Spain February 2022 preliminary itinerary

In addition to the spot-on comments above, the weather is likely to be more pleasant in the South. Madrid and Toledo do get quite bitingly cold in winter... Another reason to focus on Sevilla, Córdoba, Granada.

Seville can easily fill 3 full days (4 nights) so cutting down to 1 day (2 nights) would mean a lot of travel for little time there, particularly if jet lagged. It sounds as though you may prefer time here to Madrid?

Granada is cold in February. The Alhambra will fill much of your day there and needs to be booked well in advance, assuming that’s where you are heading. It’s 4-5 hours door to door from Seville to Granada, so you aren’t going to get much time in Granada itself.

Madrid will also be cold! Toledo and Córdoba day trips will limit your time in Madrid and would be rushed.

Your problem is that ideally you would have 11 days, but in practice you have full 7 days on the ground, so something has to give, unless you are happy with a full on trip.

Hi Jacob,

I agree with Nick's feedback, you will get more temperate weather in the South and your pace of the trip will be a less hurried. On average when you change cities you lose 1/2 day traveling, especially when you take the train from Granada to Madrid which will take 3-4 hours.

Seville and Granada are two of my favorite cities and if it is possible, I would spend an extra day in Seville. It is a great walking city and the Seville Cathedral along with the adjoining Alcázar palace takes a good part of day. Seville is a great place to see flamenco.

Since you love local cuisine, I would recommend that you check out the Devour tours in Spain. We enjoyed their tapas tours in both Madrid and Spain. Another option to consider is Winebus tours out of Madrid. They have tours that combine a tour of a winery in Ribera del Duero along with a few stops for local food and one the best meals we had in Spain with time in Segovia. The owner Ignacio is a wonderful guide. If you go to his site, you will see the videos by husband took of the trip. Just search for Winebus Madrid.

Sandy

You have only seven full, non-jetlagged days to play with. From my perspective that is too short for 4 destinations; I wouldn't even try to squeeze in 3 (but I am a slow traveler, and I do like art museums). Toledo has a large medieval center, so I think it will really appeal to you. I'd hate to see you skip it, given your expressed interests, but it's true the weather is likely to be considerably more pleasant to the south.

Of the places mentioned so far, Seville and Cordoba (an easy day-trip or day-long stopover in transit if you don't have time to spend a night or two) are likely to have the best weather. Granada, though also in the south, is at some altitude and will likely be cooler. The Alhambra is magnificent, though. If you decide not to rush around so much and postpone Granada until a later trip, the Alcazar in Seville--while not the Alhambra--will give you a good look at grand Moorish architecture.

Seville is a large city with many interesting sights. I wouldn't cut your time there to just 2 nights. You are at risk of spending so much time going back and forth to train stations that you won't be able to relax and enjoy the cities you're visiting.

Thank you so much for the awesome replies. I appreciate the personalized recommendations. We are from Minnesota so not too worried about any cool/cold weather. In fact, for spending a whole day walking, I enjoy having the cooler weather. I do really think we might enjoy the smaller cities more than Madrid. After taking in your suggestions, I am thinking 3 nights in Seville, 2 nights in Granada(have to see the Alahambra), 2 night in Toledo( I really love the history here) and 1 night in Madrid to make early morning flight on Sunday. Thought? I know we need more time but this is as long as I can get my wife to leave the kids.

Well, being from Minnesota will help in those colder cities. With your second plan you're really just using Madrid for its airport, which is fine if you're satisfied with that. The art museums are probably the "biggest" sights there. I don't see the point of two nights in Toledo, though. One overnight would be good, giving you time to see things in the afternoon and more in the morning. A complication is that train service to and from Toledo is just through Madrid, so there's no really efficient way to combine it with the Andalusian cities by train.

If cutting Toledo to one night frees up a night for you, Cordoba might be a good place to spend it. Any train route that connects Madrid, Seville, and/or Granada goes through Cordoba.

I think your original plan to fly straight from Madrid to Seville makes a lot of sense, and the schedule seems to work well. I can't imagine a more efficient way to do this, given that you'll be at Madrid airport anyway.

Your interests sound similar to mine, and I think your latest itinerary looks perfect, given the time you have. I like Granada more than Sevilla (just personal preference), but on your first trip to Spain, definitely plan the extra day in Sevilla since there are more major sights to see. Make sure to carve out time to just hang out, wander around, and linger over some meals, even with your short timeframe.

Have a great trip!

Your adjusted schedule appears better to enjoying the journey. Keep in mind the limited number of daylight hours and plan your itinerary accordingly.

So glad I posted to this forum! This is attempt #3 to complete our 20 year anniversary trip and want it to go well. For sure, I am booking 3 nights in Seville, 2 in Granada and then I need to think about how to incorporate Cordoba and Toledo. Thank you everyone. Very helpful.

I like going to Toledo first, straight from the airport. It’s a fairly small, walled city (so you can’t get too lost when jet lagged!) and a great introduction to Spain. You can get there from the airport either via train (inexpensive) or taxi (if you’re too foggy to figure out train connections — like I always am — after flying).

You could stop at Cordoba for a few hours on your way to or from Sevilla/Granada. That would at least give you a taste of Córdoba, and you’d know if you need to come back for a longer stay next time. Personally, I wouldn’t cut Toledo to just one night so that you could stay overnight in Cordoba; I’d keep the 2 nights in Toledo.

Thanks everyone!

I can't speak to Madrid and Toledo, but I agree that the three towns Seville - Cordoba - Granada are totally worth focussing on, especially since you have only a week. We found the Mezquita in Cordoba to be just awesome, and the Alhambra is beautiful beyond words.

We've been to that part of the country in January or February (can't remember which), and while you can't expect summery temperatures, it was perfectly fine. The great thing about going there at that time of year was that it was not so overrun with tourists.

We are from Minnesota so not too worried about any cool/cold weather.

It's not only about the temperatures. It's about how well a country is prepared to deal with the side effects of winter, and some of the Mediterranean countries are not. We've known things in Italy and Greece to basically come to a stillstand with just 2mm of snow. Not sure about Spain. :-)

On Feb 12 there’s a flight to Granada at noon. Why not begin your journey there and then take a train to Seville and work your way back to Madrid?