Hi! I need help planning a 19-day trip to Spain in March 2019. We are a family of 4 adults (2 20- somethings and 2 50-somethings). One of the younger ones is only able to join us for the middle week of the trip. I would like to either sign up for the RS Best of Madrid and Barcelona tour for this week (Mar 10-17) or follow that plan for the middle week. If we take the tour, it starts in Barcelona and ends in Madrid; if we DIY it could go either direction. That leaves 5 days before and after that I need to plan for the rest of us. I would love to see The Alhambra and do a day trip to Tangier. I can’t figure out a good way to connect things. We are all first timers to Spain, museums/art not a big priority but we want to see the highlights; we love beautiful scenery and interesting food/architecture/culture stuff. Thanks!!
Posted by
Bealeton, Virginia
38 posts
If you end in Madrid I would take the train to Seville...
3 nights in Seville
Day trip to Cordoba
See Cathedral/Plaza de Espana
Flamenco show (yes it's worth it)
Bus or train (rails may be finished by 2019) to Granada...
2 nights in Granada
Alhambra
See la Capilla Real (burial site of Ferdinand and Isabel)
Explore the Albaycin
Fly or train back to Madrid
Personally I would skip Tangiers. I haven't heard of anyone that raves about the experience. I feel like most people do it just because it is so close. As this is your first time to Spain I wouldn't waste a day to be herded around to see a camel and a touristy souk. Just my opinion.....
Posted by
Washington DC
28085 posts
Morocco is fabulous, but to spend the considerable time required just to see Tangier--I do not recommend that. I suggest leaving Morocco for a separate trip when you have time to see some of the highlights (Fes, Marrakesh, Rabat, Meknes, the desert, etc.) rather than just the Moroccan equivalent of a border town.
You basically have two obvious options for you post-Madrid time: Andalucia, as suggested above, or a series of day-trips from Madrid (though one or two may already be included in the tour itinerary). To me, the key day-trips are Toledo (#1 without a doubt, and actually worth at least two nights despite its proximity to Madrid), Segovia and Cuenca.
For the pre-Barcelona time, the obvious choices are other places in Catalunya (many options, including the lovely Girona, Dali sights in Figueres and near Cadaques, Montserrat, Sitges, the beaches, Besalu, the Pyrenees) or -- more aggressively due to travel time -- the Basque Country.
I think your best shot at beautiful scenery will be in your pre-Barcelona time. The most grab-you-by-the-throat architecture will be in Barcelona, Andalucia and Toledo, with honorable mention to Girona, Segovia and Cadaques. Obviously, these are just my opinions. Any oldish European city has architecture of interest.
There are other areas of Spain you could visit instead of the ones I've suggested, which are just the obvious ones.
Posted by
Brisbane, Australia
7175 posts
If you have 18 nights all up...
Five nights before tour starts in Barcelona ...
1. Fly in to Bilbao (2 nts)
2. Bilbao
3. Bus to San Sebastián (2 nts)
4. San Sebastián
5. Fly to Barcelona (1 nt extra pre tour)
Seven nights for RS Best of Barcelona & Madrid
Six nights after tour ends in Madrid ...
1. Bus/train to Granada (2 nts)
2. Alhambra
3. Train to Ronda (1 nt)
4. Train to Sevilla (3 nts)
5. Sevilla
6. Day to Cordoba
7. Fly home from Sevilla
Posted by
OP
53 posts
Thanks for these suggestions! I will do some research on the places mentioned!
Posted by
Tel Aviv
15788 posts
The advantage I see to a tour are being in a group for companionship and having excellent guides. Since you are a group, the companionship, especially for a short tour, is negligible. For 4 people, private guides are a reasonable expense and both cities offer a good selection of small group tours. So I'd opt for the DIY trip. The big question is what are the priorities of the person who's only with you for part of the trip. BTW the mid-March tour is Mar 11-18 and is currently waitlisted, so my guess is that it's not an option anyway.
My itinerary would probably be Barcelona (5-6N), fly to Granada (2-3N), train/bus to Sevilla (2-4N), train to Cordoba or Toledo (2N), Madrid (?N). Are your dates fixed? How many nights do you have on the ground in Spain?
Posted by
OP
53 posts
Hi Chani, thanks for your reply! The person coming for just the middle week is my 21 yr old son and he is mostly interested in Barcelona and Madrid. My husband, daughter and I will have up to 5 days before and up to 5 days after (haven’t booked flights yet). I hear you on the advantages of DYI vs. tour. Our group is a bit split on this. My husband and son really like having the tour leader, the other tour participants to talk to and to not have to stress about the plan. My daughter and I are happy to DYI. I think if we do the RS tour for the middle week (our trip is 2019 so if they do the same week as in 2018 it should work) and DYI the rest everybody should be happy. Any thoughts on the pre-Barcelona bit? Thanks!
Posted by
OP
53 posts
UPDATE: Thanks so much for your help! I have gotten the front end of the trip figured out--through the middle week, which will be the RS Best of Madrid and Barcelona tour ending on Sunday, March 17 in Madrid (assuming their 2019 schedule is the same as in 2018). Early that morning, our son will fly home and my husband, daughter and I will head for Andalucia. We have to travel back to Madrid on Friday, March 22 and will catch a morning flight home on Saturday (the 23rd). So, that leaves me 5 nights (4 full days and 2 travel days) to plan in Andalucia. I'm thinking to split it as 3 nights in Seville (daytrip to Cordoba included here) and 2 nights in Granada. Does one order or the other work better with transportation or with doing things on particular days (don't know if some things are closed on Sundays or Mondays)?
I'd appreciate your thoughts on the Seville/Granada and the most efficient transportation plan.
Thanks!!