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April 14 Nights - Overwhelmed by Logistics

Our one year anniversary is sneaking up on us in April, and I'm scrambling a bit to get our trip scheduled. Last night I booked flights to Barcelona April 5th and Madrid back home April 20th. It'll be our first time in Spain. So far I'm thinking to do Barcelona (4 nights), Madrid (2 nights), Seville (4 Nights), Granada (3 nights), back to Madrid (1 night) and we fly out in the late afternoon on the 20th. I've been looking at flights for about a week but other options were either too pricey, or it would be roundtrip to/from Barcelona which would've been logistically harder to return to, since I didn't realize how far Barcelona is from the other cities. I have until tonight to cancel the flights and book something else if I really need to.

So, would this itinerary work? We're trying not to bounce around a lot. I don't really love splitting up Madrid but then if we did Barcelona - Granada - Seville - Madrid then we'd have to take a flight from Barcelona to Granada and I'd have to check in my bag and just getting to the airport and doing all that seems like a hassle. We are not planning on renting a car and plan to train everywhere. We typically stick to trains between cities on all of our Europe trips. I also thought to take a train the morning of the 20th to Madrid, but the only train time that worked was 7am and it'd just be an incredibly long day(s) of traveling back home.

I also noticed the Feria de Sevilla will be happening April 14-20th and was worried about things being expensive/closed so I scheduled Seville the 12th-15th so not our entire time there is during the festival. Not sure if my thinking is accurate or not though?

Also wanted to ask if the time in each city is enough/too little? We are not art museum people but like seeing unique architecture, history, good food, good cafes. For the 4 night stays are there any good day trips we shouldn't miss? TIA, just a bit overwhelmed with all the logistics of when/how/where and getting it figured out within 3 months...

Posted by
5610 posts

How are you finding hotel availability in each city on your dates? That might influence the itinerary flow. Good luck, and have a great trip!

Posted by
526 posts

I think it’s a great itinerary; very doable. The flight between Barcelona and Granada is no hassle if do choose to go that route. You could steal a day from Granada and add a day or two to the trip. That would give you the option of adding Cordoba as they gear up for the patios festival. -Or- return to Madrid via Caceres; a fantastic little back door walled city.

I don’t mind splitting up Madrid at all though. Your last night can be chill. Pack up and paseo/sunset watch, last minute souvenir shop, churros & chocolate date night.

Posted by
2014 posts

Your itinerary looks great. It’s better to avoid domestic flights out of Barcelona because the airport has a 2-hour check-in requirement for domestic flights. After Barcelona take a high-speed train to Madrid ( 2.5 hrs) then train to Seville (2.75 hrs) then BUS to Granada ( buses on this route are more frequent, take only 15 minutes longer than the trains and cost less). Then train to Madrid ( 3.6 hrs) for your flight home. Buy your train tix ASAP because they are least expensive when they first go on sale. Check first for high-speed train tix at www.TheTrainline.com which is already selling them. As I write this, the Trainline has tix for Barc to Madrid on April 10 for $20 and Madrid to Seville on April 12 for $55 and tix on a morning train from Granada to Madrid on April 19 for $21! TheTrainline also sells train tickets on IRYO and Ouigo Espana high-speed trains which their competitor, Renfe, will not list on its website. And the IRYO, and Ouigo Espana tickets are often significantly less expensive.
Have a great trip!

Posted by
492 posts

I would do:
Barcelona - 5 (we spent 6)
Valencia or Zaragoza - 4 (3 in Zaragoza)
Madrid - 5 (5)

Skip the south. Too much time wasted traveling.
Make your next trip Madrid and south.

Posted by
3071 posts

2h check-in for domestic flights in Barcelona?... never been that early in my life for a domestic flight, I tend to go an hour before or so (except on very specific dates, that is, before or on major holiday dates)

Posted by
2014 posts

Yep- the BCN Airport website does say to be at the airport two-hours before domestic and Schengen zone flights; 3 hours before international flights.

Posted by
11 posts

Thanks for all the great tips and input! Hotel availability in all the cities seem generally OK though is getting lower - but Barcelona seems more expensive on the days that we're there (6-20th) - does anyone know if something is going on that week? Just worried about things being busier and/or closed entirely. Will be looking to book hotels/trains this weekend and not delay too much.

Valencia wasn't on my radar - having never been to Spain I mainly went off of Rick Steves' suggestions. Now I am debating Valencia as it does look lovely, but feel like I can't miss Seville lol. Granada I'm so-so on but lot of people love it so figured it's worth it to go. Is it possible to stop in Cordoba on the way, without spending a night there? Taking a night from Granada would mean only one full day there and with the travel time feels like it might be a bit of a waste.

I did check flights out of AGP as well but they were a few hundred $$ more :(

Appreciate the info on Trainline. I was looking at buying train tickets directly from Renfe's website and didn't realize there were other train lines available!

Posted by
48 posts

We just returned from an 11-day trip to Southern Spain. I opted to skip Barcelona for this trip, planning to consider a week-long stay in/around that area. I made that decision because I wanted to see Alhambra in Granada and Southern Spain just seemed too far.

You are going during a time when the orange trees in southern Spain may be in bloom and Sevilla’s Alcazar gardens might be amazing (check that, though!).

You may want to consider skipping Southern Spain for this trip, unless you think you may never make it back. If that’s the case, I would skip Madrid. The history in Southern Spain was fascinating. Fly from Barcelona to Granada. Take a train to Sevilla. And spend two days in Cordoba instead of Madrid. Train back to Madrid from Cordoba the afternoon before your flight home.

Posted by
2014 posts

@sheenyb10 Yes! You can break up the trip from Madrid Atocha station to Seville Santa Justa station and stop in Cordoba. All high-speed trains stop in Cordoba anyway. You will need to buy
2 separate tix ( Madrid to Cordoba; Cordoba to Seville) for each of you. The good news on April 12 there’s a morning train departing Madrid at 7:25am arriving in to Cordoba at 9:13 am with the least expensive non-exchangeable, nonrefundable tix costing $21 at www.TheTrainline.com. From Cordoba to Seville Santa Justa station, tix on the 6:39 pm train arriving in Seville at 7:35pm tix are $14. Other high-speed afternoon trains run almost hourly with tix costing $40-$50.
Barcelona hotel prices— already on the high side—tend to rise on weekends, during festivals and when big conventions are held. That could be what you’re seeing in rates fluctuating. The “ Expo Beauty” cosmetologist’s convention held from April 6-8 is expecting 60,000 to attend. That would occupy a good percentage of Barcelona’s estimated 150,000
accommodations.

Posted by
3 posts

Another vote for the Malaga, Granada, Cordoba, Seville route. By train. Spanish trains are fast, reasonable and easy.
Hotels in Seville during feria are really expensive. Also, the feria grounds have lots of private casitas, so not as much fun as others.