Honeymoon in Spain

No need for flights, Spain has some of the best high speed trains and plenty of good local transport, so unless you have specific remote destinations, you will not need a rental car either.

Sounds trite, but take a browse through the Rick Steves Spain book, lots of South Spain options. However, I would not miss Barcelona, maybe even spending up to a week there and the surrounding area. As you define a few spots, others might have some specific suggestions.

Three weeks
Open jaw flight
Arrive in Barcelona and spend one week, rent an apartment, ample daytrips and huge menu of opportunities. Enric, please add your suggestions (he is a wonderful Barcelona based resource)
Fly to Granada and spend three nights
Bus to malaga for two nights
Then to ronda for two nights
Bus to seville for three nights
Train to madrid for remainder of trip
Fly out of madrid

Right now, C$10K = €6,400. How much of that do you need for airfare? You probably will want to fly open-jaw. Generally there are more options if you fly in/out of Madrid/Barcelona, they have major airports. The smaller Spanish airports cannot handle the trans-Atlantic jumbo jets. Maybe Ken (Vernon BC) will have some ideas on your options. Follow this thread as well for advice and ideas.

The two parts of Spain I've experienced are Catalonia (mainly Barcelona) and Andalusia/Madrid. As far as I can tell, these are the two most popular areas of the country. I'd split a 3 week trip roughly 2 weeks in Andalusia/Madrid and 1 week in Catalonia, though you could easily spend much more time in either.

Start by knowing how many nights you have in Spain. If you are willing to give up spontaneity, you can buy train tickets about 2 months in advance at huge discounts. There are lots of budget accommodations to be found (some offer 5-10% discounts for non-refundable prepaid reservations or cash payment to avoid credit card fees) and very good food and wine are not expensive.

The only place I needed a car was from Jerez (could be Seville) to visit the pueblos blancos in Andalusia (Arcos, Ronda, etc), a few hours for hiking in El Torcal, a visit to Antequera, then to Granada. A car would probably be good for visiting the nearby beaches as well (not when I was there in February).

Madrid would not be on my list, except that I love the paintings in the Prado and Thyssen. Granada was at the very top of my list because of the Alhambra. Until now, it's been time-consuming to get there, but they are working on upgrading the tracks, so maybe by October, there will be high-speed train connections. Otherwise it's cumbersome (but well worth seeing).

For seeing as much as you can easily in 3 weeks...
Fly in to Barcelona - 4 nights
Fly to San Sebastián - 3 nights (day trip to Bilbao for Guggenheim)
Fly to Sevilla - 3 nights
Train to Ronda - 2 nights
Train to Granada - 3 nights
Train to Córdoba - 2 nights
Train to Madrid - 4 nights (day trips to Segovia & Toledo)
Depart from Madrid

If you are constrained by your budget then forego the 3 day side trip to San Sebastian, adding a night each to Barcelona, Sevilla and Madrid). Everyone has different expectations and comfort levels for accommodation so it is hard to make a judgement on your behalf.

The more you move around, the more time and money you spend in travel.

Hello,

Those are the places I would recommend you for that trip:
SOUTH OF SPAIN:
Andalucía is an amazing region, and October is a good month to be there, the weather is still wonderful but not too freaking hot anymore as it can be during summer, based on the type of things you like, I would recommend the following places:
Sevilla: 3 nights
Cordoba: 1 night
Granada: 2 nights
Cadiz its coast: 3 nights
Ronda: 2 nights

To travel within the region of Andalucía, I would recommend you hire a car or take a bus, forget about the train except between Sevilla and Cordoba. Sevilla, Cordoba and Granada are beautiful monumental cities where history is alive. Also, there are some of the best places in Spain to have "Tapas" which is also part of the local culture. In the tapas as in the monument you will see the influence of many different cultures, it's full of colors tastes and it's very affordable to eat in the street so go ahead and try everything you can. Also, don't forget to try local wines. There are different types of local wines, the most famous are the generous wines from Jerez near Sevilla (you probably already know the Sherry). However, I would also recommend you try red and white local wines that I personally like a lot.

Regarding Cadiz and Ronda, it is a much more relaxing type of tourism. Ronda is a small town of the region of Malaga set above a deep gorge, this is the perfect place for nice walks in the nature and relax, landscapes are wonderful and the food is also very good. If you're going there, I can also recommend you a fantastic hotel.

You referred to beaches and relax and this is when I recommend Cadiz and it's coast. I personally think Cadiz has the best beaches in the south of Spain. Cadiz is also a very relaxing city to stay a few days. The light there is beautiful and people are simple and happy to live and above all, during the month of October it is not too touristic and you might be able to enjoy a very authentic trip there, I mean you will really feel you're part of that town and its people. Regarding beaches, don't miss the beaches of Zahara de los atunes, el palmar and Boloñia (this one has roman ruins right on the beach which is really amazing).

REST OF SPAIN:
Barcelona: 4 nights
San Sebastian: 2 nights
Madrid: 2 nights

Barcelona is probably one of the most interesting city in Spain, it is the modern city, the new vision of art and it's really worth to stay a few days. Coming from Madrid there is a high speed train, coming from the south I would recommend the plane.

San Sebastian and the basque country in general is something you can't miss if you like to eat. The tradition there are the "Pinxos" that is the basque equivalent to tapas. San Sebastian is a beautiful city build along the coast and it also the pioneer in terms of food innovation and creativity, you will find many Michelin stars restaurant there.

I hope that helps.
Baptiste

hello bguay,

I hesitate to correct Chani on anything about Spain, but I believe if you check it out, today's exchange rate Is $1.09 US per Euro. That means $10,000 US will buy about 910 Euros.

Jack

But their budget is $10,000 Canadian - makes sense since that's where they live. With the C$ in the toilet, it makes for a tight budget in Europe.

At least the CAD has the AUD for company in that aforementioned toilet.

Yeah, I've been watching the AUD too. If it doesn't perk up, I may just be able to afford another visit next year. Though I really do hope for your sake it recovers.

Spain is a great place to travel on a budget.

I don't agree that the train system in Spain is great. High speed rail is limited to a rough C shape that includes Barcelona, Zaragoza, Madrid, Cordoba, Seville and Granada. The train is fine for where it goes and high speed is affordable if you purchase tickets in advance.

The bus system, however, is extensive, never sold out and cheap. Every bus station I visited had an information kiosk with an English speaker to help you navigate your options.

We rented a car for most of the month we were in Spain, our itinerary included too many stops that would have been inconvenient by mass transit.

In October, it should be very comfortable in Andalusia but may be hit or miss further north. I'd plan to skip San Sebastian and the north coast. It's beautiful but best seen in July or August when it's sunny and warm.

My favorite beaches are on the Costa de la Luz, between Tarifa and Cadiz. Toward the south there are miles of empty beaches with just enough infrastructure to get by (groceries, gas, lodging and some cafes). There is a great park for hiking in the Ronda area. I rarely make appointments, and I miss certain sight seeing opportunities because of it. One by-appointment sight is stone age cave paintings in this area (I think you can get details from the Rick Steve's book). I also liked the passage tombs in Antequera.

Lodging is cheap and mostly very nice. We stayed primarily in hostals (not hostels) and some hotels and B&B's. Roughly half our lodging was below 50 euros for a double and two-thirds was below 65 euros.

Food is also cheap. Most local bars will give you a food item with your drink (bread, olives, or tapas).

I did a trip report here: https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/spain-clean-toilets-affordable-lodging