First Time, 2 weeks in September (yes this Sept) Itinerary help

RS has a Spain My Way 11 Day Tour in September 2026 on SALE. It might be something to get you started.

If wanting to visit Mallorca or Ibiza consider extending your trip since either would add extra travel time.

Andalucía is huge, occupying the area between the Portugal border over to almost Lorca, and from the Mediterranean up to north of Úbeda, so you’d need to be more specific about where in Andalucía you’d consider visiting. One could easily spend a month in Andalucía and not see everything. We recently spent three week in just a small area of Andalucía.

Sevilla or Granada would be nice for flamenco, but there are shows in other cities too. For a sherry bodega you’d need to visit Jerez de la Frontera. The La Rioja area is a good area for wineries, but you don’t mention any wine areas in your list of possibilities.

Probably the most important thing to keep in mind is to be realistic about what you can see in the amount of time you have, taking travel time between locations into consideration. How long you stay in one location shouldn’t be arbitrary. Identify what you want to see in each place, then guesstimate the amount of time you’ll need to visit them. Invariably you’ll spend more time in some places and less in others.

Is your return flight out of Barcelona or Madrid? If you are in through Madrid and out of Barcelona then I suggest heading in that general direction without backtracking. Maybe Madrid, Córdoba, Valencia and Barcelona possible swapping Córdoba for Granada. I suggest leaving Mallorca or Ibiza out on this trip. If you really are set on them , then maybe using Madrid, Valencia, Mallorca and Barcelona as your bases. When you say you are considering Andalucía or Valencia where in Andalucía do you want to go? It is always hard to narrow down so many possible great destinations and often times first timers do not realize how extensive Spain is and time needed to get from place to place. If you need to return to Madrid for your departing flight then maybe I would concentrate on the Andalucía sites and possibly eliminate Valencia and Barcelona. Consider Madrid with possible daytrips to Toledo or Segovia and then decide on Sevilla, Cádiz, Málaga, Granada, or Córdoba and position yourself for an easy return to Madrid. In your 13 or 14 days I would not want to have more than three or four bases.

My suggestion is: after Madrid with day trip to Toledo, choose either (a) eastern coast with Valencia, Ibiza or Mallorca, then Barcelona, leaving Andalusia for another trip; or (b) Andalusia including probably Cordoba, Granada and Seville and leaving the east coast for another time. For (a), I have seen cheap flights from Valencia to Ibiza or Mallorca and then to Barcelona. For (b), if your flights are not yet set, you might return from Seville. Public transportation will work well for either (a) or (b). A car might be good if you want to include Ronda, Vejer de la Frontera, or other smaller places in Andalusia. I have not yet been to Valencia but I'm planning an October trip. From everything I've read (including recent trip reports on this forum), Valencia has everything you are looking for but probably less crowded then other cities you are considering.

Did you mean to specify a "touristy flamenco show" or did you mean "non-touristy" or was this tongue in cheek? If you search flamenco in this forum, there are recommendations for various types. I liked the show at the Flamenco museum in Seville.

Sounds good to me.

You could do Madrid --Train--> Valencia -----Overnight Ferry---> Ibiza ---Ferry---> Barcelona

That could be fun if you like ferries. And, unlike going to Andalusia, you don't have to retrace your way back on the train or take domestic flights in Spain.

Valencia is a great city in my opinion. It's definitely less touristy than Sevilla, albeit not quite as beautiful or awash in spectacular medieval era historical sights to visit. I really enjoyed the aquarium and zoo in Valencia as someone who almost never goes to either. The wine and restaurant scene in Valencia is also great and there are some great daytrips from Valencia as well.

Hi Pat,

We arrive in Madrid and depart from Barcelona.
Thanks

Hi Kathleen,

Thank you for the RS info. I was surprised to learn that the tour only books your hotel and travel. No meals, tours or anything :(. '
Everything is on your own. Not much help. Not unless I missed something.
Lorie

Plectrude's has my vote and ibthink it works in 15 days.