My husband and I are taking a cruise from Southampton, UK to Barcelona. The cruise stops in Vigo, Lisbon, Cartagena and Barcelona. This is our first trip to Spain, and we want to see as much as possible. Any advice on where to go or what to do? I love sherry and would like to go to Jerez, I also love Rioja's and would like to see that region. We can't do both, so any suggestions on which wine region is the most tourist friendly?
Are you talking about shore tours from the ship, or do you want to spend a week in Spain before flying to the UK to join the cruise ??
Sorry for being vague! We arrive in Madrid on October 10 and cruise from UK on the 19th. So we have a full week.
Thanks!
10 Oct Madrid (3 nts) with a day trip to Toledo
13 Oct Granada (2nts)
15 Oct Seville (3 nts) with a day trip to Jerez
18 Oct Fly to London (1 nt) - easyJet EZY5176 departs 10:45am
19 Oct Sail from Southampton
or
10 Oct Madrid (4 nts) with day trips to Toledo and Segovia
http://www.spain.info/en/que-quieres/ciudades-pueblos/otros-destinos/toledo.html
http://www.spain.info/en/que-quieres/ciudades-pueblos/otros-destinos/segovia.html
14 Oct Seville (4 nts) with day trips to Jerez and Cordoba
http://www.spain.info/en/que-quieres/ciudades-pueblos/otros-destinos/jerez_de_la_frontera.html
http://www.spain.info/en/que-quieres/ciudades-pueblos/grandes-ciudades/cordoba.html
18 Oct Fly to London (1 nt) - easyJet EZY5176 departs 10:45am
19 Oct Sail from Southampton
From Cordoba ( 1 night), you can take the train/bus (the tracks will likely still be out of commission near Granada, but the bus is run by Renfe (national train company). You will need 2 nights there. Then it's just over 3 hours by train/bus or bus (alsa.es) to Seville. There are frequent trains between Seville and Jerez, so it's easy to day trip or to split your stay between the two.
In Jerez, you can visit several bodegas for tours and tastings without making reservations. Tio Pepe's is the most fun. You can drink Spanish wines from just about any region just about anywhere. Seville has the best tapas in Spain. Jerez is also the flamenco capital of Spain.