Hello Everyone! First time on this forum so looking forward to your feedback! We are flying into Madrid, heading to Toledo for a night then heading down to Sevilla for four nights, Granada for two nights and Madrid one night before we fly home. Typically, after an overnight flight ( from Philadelphia PA USA) we try and take a walking/food tour the day we arrive to get acclimated - but since we are going straight to Toledo, not sure if we should do a tour there or wait and do a walking food/wine tour in Sevilla? I was reading that Toledo has some great food/wine choices, and we don't want to miss out on experiencing that city. As a side note, we are planning on doing day trips to Cordoba and Ronda (I am fascinated by the White Villages!) once we get to the Andalucia area.
Any thought and tips are welcome!
Thank you!
Hello. I’m afraid I can’t help you with a food tour in Toledo as we’ve never done one there.
And while we’ve not done one in Sevilla either, we have used Spain Food Sherpas in Granada and they were excellent! They also have tours in Sevilla, so I wouldn’t hesitate to sign up for one of their tours there.
Our last time in Toledo (December 2021) we did do a private walking tour — no food — with JuanJo. I got his name from either the RS Spain guidebook or from the forum. He was EXCELLENT, one of the best guides we’ve ever had anywhere. His email is:
[email protected]
if you have any interest in a walking tour.
Have a great trip!
Welcome to the Forum, Kim.
I count 7 nights on the ground, so 6 full days, 3 of which include changing locations which will use up at least 3 and possibly 4-5 hours of each of those days. That doesn't leave you much time for touring. The most efficient use of your time would be to visit Cordoba on the way from Toledo to Sevilla. There are luggage lockers in the bus station next to the train station. While there's plenty to see in Cordoba, you can do the highlights in that time and leaves you with 3 full days to sightsee in Sevilla, which is the unofficial tapas capital of Spain. Sadly, Ronda is too far for a day trip and it is a large city, not one of the charming villages that dot the hills. You could rent a car for a day (get it the night before so you can get a very early start), and drive through the hills.
Thank you for the suggestions Chani-- it is actually 8 days but you are so right in that we need to account for travel in between. Wondering if it makes sense to rent a car in Seville and return it in Granada? That way we can meander through the mountains, see the white villages and perhaps stop off and have lunch . We do like to explore, but right now we are thinking about most of our travel by train, but perhaps renting on our last day in Sevilla and returning the next day might work? do you suggest any particular town that would be nice to explore that is not too crowded etc?
We did a sherry and tour with Azahar Tapas Tours in Sevilla. Shawn was great-- not only was the tour fantastic, but she gave us a great orientation to the city and excellent restaurant recommendations for the remainder of our stay. Highly recommended.