Going to Spain May 14th-25th! Thoughts on this plan.
Fly into Barcelona
3 days in Barcelona
High speed train to Madrid
2 days in Madrid
High speed train to Seville
2 days in Seville
Train to Ronda
1 day in Ronda
Train to Granada
1 day in Granada
Train back to Madrid
1-2 day in Madrid
Fly out of Madrid.
Is this a solid Itinerary?
Have you bought your plane tickets yet? How many nights will you sleep in Spain? You can fly nonstop between Barcelona and Granada instead of going to Madrid twice.
You will be spending most of your time in Spain en route to the next destination and not sightseeing.
Too much travel and not enough days in Seville. Ronda and Granada are great, but consider spending at least 3 days in Seville.
Also, you didn't mention Toledo, my favorite city in Spain. It is a wonderful medieval city, the former capital. Also, Segovia is great for a day trip from Madrid.
Too many places for the time you have, but it’s your trip. Spain is a large country and there’s no reason to try and visit all the top sites, crisscrossing the country, in one trip.
10 nights in Spain. Oh okay. Thank you!! So should I cut a major city then of Madrid Barcelona or Seville? Or just not do Granada or Ronda? Fully open to changes. Just really want to see Barcelona the most.
Spain! What a great country! You'll have a great trip!
I suggest your read the recommended itinerary from Rick Steves on this website:
(https://www.ricksteves.com/europe/spain/itinerary)
[Snippet below:]
By Rick Steves
So much to see, so little time. How to choose? To help you get started, I've listed my top picks for where to go in Spain, and outlined my plan for your best three-week trip.
Depending on the length of your trip, and taking geographic proximity into account, here are my recommended priorities:
3 days: Madrid and Toledo
6 days, add: Barcelona
10 days, add: Sevilla, Granada
13 days, add: Nerja, Ronda, Tangier (Morocco)
15 days, add: Salamanca, Segovia
17 days, add: Santiago de Compostela
21 days, add: Basque Region (San Sebastián and Bilbao)
25 days, add: Camino de Santiago (by car)
Granada & Sevilla definitely need more time. If you want a sampling of Spain, I would just give Madrid one day on the way to Sevilla, skip the train back to Madrid and fly home from Granada or Malaga.
”13 days, add: Nerja, Ronda, Tangier (Morocco)”
I think several of us who have been to Spain multiple times would place Nerja much lower on the list, although I loved nearby Frigiliana. And Morocco deserves more than a quick stop. This post in the forum is a good example:
Keep in mind that one full day in a location means two nights. As presented, you only have partial days in both Ronda and Granada. That may work for Ronda, depending on when you arrive, but the Alhambra alone can take the better part of a day to see.
Indeed! All these places deserve more time! But far be from me to 2nd guess the advice of greatest travel writer of all time! Note: The Rick Steves Spain tour is perfectly paced according to rave reviews those who have taken it! (But this is self-selected sample of travelers who are carpe diem types as opposed to carpe the- best-relaxing- people- watching- moment- over- a-delicious- beverage- on- a-scenic square type!)
I personally didn't take that tour-- it was booked so my wife and took a Tauck tour of Spain and Portugal. A bit slower based (barely slower to be honest), luxury hotels and still excellent guides. We've also done our own trips to Spain . No matter how we travelled and no matter the pace, we've loved Spain. I suppose the high speed trains get old for some.I loved them myself. Packing and unpacking is burden to some-- never a chore to me. Heck, I even enjoyed looking out the windows of a bus. The days were long (they eat late!) but fulfilling!
Happy travels!
Fly either multi-city or one-way with Barcelona as one of the airports. Madrid will have nonstop flights between North America and Spain but Seville and Granada airports require a connection. Decide where you are going to fly into and out of then begin planning what cities you’ll visit.
Thank you all so much for the advice! They were very helpful. We are going to fly into Madrid since there is a direct flight from Charlotte. We are going to do 3 day in Barcelona, 3 days in Madrid
3 days in Seville. And 2 days in Granada. Thanks for all the help!
While we are here in the forum with his name, that itinerary suggested by Rick Steve is way too rushed. There are too many places and things too see with not enough time. Best to see fewer but see them well. When we travel it’s not just to see a museum or a palace or a monument, it’s to get a feel for the place, it’s culture, it’s food, it’s people. I’d say one need a minimum of 3-4 days in a place, preferably longer. We were forced to do this some years back due to then ViP Hilton honors awards that were 6 nights long and realized that we were better off. It would actually feel like a vacation. Good for you, OP. Have a wonderful trip.
Ah, the question of what is the right pace. Earlier this year my wife and I were fortunate enough to take Rick Steves Basque tour. Fabulous. It had 2 days in four cities. We found it to be a perfect pace. (But I am sure we would also have been happy spending 3 days in 3 cities too.) Everyone on the trip gave it stellar reviews. To my knowledge, nobody said they felt rushed. But different people like different paces. There are those who love cruising where you get a max of 1 day in a port typically. There are those who love spending a month in say Paris. Who wouldn’t love that? Some follow Rick’s advice and eschew Hilton’s in favor of smaller B & Bs. Is one wrong? Is one right? Is one style too slow? Is one style too rushed?
I dunno. I like Rick’s advice. Some don’t. Some pick and choose. All are fine.
Happy travels.
