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Critique my itinerary

We are planning a trip to Spain next October. We are a group of four - my sister and I (49 and 51), and my parents (aged 74 and 75). We just started travelling to Europe last year, and generally speaking I prefer slow travel - last year we were in Italy, and did 4 nights Rome, 4 nights Sorrento, 1 night Rome and back home. We just got back from Greece last week, and that was 3 nights Athens, 2 Mykonos, 3 Santorini, 1 Athens. I'm giving this context because my current Spain itinerary is a little crazy. But my parents will never go back (we are going through the last of their bucket list travel while they still can), and my sister and I are unlikely to return to Spain. My travel partners do no like museums - I will get them to Prado and MAYBE Picasso. So here we go:

Day 1 - Arrive in Madrid mid-day. Get through the day zombie-like
Day 2 - tour Madrid
Day 3 - day trip to Toledo
Day 4 - train to Seville
Day 5 - Seville
Day 6 - Train to Corbora - stay overnight
Day 7 - Train to Granada
Day 8 - Granada
Day 9 - Train (fly?) to Barcelona
Day 10 - Barcelona
Day 11 - fly home

If I was cutting stuff out, it would be Toledo, but I really want to see it. And Corbora I suppose I could do without - but it's on the cover of my RS book, and looks really cool. My family said they weren't interested in Madrid, so when they see three nights there they might complain. We are adding a day to our itinerary compared to this year, but also adding one hotel check-in.

Posted by
28082 posts

That itinerary really pains me, most of all because of the time in Seville and Barcelona. Is there a solid reason why the trip has to be only 10 nights on the ground? That simply isn't long enough for all the places you want to go. I agree it would be a shame to be in Madrid and miss Toledo and be in Seville and miss Cordoba, but six sight-rich cities in 10 nights is, frankly, nuts.

I question whether that much moving around isn't going to be hard on your parents. I'm a basically-healthy 72-year-old who can walk up to 12 miles a day, and I wouldn't want to move around like that.

Posted by
333 posts

You're going to have to make some hard choices, or else you're setting yourself up for a rough trip. This trip is constant packing and train travel rather than really experiencing these cities. If I were you, I'd try...
-fly into Madrid, take a (several hours later) train to Seville
-Seville
-Seville
-Seville
-Seville day trip Cordoba
-train to Granada
-Granada
-plane to Barcelona
-Barcelona
-Barcelona
-Fly home
It's really just cutting Madrid/Toledo but saving 2 extra hotel switches. But remember travel takes away from your time. Believe me, we spent 3 nights in Seville last year and didn't see some key things...and we didn't daytrip Cordoba!

Posted by
4 posts

I know…I agree it’s kind of nuts - but I just did Greece with them and that was four hotels so I know they can handle it. I like the suggestion to do Corbora as a day trip from Seville - so that would remove one hotel. I would cut out Barcelona myself, but that likely won’t fly with them…but that might be my best bet. And the 10 days is a hard stop - I mean, my parents could stay, as they are retired. But my sister and I just added an extra day, and for now that’s the limit - we are leaving teens behind with husbands, as well as full time jobs.

Posted by
15784 posts

For me, the problem isn't so much changing hotels as the ratio of travel time to "experience" time.

Posted by
3071 posts

Thank God you like "slow travel", LOL! IMHO that's a very rushed trip, but again, different people like different travel styles. As mentioned by @ACraven, you're hardly going to "experience" much. If I just had 10 days, I wouldn't do more than 3 destinations, otherwise, you'll be just travelling all the time.

Given the location of your destinations, they could be sensibly divided into these blocks -for reasonable visits:(1) BCN, (2) MAD-TOL (3) SEV-CDB and (4) GRN. For (1) and (2), at least four full days are advised in each block.

Also notice that beyond, say BCN, there are a myriad of sites well worth visiting on day escapades. In short, you could spend the full 10 days in BCN and do different getaways (Montserrat, Sitges, Cadaqués, Girona, Tarragona...). Same goes for Madrid or Seville for example.