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Any improvements to my itinerary?

Flights already booked for 16 nights to Spain in November. Flying into Madrid and flying home from Barcelona. Nothing else booked at this time.
Here are my thoughts:
Madrid:
Day 1 arrive in the morning Madrid . (3 nights in Madrid) Check into motel …. Any suggestions near palace? We really like boutique hotels.
Day 2 - tour Royal Palace and Prado museum
Day 3 - day trip to Toledo
Seville:
Day 4 - train to Seville (7 nights in Seville). Looking at El Rey Moro Boutique Hotel? Any comments?
Day 5 - city
Day 6 - day trip to Cordoba
Day 7 - city
Day 8 - day trip to Ronda and White Villages
Day 9 - city
Day 10 - day trip to Granada to visit Alhambra
Barcelona:
Day 11 - fly from Seville to Barcelona ( 6 nights) Hotel Jazz? Other suggestions? Location important for walking.
Day 12 - 16 - 3 days exploring city, 1 day trip to Monserrat and 1 day trip winery tour
Day 17 - fly back home

How does this itinerary look? Thought it would be a good idea to stay in Seville and do day trips from there instead of moving around? Would you change anything?

Any suggestions or criticisms are greatly appreciated. Also, I’m having trouble knowing where to stay … I assume november won’t be so busy so should I wait to book our accomodation … will pricing go down if I wait to book?

Thank you.

Posted by
4772 posts

As much as I love the idea of a week in Sevilla, it is a very long day trip to Granada. I think I would prefer to shave off two nights from Sevilla and stay in Granada those nights, as you can fly to Barcelona from there (though verify that flights are not seasonal).
I would peruse Booking.com and see if the places you tend to like are looking booked up. They have free cancellation policies so no harm in booking in advance.

Posted by
27618 posts

I agree with Valadelphia; Granada is too far from Seville to treat it as a day trip. It's 150 miles by road. The Alhambra can easily require more than half a day, and it's not the only thing to see in Granada. Andalucia is very large; it's not a single-base sort of area.

Even going by train will take over 2-1/2 hours each way. If you don't want to get up super-early to get the 7:35 AM train, you'll have to take the 9:30 AM departure, which won't get you to Granada until 12:04 PM. Your return options would be at 5:45 PM or 7:45 PM. (Those times are based on the current weekday schedule.) Early departures can be a challenge in Spain because of the extraordinarily late dinner hours.

Buses are somewhat more frequent, and Spanish intercity buses are comfortable, but they're scheduled to take 3 hours and are subject to traffic delays. The first ALSA bus departs at 9 AM and is scheduled to arrive at noon. (There may be other options in addition to ALSA.)

Posted by
6 posts

Thank you ! I was wondering if a day trip to Granada was being a bit too ambitious.
Have decreased our stay in Seville from 7 nights to 5 nights … will instead add the 2 nights in Granada and fly to Barcelona from there …. Checked and there are nonstop flights available for our date.
Also, I booked El Rey Moro in Seville for the 5 nights … free cancellation policy! Thanks for the suggestion.
Any suggestions for the 2 nights in Granada?

Posted by
1686 posts

I am happy to see that you are spending 2 nights in Granada instead of visiting as a day trip. The hotel we stayed at has closed permanently. It was located on the road that parallels the Rio Darro. We like the location. At the bottom of the Albacin. Perhaps you can check out that area. Some people like to stay near the Alhambra.

In Madrid we stayed at the Mercure Madrid Centro. Excellent location. About a 5-10 minute walk from the Prado.

In Barcelona we stayed at the Hotel Gran Via in the Eixample neighborhood. Very convenient location. We walked just about everywhere.

I wouldn’t wait to book. Shoulder season is busy everywhere. You could book through booking.com. They have good cancellation policies. So if you find something better or less expensive, you can cancel.

Posted by
536 posts

Trip planning is so subjective. Cordoba as a day trip, yes. Granada as a day trip from Seville, too ambitious. For what it is worth, my two favorite cities in Spain are Barcelona and Granada.

Posted by
11500 posts

You need another night in Madrid. You only have one full day to see this capital city as you are going Toledo one of your days.

Posted by
431 posts

If you are going by bus or train, a day trip from Seville to Ronda and back might be a lot of travel time.

Posted by
27618 posts

I think there's a company doing a one-day bus tour to Ronda and at least two of the white villages. I knew it wasn't for me because I wanted. Ore,time in Ronda, but for someone wanting to see a bit of Ronda and at least a couple of the smaller places and having only one day available, it's probably the best option from Seville.