Hello all. I'll be in Spain for 2 weeks in early May and unfortunately I have nothing planned at this stage due to some urgent matters that needed my full attention, thank god its now all resolved and my trip can proceed.
It'll be myself and my wife and the only thing certain today is that I'll be
flying into Madrid 4th May Saturday 9am
and departing Barcelona 18th May Saturday 11am.
We come from 17hrs away by plane, so sadly Spain its not somewhere that we can come again as we like. As much as we would like to spend more time in places to visit other parts later on, there are limitations to that.
Me and my wife are in our 30s/40s, we enjoy
- soaking up city vibes in a large city (we love paris, tokyo)
- shopping (window I hope)
- I am a car enthusiast and always love a driving experience abroad
- looking at good designs, furniture, buildings, cafes
- enjoy some historical sights, but not churches and castles all day
- enjoy some art, but again, not too much
- enjoy a music and going to record bars
I would love to explore spain by car, but of course I totally understand the stresses of driving in unfamiliar large towns. If its totally unnecessary to drive, then there is no need to. If it helps with the trip, I'm more than happy to.
I'm looking for a diverse experience in Spain. Soaking up city vibes of Madrid and Barcelona, cafe hopping, tapas hopping, visit galleries, shopping for homewares etc, and also hoping to see a diverse mix of history, art, some countryside, some coasts, some mountains. While there are many great historic sights, due to time limitations, I would like to avoid repetitive experiences.
So far here is my very bare skeletal plan which I hope with your help I can iron out and start booking accommodations and tickets this weekend.
4th - 7th (4days) : Explore Madrid over 2.5 days, with 1 day trip to Toledo.
8th ~ 9th : train to Seville, explore Seville over 1.5days, stay Seville
10th : rent a car from Seville, explore Ronda and neighbouring towns, stay Ronda
11th : drive to Granada , explore Granada / Alhambra
12th Sunday : I need to get to barcelona from granada, should I train, or drive , or fly ? If I drive, I'm thinking of driving along the Mediterranean coast and stop for a night at Gandia (400km) for a day just to explore how a coastal town feels like and to rest and do nothing but chill by the beach for the afternoon. But spanish beach town in May - would it be bit dead due to the still chilly weather ?
13th : Drive to Barcelona, stopping by at Cava for some winery tour. Arrive Barcelona in the evening and return the car.
14th ~ 18th : 4 full days in Barcelona, 1 day we will visit the factory outlet store.
I find the middle section in Andalucia quite difficult to plan. I have read some posts to just stick to Seville/Cordoba/Granada - no doubt they are great cities , but would the attractions be repetitive ? would I be missing out on the spanish countryside / coastal town experience ?
How would you do it , appreciate your advise for a last minute traveller!