Our family of 5 - all adults - will be spending 8 days in Spain starting in Barcelona. We will be there in May. We were thinking of hitting the following:
Is this realistic?
Thanks
A different location every day means you end up with only a few hours to have a look around, as a good chunk of your day is lost to travel time. I wouldn't look beyond 2 or 3 places.
Barcelona + San Sebastian + Rioja.
Barcelona + Madrid + Toledo.
In eight days, you cannot possibly visit all of these places. Barcelona deserves more than a partial day, which is really all you will have. And that doesn't factor in any jetlag you might experience. (Some people don't find arrival day a really usable sightseeing day.) From Madrid, you can do a daytrip to Toledo, but you don't have enough time to see Madrid, either, particularly if you want to visit any of the museums. Valladolid is nice, and it could use up a whole day, but it would only get a few hours after you subtract travel time. You need to look at how long it takes to get from place to place (and consider how you will get there - train? rental car?). Switching locations can eat up a half day or more, with checking out, getting to your new hotel, finding parking (if you are driving), orienting yourself in the new city, meals, etc. It makes more sense to limit yourselves to Barcelona/Madrid/Toledo and save the others for another trip. Barcelona to Madrid is a fast 2.5 hour train trip, and Toledo is another half hour by train.
thanks so much for the input...
Is it feasible to do the following in 8 days?
1. Barcelona
2. Madrid
3. Toledo
4. Sevilla
I wouldn't do that many locations in 8 days...that's 2 nights per location and means you'll still see very little. Do you have 7 nights in Spain? If so, I would do 2 locations. You eat up a lot of time and money transiting around...more than you can imagine. Enjoy two cities in depth and you'll have a nicer trip, I think. Do a little research and choose two that pair well together from a transit point-of-view and that have sites that interest you. Barcelona is absolutely fantastic and worth at least 3 nights.
I would limit it to Barcelona and Madrid, spending more time in Madrid to enjoy day trips from there (Toledo, Segovia, El Escorial). These are big cities where it takes time to get your bearings. I prefer both Madrid and Seville to Barcelona, but you seem to be set on Barcelona so go for it.
Here is realistic.
If you don't have flights yet, fly open-jaw (Barcelona/Madrid). You waste time returning to Barcelona. 8 days is 7 nights is 6 full days. If you are arriving from the U.S. at least some of you will be zonked on Day 1, maybe on Day 2 as well. On Day 8, you are like to have a morning flight home, so you'll want to spend your last night in your departure city so you can get to the airport with ample time to go through all the procedures.
Every time you change locations you have to pack, herd everyone together, get to the train (with time for traffic on the way and finding your train at the station). Then you have to get from the train station to your hotel to check in and drop your stuff before you can go out to sightsee. If you travel in the morning, it's pretty easy to keep the group together and on time (unless you have a sleepy-head who can't get moving). But a morning train means 1/2 day of sightseeing lost. Taking a late afternoon or evening train has its own pitfalls - first, the herding thing. Then you have to go back to your hotel to get your bags. Then there's the whole thing of getting oriented to a new location - takes some time and more important, uses up your energy.
Realistically, you can see Madrid, Toledo and Barcelona. The others are too remote for a one-week visit. If you have to fly in/out of Barcelona, then I would stay in Barcelona, maybe a couple nights in a nearby smaller location. There's plenty to see and do in and around Barcelona to fill a week .
If you had 8 nights -
Day 1 - Arrive Barcelona (3N)
Day 2 - Barcelona sights
Day 3 - Barcelona sights
Day 4 - Train to Madrid (3N)
Day 5 - Madrid sights - Royal Palace + Prado
Day 6 - Toledo day trip
Day 7 (am) - Train to Córdoba for Mezquita
Day 7 (pm) - Train to Sevilla (2N)
Day 8 - Sevilla sights - Cathedral + Alcazar
Day 9 - Depart Sevilla
Start with 3 nights in Barcelona, 2 nights in San Sebastian, and then 3 in Madrid. Better to enjoy 3 places well than 6 for a short time.
I don't think including San Sebastian is very practical in conjunction with Barcelona and Madrid on such a short trip. It's close to 6 hours from Barcelona by train and over six hours on to Madrid. Total driving time would be about the same, without allowing for stops or time required to pick up car and find parking.
