Itinerary Help - 8 days (and change) in March 2019

Posted by MelindaOR (Portland, OR ) on 10/16/18 04:49 AM

Hello,

I studied in Spain as a junior in college and 20+ years later am finally going back! So excited. Doing an extended spring break with my family (husband, 2 kids - ages 13 and 9) in late March 2019. We are flying in/out of Madrid. So hard to rule places out but for this trip the must-sees are: Madrid, Toledo, Sevilla, Granada (where I studied), and Cordoba. (with Cordoba being a drop if need be...I think?)

Things I'm contemplating or struggling with:
*Whether to do Toledo as a day trip from Madrid or go overnight.
*Whether to do Madrid at the beginning of the trip, or at the end. My mind wants to start off bigger (Madrid first) and go smaller, but I've also read advice on here that Toledo is a great place to get over jet lag (we will be coming from the west coast).
*Will likely do Cordoba either as a day trip from Sevilla or pass through for a few hours on the way to Granada. Any thoughts there?
*I feel like it's best to go to Sevilla first, then on to Granada and back to Madrid, but any reason I should be considering the opposite and do Granada first, then Sevilla?
*Should I build in more time in Madrid (beginning or end) to also do a day trip to Segovia? (If we also just did a day trip to Toledo, most likely.)
*Anything else I'm missing or not thinking about?

Overall, here are 2 options I'm looking at as of now:

Option #1
Day 1 (Thursday): Arrive Madrid 12:30pm
Day 2 (Friday): Madrid
Day 3 (Saturday): Toledo (day trip)
Day 4 (Sun): Madrid
Day 5 (Mon): Depart Madrid in the morning for Sevilla
Day 6 (Tues): Cordoba (day trip)
Day 7 (Wed): Sevilla
Day 8 (Thurs): Depart Sevilla in the morning for Granada
Day 9 (Fri): Granada; leave late afternoon for Madrid
Day 10 (Sat): Depart Madrid 10am

Option #2
Day 1 (Thursday): Arrive Madrid 12:30pm; go straight to Toledo
Day 2 (Friday): Toledo
Day 3 (Saturday): Depart Toledo in the morning for Sevilla
Day 4 (Sun): Sevilla
Day 5 (Mon): Depart Sevilla, stop in Cordoba, go on to Granada
Day 6 (Tues): Granada
Day 7 (Wed): Granada
Day 8 (Thurs): Depart Granada in the morning for Madrid
Day 9 (Fri): Madrid
Day 10 (Sat): Depart Madrid 10am

Thank you!

Posted by David

Seattle, WA, USA ☔️

10/16/18 05:09 AM

6788 posts

With just 8 days there, I think you need to pare back your plans a bit, rather than add more on. I know, it's tough, but if you want to hit all the places on your list, including the extra/discretionary places (eg Segovia) you need more days there. You have 8 days, and 5 "must see" locations - that math just does not work. Call it 4 must-see locations by doing Cordoba as a brief stop inline between Seville and Madrid (quite possible but requires discipline and good execution), but that still leaves 4 locations in 8 days - and there are logistical issues: Toledo is best done as an overnight stop rather than a day trip (mid day, it's super-crowded; outside mid day, it's empty and magical), but from a transportation standpoint, Toledo isn't really "on the way" to or between your other locations. Granada is also not terribly well (efficiently) connected. Madrod-Cordoba-Seville, yeah, that works very efficiently, all on a line.

I think you have three choices:

Find more days to be there (this is your best option, and the one that will make you happiest); or
Cut down your locations to only those that must be done this trip. Unfortunately, the location that makes the most sense to cut - strictly from a transportation standpoint - is Granada....but that's going to break your heart, and the Alhambra is the top thing to see. Option 1 above would fix this.
Just rush through, and you will spend a disproportionate amount of time on trains and buses moving between locations. You and your kids will have too many memories of Spain's transportation network and not enough memories of its great places. Option 1 above would fix this.

Bottom line is, unfortunately, you have more "must stop" places than you have time for. Add more days (like, 4 or 5 more if you can) and then it starts to become more realistic and a much better trip (still not exactly a relaxed pace, but at least do-able).

If you can't find more days, then I'd suggest you stick to Madrid-Cordoba-(on the way)-Seville, and maybe a side trip to Toledo, letting go of Granada. That's still moving way too fast, but it is what you have time for. Sorry to be discouraging.