Spain itinerary feedback requested

Your itinerary is doable and if you are ok with the pace then go with it. It does require several moves because you are really trying to cover a large territory. Your destinations are all marvelous and you will enjoy them immensely. For me the dilemma has always been justifying the days to fit in both Madrid and Barcelona on on short trip and I personally would recommend reconsidering that decision. I have always opted for focusing on Barcelona and surrounding areas as an entry/exit point or Madrid as my entry and jumping off point and not combining those two major cities on one short trip. I always tell myself there will be a next time.

Semana Santa (Easter Holy Week) falls mid April in 2019 and is highly celebrated in Andalucía. It would be up to your personal preferences to purposely time your dates to take advantage of the many wonderful processions and activities or to avoid these activities so be aware of the dates when scheduling.

Personally I would spend more time in Madrid. Since it will take most of one day to travel from Granada to Madrid, and if you take two day trips that does not leave you much time in what my family thinks is one of the most beautiful cities in Europe! I know we are in the minority, but four nights in Barcelona is MORE than plenty, and you are definitely shortchanging Madrid.

I disagree about Barcelona. Four nights there as the first stop is only three usable days, and Barcelona has more than three days' worth of sights if you are interested in modernista architecture.

As already noted, you're trying to cover a lot of territory in not much time. Barcelona, Seville and Madrid could all use more time. An extra day in Granada wouldn't hurt, either.

Hi Mario,

I think that your itinerary is totally doable, you won't see absolutely everything that these cities have to offer, but maybe that's a good thing, as it will give you the incentive to return to the places you want to explore more in depth, you may find you really like Barcelona and decide to spend a couple of weeks in Catalonia on another trip.

Getting from Granada to Madrid, I would first take the bus to Córdoba and then take the AVE high-speed train to Madrid, it will cut your travel time in half than if you just try to bus directly from Granada to Madrid. If you decide to do the bus/AVE train combo, then maybe you want to do that day trip to Córdoba during this time, since you will already be in Córdoba.

As Pat has brought up, you will be traveling in Spain during Semana Santa (April 14 - 21), I would try to embrace the Semana Santa festivities. It will make your travel experience so much deeper and rewarding. The majority of Spain's cities, towns and villages, all have their own processions combining music, art, and color. The most emotional processions will be in Andalucía - Córdoba and Granada have really great ones.

If you are in Madrid during Semana Santa, then I would highly recommend you do a day trip to Cuenca (about 2:45 hr via train). Other than being a really unique place to day trip to, a medieval town that hangs off of a cliff, Cuenca also has some really interesting and impressive Semana Santa processions on the scale of what one would find in Andalucía.

While there may be some slowdown in the cities themselves due to the number of people coming to see these processions, I don’t feel it would interfere too much in the main tourist attractions, although it may take longer to get from point A to point B. My only note would be that Easter Monday is a public holiday in Spain, so the vast majority of shops and restaurants will be closed.

Hey Mario,

Like a previous poster mentioned, it is a doable itinerary but you are checking in and out of 4 different hotels in 4 different cities. See if you can shorten it to 3. That is a lot of moving around. You might be exhausted after your vacation. Here is a simple 13 days itinerary below.

Fly into Barcelona:

5 nights Barcelona:

Day 1 - Barcelona

Day 2 - Barcelona

Day 3 - Barcelona (Day Trip to Montserrat)

Day 4 - Barcelona (Day Trip to Girona)

Day 5 - Barcelona (Train to Seville)

4 nights Seville:

Day 1 - Seville

Day 2 - Seville (Day Trip to Cordoba)

Day 3 - Seville ( Day Trip to Granada)

Day 4 - Seville (Train to Madrid)

4 nights Madrid:

Day 1 - Madrid

Day 2 - Madrid ( Day trip Toledo)

Day 3 - Madrid (Day Trip Segovia)

Day 4 - Madrid ( Fly Home )

You need not spend 2 hr. 45 min. on a train to get to Cuenca from Madrid. The Madrid-Valencia AVE goes through Cuenca's Fernando Zobel station. The run time from Madrid is less than an hour. That will be an affordable ticket only if you purchase really early and commit to a non-refundable/non-changeable ticket.

It would be prudent to budget for a taxi into town from Fernando Zobel Station, though there is some bus service (perhaps not on Sunday, though). The distance is not walkable (over 3.5 miles).

I would not recommend doing Granada as a side trip from Seville. The Alhambra takes several hours to fully enjoy, and the city itself is worth staying in for a couple of nights.

Granada is quite far from Seville and most of your time would be spent traveling. That doesn’t even include the cathedral, the royal chapel, shopping, eating, exploring, etc.

I just returned from Barcelona, Granada, Cordoba and Seville. I would say Granada and Cordoba were my favorites; they are bustling but relatively small, so one doesn’t feel overwhelmed. Seville was also lovely, but very touristy.

Just to reiterate my point: Granada is worthwhile enough for a pair of nights, even with your short, yet widespread, itinerary.

I would not visit Granada as a day trip from Seville, either. It would be a very, very long day. The Alhambra is amazing, and you don't want to rush through it. Last year we spent almost a whole day at the Alhambra, and then we returned for the night time visit. You won't appreciate the Alhambra's beauty and historical significance if you rush through it. Granada is also an interesting city and has other sights besides the Alhambra. We spent 2 nights there and could have used a 3rd night. So stick to your plan of 2 nights in Granada.

I think spending at least one night in Toledo is ideal if you have the time. Toledo is very crowded during the day with bus tours; it is so much more enjoyable in the evening. I would not have liked it as much as I did if we did not spend the night.

What are you planning on seeing in Madrid? We really enjoyed Madrid and spent a lot of time in the outstanding art museums, in addition to touring the Royal Palace, spending time in Retiro Park, and wandering through some plazas and neighborhoods. We had 4 nights in Madrid and did not do any day trips.

Can you add 2 more nights to your trip? I would add another night to Seville and a night to stay in Toledo. We also spent 2 nights in Cordoba.

I hope I am not confusing you more. I just think you would appreciate and enjoy Toledo and Cordoba more if you can spend a night there.

The most important thing to know is when exactly you are going. I was in Sevilla during Semana Santa and it really does impact everything.

Ordinarily I'd say Barcelona, fly to Granada, bus to Sevilla, train via Cordoba (leave bags in storage and spend the day) to Madrid. That is the most efficient way to go. However, because of Semana Santa celebrations, you may need/want to be in certain places on certain dates that would mean changing the route. Overall I'd say you are trying to see too many places for the time you have. I'd leave Barcelona for another trip and fly R/T Madrid and do a loop around Andalucia. This will give you more time to enjoy it, and see the special celebrations of Semana Santa. Malaga is a great place to spend a couple of days then.

Thank you all so much for the thoughtful replies. This forum is invaluable. You've given me a lot to think about and I think we may leave the Barcelona area to another trip and take advantage of the great recommendations for the Madrid region.

Sevilla, Zamora, Cuenca, Salamanca, Valladolid, Granada, Cáceres, Lorca, Málaga, Córdoba... all great places to have an authentic and powerful Semana Santa experience.