Mid-October Trip to Madrid and Andalucia - Booking Ahead?

Our trip was in November. The only thing we reserved ahead was the Alhambra. Soooo, we had to wait in line for a couple hours to get into the Sevilla Alcazar. Not great for a person that doesn't like to wait. For the Sevilla Cathedral, we got to the Church of the Savior about a half hour before opening. The ticket includes that church and the cathedral. We then visited that lovely church and then headed to the cathedral with ticket in hand.

For Toledo, we got to the ticket office for the cathedral about 15 minutes prior to opening. We also did the bell tower which we enjoyed.

EDITED TO ADD: We did not have advance tickets to the Granada cathedral or royal chapel and they were not necessary.

You didn't ask, but we loved Cordoba. We were there 2 nights and could have stayed another. We did not prepurchase tickets to the fascinating Mezquita though we were there at opening.

The train from Madrid to Toledo and back, can sell out depending on time of day, but you don't need to purchase more than a day or so in advance. Madrid to Sevilla, saves a fair chunk of money to prepurchase, but we did not since we took that train(s) upon arrival to the Madrid airport. At the time we visited, the Granada AVE wasn't complete. Sevilla to Granada, we had a car to facilitate a stop at pueblos blancos.

We spent very little time in Madrid. In fact, the only full day we had there we used for a day trip to Segovia.

Just a heads up that October 12 is a national holiday. This might mean it's better to beat the crowds by pre-booking. It might also mean that you tweak plans that day to check out celebrations of Spain's "National Day".

All the long-distance trains you'll definitely want to book ahead. Prices go up as dates get nearer, and trains do sell out.

And add the Basilica de San Juan de Dios to the list for Granada—Amazing!

Check out the free hours for both the Prado and Reina Sofía museums. Not being museum people, the free hours were sufficient for us. If you’re going to be in each city more than a day, with the time of year you’re going, you should be able to get tickets upon arrival in each city. Last time we were in Sevilla it was late October and we walked right into the Alcázar; no line at all. We skipped the cathedral because we had been in it already at least six times, but there was no line at it either. In Granada in early September there was no line for the cathedral or royal chapel. It would be a shame to buy advance tickets, non refundable, and have slight changes to your plans regarding which day you’ll visit the sites.

When we visited Andalucia in September 2017, the only place we booked tickets well in advance was for the Alhambra. When we arrived in Seville, we noticed the long lines at the Alcazar so we reserved tickets for the next day. That was all the pre-booking we did for sightseeing.

We did not book tickets ahead for the Prado, Reina Sofia or Palacio Real in Madrid. We were at all 3 places early in the morning when they opened. Very short lines.

Because I am a worry-wart about transportation, we did purchase all of our train tickets and ALSA bus tickets a month or so in advance. I just feel better having our train and bus tickets in hand. Because all our hotels were booked, I knew we weren't going to change our travel plans mid-stream. And we like to leave a destination in the morning for our next destination, so I knew that wouldn't change either.

And I agree with the poster who recommends visiting Cordoba. It's a lovely city and the Mezquita is amazing. We, too, spent 2 nights in Cordoba and wish we had a third night.

"And add the Basilica de San Juan de Dios to the list for Granada—Amazing!"

Ah, that's actually on my list, but I didn't think I'd need to book that one in advance.

“It would be a shame to buy advance tickets, non refundable, and have slight changes to your plans regarding which day you’ll visit the sites.”

That's exactly what I was thinking. Good to know that I can wait to book most of this stuff until closer to the date.

I'm going to play it by ear wrt Cordoba. I'd love to visit, but I have a pretty packed itinerary already. You can never quite see everything you want to in one trip. I figure this will give me a reason to return.

Thanks for the responses folks!

Moe

We will be in Barcelona with a day trip to Girona, Granada, Seville, and Madrid with a day trip to Toledo between December 26 and January 10. I have reserved sights for all cities except for Girona and Toledo which I will do soon. I, however, cannot get reservations on January 5th for Real Alcazar or Seville Cathedral. It appears those won't become available until just a few weeks before. I don't want to hijack Moe's thread but I am wondering if I need to book sights for Girona and Toledo for late December, 2022 and early January 2023. We have been to Spain twice before during the off-season and tickets were necessary for all major venues. It was rainy and bone chilling but there were still crowds. Even with tickets we had to wait in some lines. Play it safe and get your tickets. October will probably be a very popular time to visit.

I think you'll be OK in Girona and Toledo. I ran into a line at the cathedral in Toledo, but I was there over a religious-holiday weekend.

Now, if you decide to go to the Dali Theatre-Museum in Figueres (north of Girona), that's one where you'd be smart to get the ticket online a bit ahead of time. That museum gets some bus tours, so a walk-up visitor might be sold a ticket for a few hours later, which would be really annoying.

Thanks Acraven!

Lindy- Many Spaniards will be on vacation when you're there, so sights could be crowded or even sold out. I wouldn't stress about getting tickets at the first possible moment, but walking up to major sights could leave you in long lines, or worse, out of luck. I'd look to book at least a few days out.

Thanks, Scudder. I've booked everything except Real Alcazar and Seville Cathedral in Seville because the site doesn't offer online ticket sales for January, yet.
I'll go ahead and book the Girona and Toledo sights, too, then.

I went to Spain in March 2022. Here is your itinerary with whether to buy your tickets in advance. Yeah I know a lot of opinions say to avoid buying tickets in advance unless really necessary.

Madrid
Museo del Prado. - Yes. I bought an advance ticket.
Centro de Arte Reina Sofia - I skipped it. Yes get advanced tickets.
Palacio Real - Yes. I had advance tickets

Seville
Palaces and Gardens of the Real Alcázar. Yes
Cathederal and Gerald Tower - yes. I would have been as happy if I had skipped the Gerald Tower. Also by mistake I put the wrong date by mistake and almost didn't get to enter the tower.

Toledo
Catederal de Toledo - No, not necessary. I showed up at 6pm. Only under ten groups were in line ahead of me. You need to give them an ID card or license to hold if you borrow a headset for the audio tour.

Granada
Catedral and Capilla Real - No, not necessary. I didn't have advance tickets.

Trains
Madrid to Toledo. Yes you should just buy all your train tickets in advance. I bought all my tickets in advance. Yeah there is always a risk you could have problem that requires not taking any planned trip.
Toledo to Madrid - yes
Madrid to Seville - yes
Seville to Granada - yes
Granada to Madrid - yes