, and Segovia with its unique architecture.

For example, Segovia alone is very site rich, its three main landmarks are its well preserved Roman aqueduct in the center of town, its magnificent cathedral (one of the last Gothic cathedrals to be built in Europe), and the Alcázar castle, which was a major influence for Walt Disney's Cinderella Castle.

To reiterate, with only five days, I would seriously consider only staying in Madrid.

Alternatively, one could push for 3 days for Sevilla (with a day trip to Córdoba) and two nights in Granada, but even this is pushing it a bit too far for me.

As others have stated you really only have 5 days and you are doing this with 6 people which adds another layer of complexity. Your itinerary frankly is a good one of you had three weeks. For the time you have, unthinkable. Try this: fly into Madrid. Use this first day to explore, get over your jet lag. Friday: Day trip to Toledo. Saturday: Royal Alcazar, train to Sevilla afternoon. Sunday: Cathedral (not sure what Sunday hours are) tapas for dinner. Monday: day trip to Córdoba. Tuesday: Explore Sevilla, see some of the sights you mentioned. Wednesday: fly home from Sevilla.