Thinking off a two week trip in Southern Spain as a couple approaching 60. We are considering arrival on Sep 28 and leaving on Oct 13. Our interests are food, wine, culture, history, architecture, walks in cities/nature. Not as interested in museums, night-life. We have visited Barcelona multiple times, Madrid once for three days, and Sevilla on a day-trip (yes, not enough). Any suggestions for a not too rushed itinerary, or a link to a similar trip you took? OK with using trains or renting a car. It would be nice if we can have 2 (or max 3) homebases to explore around. We did a similar trip in France last year, with two home-bases (Nice and St. Remy). At Nice we moved around in trains/buses. At St. Remy we rented a car to access unique locations more easily. Thank you very much.
Posted by
Mid-Atlantic area
7157 posts
Posted by
Colorado Mountains, USA
7937 posts
We had a two week trip in October a few years ago, but in Northern Spain. With a combination of train, rental car, and bus, we started in Madrid, with side trips to Toledo and Segovia, then up to Basque country - Bilbao and San Sebastián (Donostia). We finished in Barcelona, where you say you’ve frequented. It was quite rainy many days - hopefully you’d get drier weather farther south, unless going north and being ready for rain was worth considering.
If South, base in Granada - it includes all of your interests. Base number two, Sevilla. If you included a third base, Ronda would be great. We used these on an earlier trip.
Posted by
OP
San Diego
21 posts
Thank you. Malaga seems to be the best airport to fly in/out in this area, but wanted to double check with travelers here. Also, regarding weather in early October does not stay too hot. May be we can fly into Madrid and work our way down to somewhat manage the heat. Will look at the trip reports too.
Posted by
Madrid
25 posts
Good morning:
That is what I would do
I am putting you what I am proposing you to do if you do it by car since Madrid and the south but I am proposing you do Madrid- Cordoba, Cordoba-Seville and Granada-Madrid by fast speed train.
Madrid 1 day
Toledo 1 day (by fast-speed train and going back to sleep in Madrid)
https://www.renfe.com/es/es/viajar/prepara-tu-viaje/descuentos?cid=descuentos&c=pd&fuente=googleperformance&campana=descuentos&fecha=2022&ubicacion=google&formato=link&s_kwcid=AL!11457!3!!!!x!!&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwxeyxBhC7ARIsAC7dS39ZVxPu6YtOIvTWOX3WVSOjlhbBBhb9YUh4pqn1o2_ateRWydGt7BMaAtMjEALw_wcB
Segovia 1 day ((by fast-speed train and going back to sleep in Madrid)
Cuenca 1 day ((by fast-speed train and going back to sleep in Madrid)
Avila 1 day (by normal train and going back to sleep in Madrid)
Cordoba 2 days (Arriving to Cordoba by fast speed train in 2 hours from Madrid) (You can rent the car in Córdoba or you can also use the fast speed train to Seville and rent the car in Seville (less than 1 hour with the fast speed train from Córdoba to Seville)
Seville 2 days ((you can rent the car on the second day because you would not need the car in big towns. (In big towns use taxis or uber) (driving in Spain is not difficult if you do it on day light and have a Good GPS) It is more difficult to drive and park in the big towns. In the big towns forget the car) it will be better to use taxis/UBER and it is not expensive.
Jerez de la Frontera 2 days
Ronda 2 days
Granada 2 days (You leave the car in Granada and you go to Madrid with the fast speed train)
Then Madrid.
If you think I am proposing too many places do not go to Avila.
For car rental, use rental cars from multinational companies that are familiar to you. They are the same rules as in your country.
Try to drive only during the day. If you have a problem with the car, the problems are best solved during the day.
https://www.kayak.es/Alquiler-de-coches-Sevilla-barato.10121.cars.ksp
Look at the rental comanies in Seville.
I hope you enjoy. :)
Posted by
Mid-Atlantic area
7157 posts
If you decide to rent a car for any portion of the trip, get an international driving permit (IDP) from AAA before going over there. It is required although nobody will probably ever ask for it.
Posted by
1 posts
Go to Google's gemini ai and enter: generate a two week itinerary in southern Spain based on our interests in food, wine, culture, history, architecture, and walks. I've planned two vacations with AI and AI worked great!
Posted by
OP
San Diego
21 posts
Thank you again to all. Very helpful.
Regarding car rental, I agree with doing part of the journey by train. Have driven in France as mentioned and also have the international drivers permit. They did not ask for it at the rental there, but good to have it. Interestingly, I got the best rate with Costco and there were no issues. Assume driving conditions may be just a little better in France, but we can read up on the rules, parking, etc. and adjust.
Posted by
Mid-Atlantic area
7157 posts
The roads in Spain are well maintained with good signage. Once away from the cities, traffic is very light. Remember to stay at or below the speed limit to avoid getting a ticket. There are plenty of speed cameras on the highways and when entering and leaving towns. Driving in the larger cities is a pain.
I too go through Costco for our Spain rentals. After reserving I check back periodically to see if prices have gone down. For our upcoming trip, the most recent reservation is 70% of the original reservation’s price.
Posted by
Grand Junction, Colorado
6 posts
We've got a 3 week trip planned around the same time (2 couples, 3 of us in our mid-70's). Planning to be in Andalucia for 10 nights from Oct 3 to Oct 10. Arriving in Seville by train from Barcelona for 4 nights. Airbnb in El Central, not far from "Setas de Sevilla". Then renting a car to travel into the "White Hill Towns", staying 3 nights in Grazalema and exploring. Then dropping the car in Granada, staying in the ancient barrio of Albaicín - and of course heading to the Alhambra. Finally taking train back to Madrid on the 13th - being on a branch line, there are only 3 trains/day without having to change in Cordoba. If you spot 4 old Yanks wandering around, say hello!
Posted by
Tel Aviv
15784 posts
October 12 is a very big holiday in Spain and often becomes a 3-day celebration. Choose your departure city with that in mind. Trains are likely to be fully booked well in advance and many sights may be really crowded. I haven't been to Spain around that time but this is what I've learned from many posts on the Forum.