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Feedback on 2-week Spain Itinerary?

Posted by on

Hello! Long time listener, first time caller...

I'm in the preliminary stage of planning a 2-week trip to Spain for August 2025 (second half of the month). I would appreciate any feedback and insight. My wife and I have never been to Spain and we are very excited to get this locked-in.

Background:

  • Let me begin by stating that I acknowledge and consent to the brutal heat of this time of year. We will take precautions. We like it hot!
  • I am however concerned regarding the busy-season and am purposefully avoiding coastal and less offensively-hot areas in the hopes of somewhat avoiding the greatest concentrations of tourists (No Barcelona, Marbella, Valencia, San Sebastian)
  • Changing the timing is not an option due to vacation scheduling difficulty.
  • Our current intent is to travel around by rail.
  • Our primary focus is food. I am worried about August closures (LMK what you think!).
  • We also enjoy visiting landmarks, art museums, etc. and just relaxing in general. My wife is concerned about moving around too-much while I want to see and try a lot of things. So we have to strike a balance as much as possible. Don't get me wrong, I want to relax as well.

With all that said here is my current rough itinerary. I'd love to hear if you think this is balanced properly, with whatever you feel is the "right" amount of time for each area:

  • Madrid: 5 nights (Segovia day trip)
  • Toldedo: 1 night
  • Seville: 4 nights
  • Granada: 3 nights

That's 13 nights total, but I have 14 to distribute. I dont think my wife will want to stay in another new location but I am open to all feedback! I currently have us with nights in 4 different locations. She is already concerned that greater than 3 is too many hotel changes. I am not sure how we should navigate that

All input is appreciated!

Thank you

Posted by
7384 posts

If you want to avoid concentrations of tourists in August, you need to find different locations to visit.

For the cities you chose, I feel the balance is fine, but if it was my trip I’d stay in Toledo for 2 nights and take a night from Madrid.

In Toledo, consider staying at the Parador just outside of town. Without a car you’d need to take a taxi into town, but it is very relaxing and one can’t get a better view of the city.

Posted by
2 posts

Thanks jaimeelsabio for your feedback. Just to clarify, I understand there will be tourists in all the hot spots, I guess I was just figuring there'd be more tourists elsewhere as the heat seems to scare some folks away? But maybe I'm wrong...

Posted by
7384 posts

The places you want to visit are busy year round, but especially late May through mid September. They are still very enjoyable.

Posted by
28697 posts

Throw your extra day to Cordoba, which is a major omission from your itinerary. Although I loved spending multiple nights there, many people see Cordoba as a day trip from Seville, and that's a great deal better than not seeing it at all. The trip from Seville takes less than an hour by train, though there's a bit of a walk from the train station to the historic center. Do some research on Cordoba. There's more to see there than just the Mezquita.

I like the idea of the extra night in Toledo, too, but you need to think about how much time you'll be spending in Madrid's art museums before you reduce the length of your stay there, especially since you plan to take the day trip to Segovia.

Andalucia is going to be miserably hot and the area around Madrid probably not all that much better. Be sure the lodgings you choose have very good air conditioning. If they're listed on booking.com, those are good reviews to check out before you book directly with the hotel. I'd also prioritize a central location so you can easily take a break back in your air-conditioned room if you need to. You'll encounter extended mid-day closures at many locations in that part of Spain.

Edited to add: I feel I must say that I wouldn't go to that part of Spain in the summer. I'd head up to the north coast, between San Sebastian and Santiago de Compostela. Yes, the small historic center of San Sebastian is annoyingly touristy (I prefer Bilbao), but I'd rather deal with crowds in pleasant conditions than crowds in an oven. The heat in the south is highly likely to be extremely uncomfortable. It would affect my interest in food.

Posted by
282 posts

My wife and I stayed 11 nights in Spain in 2023 (beginning of Sep), staying in all 4 of the cities you mentioned plus 2 more (Ronda and Cordoba). The itinerary worked well for our interests -- even the 1 night in Cordoba (which wasn't originally in our itinerary, but I followed the suggestion of forum member Larry42 and added it.). Our trip report might be useful reference:
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/trip-report-spain-aug-sep-seville-ronda-granada-cordoba-madrid

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