My wife and I are flying from Seattle to Barcelona last week of April - first time in Spain. We are meeting friends in Madrid 3 days later to begin a two week Madrid, Toledo, Segovia, San Sebastian, Barcelona trip. We are flying in a few days early and I'm looking for recommendations for other places to see/go before we head to Madrid to begin our group trip. We will be very jet lagged, so we'd like to keep the trip fairly simple and relaxing vs. lots of city walking.
All suggestions and advice welcome.
Posted by
Seattle, WA, USA ☔️
6788 posts
Is it too late to change your flights?
It doesn't make sense to fly in to Barcelona then immediately head to Madrid/nearby. Why not fly to Madrid instead (keep your return flight home from Barcelona)?
You're going to be zooming right by some of Spain's best attractions (Granada, Seville, Cordoba) - seems a shame to be so close yet miss them entirely. Problem is you don't quite have enough time to do any of them reasonably. With a couple more days then it starts to become more realistic.
If it were me, I'd try hard to add at least a few more days at the start of your trip, switch your outbound flight to land at Madrid (rather than flying in to Barcelona) and dedicate those days to the awesome destinations around Madrid.
Posted by
3243 posts
As I read your post, Barcelona will be part of your group trip. I really enjoyed small-group tours of the Priorat Wine Country and Girona/Costa Brava with this company in Barcelona:
Posted by
Pacific Northwest
882 posts
When you and your group of travelers plan activities in Madrid, I suggest contacting Federico Barroso (spainfred.com), a tourguide of monumental excellence.
Posted by
Central Connecticut, USA
1103 posts
Federico was our tour guide on the RS Barcelona/Madrid tour. He was outstanding!
Posted by
Folsom, California
540 posts
if you just want to relax, maybe you could consider flying into Palma for a few days then back to Madrid.
First day you spend in Barcelona to relax. You could also consider taking train to Valencia, then fly to Madrid.
Are you spending several days in Barcelona at end of trip? There is lots to do there, so you could do some at beginning of trip and some at end.
I have not been to Zaragoza, but I hear it is beautiful, and it is on the way to Madrid.
Posted by
Sevilla
1296 posts
Tarragona? It might be worth looking it up - would be a pleasant place to relax and take in the local sights (most known for its Roman remains and Spanish seafood, or perhaps Catalan seafood). Obviously no point going there if it doesn't interest you. But if it does tickle your fancy then it is, at least, easy to visit. There is a direct coach service from Barcelona airport to the city (no need to go into and change at Barcelona), taking about one hour. Then from Tarragona onto Madrid there is a fast rail service, it's the same line that connects Madrid and Barcelona (the station for this fast service is Camp de Tarragona which is a little outside the city itself, so you would need a taxi).
Posted by
OP
3 posts
Thanks for all the great suggestions! Our flights are already booked and we will be spending 4 days in Barcelona at the end of our trip. I think Terragona or Valencia might work - i'll look into that.
Any thoughts on Seville as a possibility with our itinerary? Or, is that just too far for such a short (i.e. 2.5) trip?