Spain Itinerary Help

I'll add that fitting in both Sevilla and Granada (with any of the white villages) seems ambitious so some logistics help here is appreciated!

Take a look at Rick's suggested itineraries for Spain (click "Explore Europe" at upper left on this web page).

I think your basic concept is logical. However, due to travel time from town to town, I don't think 4 or even 5 days is enough to hit all of Seville/Cordoba/Ronda/Granada, given that every time you change hotels you lose at least half a day--and going to and from Granada may take longer than that. Seville and Cordoba are easy. They're right on the AVE line out of Madrid.

By "right away", do you mean you'll take the AVE south on the day you land in Spain from the US? That is a very efficient plan and good use of a period when everyone except your student son is likely to be too jetlagged to do much sightseeing. But figuring out the timing of those train tickets will be tricky. You will probably want to buy them soon to avoid paying the full walk-up rate. (Check Renfe.com to see how fares look as of now for your arrival day.) But the best deals are on non-refundable/non-changeable tickets, so the tickets will be worthless if your inbound flight is seriously delayed and you haven't built in enough lead time to get from the airport to the train station. Atocha Station is a bit confusing; it will help if your son is already an expert at navigating it.

Your son could return to Madrid after 1-1/2 days while the rest of you stay in Seville a bit longer before heading to Granada for two nights. That's the minimum time you'll need if you want to see the Alhambra. (Investigate tickets immediately; they may well be sold out on the official website, requiring special action on your part.) If you don't plan to see the Alhambra, I would skip the rushed visit to Granada on this trip.

Granada to Cordoba isn't too bad a trip; whether you have time for Cordoba depends on how much you want to do in Seville and Granada.

I don't think Ronda is in the cards this time, unless you drop Granada.

Edited to add: I believe Toledo and Segovia are the best side trips from Madrid for your family. If you aren't much into art, you don't necessarily need a lot of time in Madrid. The Palacio Real is a palace rather than a castle; it may or may not appeal. A few of our posters have found time to go to the Naval Museum in Madrid and liked it. That sounds sort of like a "guy" thing to me, so might be good for your family. I remember reading that one needs a passport to get into that museum.

Barcelona is tourist-swamped year round. If your target list for that city includes any of the following sights, you should investigate advance purchase of tickets. Otherwise, you may be spending precious time in long lines and perhaps missing out entirely:

La Sagrada Familia
Parc Guell
Casa Mila (La Pedrera)
Casa Batllo
Picasso Museum (often packed to the gills even after you get inside; consider skipping)
Palau de la Musica Catalana

Seeing a bunch of the most popular sights in Barcelona during a short visit is a real challenge. How much time will each sight take? How long will you be in line--even with a ticket--before you get in? How long will it take you to get to the next sight? It's really like putting together a jigsaw puzzle. Make one of those tough sights your first stop each morning. That will make things a bit easier.

I really liked the Barri Gotic walking tour offered by the tourist office, but I'm not sure what times it is offered. It many have been only at 10 AM when I took it in 2016.

Thanks acraven. This is a lot of good info and I was getting the sense that trying to fit in all 4 was too ambitious.

I am thinking of traveling to Seville the day we arrive since its a Saturday and my son would have Saturday night & Sunday with us and could take the train back to Madrid Monday morning. I also checked earlier today and there are tickets available to the Alhambra on the days we are considering. So it seems like Seville 2 days, train or bus to Granada for 2 nights then one night in Cordoba before heading back to Madrid would be doable.

I haven't thought too much about what everyone wants to see in Barcelona...my attempts to get everyone else in the family to help plan are fruitless but I know the Picasso museum will not be high on their list as we went to the one in Paris last summer and my boys weren't huge fans. The things they enjoyed most were riding bikes and renting a small boat in Amsterdam, the Eiffel tower, street food in Paris, a personal jeep tour in Normandy and wandering the small beach towns in Brittany. We also did a few small walking tours that they seemed to like. So I'll look into the one you mentioned in Barcelona.

Barcelona- I have used this company twice and highly recommend them. We did their bike tour in Barcelona and it may appeal to your family from your previous reply. Not sure how feasible it is in November, but it gave a good overview of the city's main sights.

https://www.fattiretours.com/barcelona

If more good ideas for Barcelona don't surface within a few days, post a separate thread with a title something like "November activities for male teenagers in Barcelona?" (Modify if the student is a third, older son; I'm not clear on that.) Repeat the information about what they enjoyed on the earlier trip. We have at least a couple of posters who live in Barcelona and can make solid suggestions. I'm a 67-year-old female, and I know my limitations!

Hi babyruth510, sorry that I'm late to the party :)
Here are some activities in Barcelona that your son may find interesting:

Museu Maritim de Barcelona - a maritime history museum close to the Columbus statue/La Rambla. The museum is built into the former medieval dockyard of Barcelona. Tells the story of the Spanish Navy and Catalan seafaring, from the 15th century up to the present, through a collection of navigation instruments, weapons, and ship models etc. The highlight of the museum is the full-scale replica of the royal galley used by Don Juan de Austria at the 1571 Battle of Lepanto, against the Ottomans.

Museu historic de la ciudad de Barcelona - Houses the archaeological remains of Roman Barcelona (Barcino) together with the medieval royal palace, Plaça del Rei. The really cool part about this museum is that the Roman ruins are actually all underground. You take an elevator down to a 4,000 square meter subterranean archaeological site, directly below the Gothic Quarter. The adjacent Plaça del Rei is also where Christopher Columbus met with Queen Isabella on his return from his expedition to the New World.

Montjuïc Fortress - A large 17th century military fortress on top of Montjuïc hill, which over looks Barcelona. The Fortress also has a rather dark past as it was a political prison during the Spanish Civil War and subsequent Franco regime. There also used to be an extensive military museum there but it was greatly reduced in size in the mid 2000s. The highlight is more the commanding views of Barcelona rather than anything inside the fortress.

This should be good to start off with, let me know if you would like any further recommendations or potential day trips that your son might also like.

I am an "older" woman and I very much enjoyed the Naval Museum in Madrid. It's mostly about the Golden Age of Exploration (Columbus, Ponce de Leon, Balboa, etc), with beautiful scale models. The descriptions are in Spanish, I believe there's an audio guide in English. You need to show your passports to enter, because it's under the auspices of the Spanish Navy.

Barcelona - Although I have enjoyed art all my life, I was not a fan of Picasso until this museum. It has different works than the one in Paris. The exhibit of his work as an amazingly talented teenager and examples of his progression through various styles of painting and other media changed my view of him 180 degrees. I encourage you to visit.
The boys may find Gaudi's cathedral La Sagrada Familia interesting, especially as it is nearing completion. Highly unusual architectural concept. Encourage them to look up and down the façade to pick out the various fanciful and sometimes grotesque figures on the walls and columns. Get tickets online well in advance so you can go inside and see the interior, beautiful when lit up by sunlight through the windows.
Toledo - the boys will like visiting one of the sword (famous Toledo steel of the 16th & 17th centuries) shops. They also have beautiful damascene gold inlay work. There's one in the Santo Tomé area near a good pastry shop where you can get delicious Mazapan Delicia treats.