Hi, we are two women flying into Barcelona in mid-July and flying out of Valencia a week later.
Day 1: Arrive 6am-Barcelona; check in and see Sagrada Familia and Park Guell
Day 2: Barcelona
Day 3: Wake up in Barcelona and....stay somewhere?
Day 4: Somewhere
Day 5: Somewhere
Day 6: Wake up somewhere, travel, and stay in Valencia
Day 7: Valencia
Day 8: Fly out of Valencia early afternoon to our next destination
We have the first two nights in Barcelona and the last two nights in Valencia, but we aren't sure what to fill the three nights in the middle. We want to keep the budget down, and we aren't renting a car, so we'll rely on public transportation and our feet. We can store our carry-ons at our Airbnb (we asked) in Valencia or Barcelona if needed. We were looking at just taking a cheap flight with a backpack for those three nights. We thought about just keeping it to Barcelona and Valencia, but we are tossing around the idea of Seville, Cordoba, Granada, Madrid, Toledo, or the Rioja region. One thought we had was two nights in Barcelona, train to Valencia, store luggage at our Airbnb, fly to Seville and stay three nights there with a day trip to Cordoba, or just stay in Cordoba, then fly back into Valencia and stay at the Airbnb where we stored our bags. We love train travel but sometimes the flights are cheaper and faster, especially if we just take a backpack. We welcome any of your recommendations or advice. Thank you for any help you can share.
Posted by
Portland, OR, USA
273 posts
We just came back from 7 weeks in Spain. I would not recommend flying to Seville. You’ll lose 2 days to travel and Seville easily deserve 3-4 days.
The trains are by far the best way to get around. Air is not faster. By the time you get to the airport outside of town, arrive at least an hour early, fly into another airport outside of town, and taxi in, you’ve wasted several hours. Views great from the train and you go from city center to city center. And you only need to arrive just a few minutes before departure.
That said, both Barcelona and Valencia are worth 3-5 nights. You could train up the coast from Barcelona for a couple of nights. Gerona is nice. The Salvador Dali Museum is a kick!
We stopped at Terragona for a night. It was nice - Roman ruins - but not terribly memorable. If you can train easily to Cordoba from Valencia, it’s worth a couple of nights. I think you have to go through Madrid. In which case, consider staying there. We loved Madrid! More of a real city not as touristy.
Posted by
OP
Pennsylvania
2 posts
Thank you so much for your advice! We love taking the train--it is so much more scenic--the views are gorgeous.