Hi all, First time poster and this will be our first visit to Spain! My husband and I will be traveling in the first three weeks of October of '22 (17 nights total excluding travel days). I've already purchased R/T tickets from LAX - MAD, because I grabbed a good price. Other than that, I don't have a set itinerary yet. I was originally starting with an Andalusia cities route, but after chatting with my husband, he said he wants to stick to cities on the Mediterranean coast. He prefers the ocean if possible on our vacations. So, right now, my beginning stage itinerary is looking like:
-Arrive at 3:00 in the afternoon. First night in Madrid, wander & explore, train next day to Barcelona
-4 nights in Barcelona, hit all the highlights in town, and a day trip via train to Tarragona (we love historical sites like the Roman ruins)
-Rent a car (husband has his international license) and drive the Costa Brava. Possible overnight in Girona and/or Figueres (visit the Dali museum).
-2 nights in Cadaques (it looks like our kind of vibe), visit Dali's house
-Drive back to BCN, return the car
-Here's where I would like help I've got 5 nights to fill. Should we stay in BCN again and do day trips? Rearrange itinerary and include driving or train down to Valencia and that area? More nights in the Costa Brava? A few days in Sevilla? Sevilla was high on my list when I began planning, but I'm not sure I want to waste two days of 5 hours in a train to get there and back from Madrid, since our tickets are already purchased.
-End trip with 3 nights in Madrid, explore Madrid, day trip to Segovia (should I add another night or two here?)
Some background to help: Our travel style is laid back; we don't like cattle group tours, we like to wander/get lost/explore. We enjoy live music (listening and playing), nightlife, and we enjoy historical sites (we were in Italy last year and loved it), and we of course love the ocean.
I know this is a pretty barebones itinerary right now, so any help/thoughts/ideas would be greatly appreciated. We're very excited experience Spain! Thanks!
Posted by
Barcelona + Sweden
4180 posts
Since you will still be in the Barcelona area, with potentially a car, why not extend your roadtrip south to the coastline between Barcelona and Valencia for a few nights? This area is known as the Costa Dorada and continues into the Costa del Azahar all the way to Valencia, it's a land full of ancient olive trees, citrus groves, sandy beaches, lazy beach towns, time-warped castles, and Roman Ruins.
Here are some of my favorite points of interest between Barcelona and Valencia (North to South):
Poblet Royal Monastery - a UNESCO World Heritage Site and still active 12th-century Cistercian monastery. It was a fortified medieval royal residence and contains the unique hanging tombs of the old Kings of Aragon.
Tarragona - ancient seaside town with very good Roman ruins, including an amphitheater, intact aqueduct, and Praetorium Tower, was once the capital of Roman Hispania (modern-day Spain). Tarragona's medieval old town is a delight to explore too.
Les Ferreres Aqueduct - Roman Aqueduct you can walk on top of, a few km from Tarragona.
Sitges - the quintessential posh beach town, 30 min south from Barcelona. Has multiple small sandy beaches. Known for its gay scene, Sitges also has nice historic centre lined with boutique restaurants and shops.
Castillo de Miravet - A large riverside stronghold built by the Knights Templar with commanding views of the countryside. The adjacent medieval village spills down the cliff towards the rivers. A great place to bicycle, kayak, or take a leisurely boat down the Ebro river.
Peñíscola - With its cobbled streets and whitewashed houses, the old town of Peñíscola sits on a big rock that juts out into the sea. The town is dominated by a large Knights Templar castle that looks like something out of the Crusades. Recently, Peñíscola was used as a filming location in the T.V. series Game of Thrones.
Sagunto Castle (Saguntum) - settlement sacked by Hannibal Barca that led to the Second Punic War. Now an eclectic mix of Roman, Moorish, and Christian fortifications.
PS: You could save your earlier daytrip to Tarragona and visit Tarragona during this time instead, just to make it more efficient!
Posted by
Washington DC
28083 posts
There's definitely enough to see in northeastern Spain. Staying there sounds fine if you want a laid-back trip.
The Dali Theatre-Museum in Figueres is a lot of fun. Stop in to see the jewelry collection, covered by the same ticket, as well. Since the Theatre-Museum sometimes gets bus tours, individual time-slots do sell out. I'd be shocked if you needed to buy your tickets very far in advance (I bought mine online just a couple of days ahead of time, I believe, and that was in May 2019), but don't just roll up without them, because you might end up having to spent a lot of time cooling your heels if several entry periods in a row are sold out. That wouldn't be a great situation, because (as far as I could tell) Figueres isn't all that interesting as a town.
Girona has much, much more to see. The medieval center is quite large. I think you'll find hotels quite a bit cheaper in Figueres, though I guess there are more "good" hotels in Figueres.
Should you ultimately decide you want to see Seville, the train is a better way to travel than a car. While driving from Madrid takes about 5-1/2 hours without stopping, getting lost or traffic delays, the express trains take less than 3 hours; the fastest morning train is only 2 hr. 23 min. You can even get to Seville all the way from Barcelona in about 5-1/2 hours, though most departures take longer. That would be a 10-hour drive, or longer.