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suggestions for 9-night first time trip to Spain

Have flight tickets bought (biz class with rewards) and traveling mid October. We are active early 60's who are 'fast' travelers and pack very light. We do not like art museums, but do like history, churches, architecture, exploring. I wrestled with seeing Granada but have decided to skip because of other moorish sites in Cordoba and Seville and because I could do in a future trip. My friend going with us will probably never come back to Spain so I'm also trying to see a variety of things. This is also why I'm considering trying to see a white hill town and/or the Meditereaning sea. this is my tenative schedule. Thank you for your suggestions!

land Sun morning at 9am in Madrid
Sun/mon night Madrid
tues night Toledo
wed night Cordoba
Thurs ??? train to Malaga? car to Rhonda then Seville? train to Seville with day trip to Cadiz???
fri/sat night seville
sun/mon night Lisbon
tues fly to USA

Posted by
266 posts

I would add one more night in Madrid and make your third day a day trip to Toledo instead of staying there overnight just so you don't have to move so much. In addition, you could also do Cadiz as a day trip from Seville as it is only 1 hour away. I haven't been there so maybe it's worth an overnight? Loved Seville so much that I would always want to add days there!
Are you flying from Seville to Lisbon or driving?

Posted by
9095 posts

I suggest adding Segovia on a day trip from Madrid.
Seville deserves more than two nights. I suggest skipping Lisbon, but you may have purchased tickets already.
Your schedule is way to packed, with too much travel.
If you are stuck leaving from Lisbon, then skip Malaga, Rhonda and/or Caduz.

Posted by
610 posts

Based on your preferences, am guessing that you would most enjoy Seville, Cordoba, and Segovia (plus walking the walls in Avila if you could squeeze it in!). Suggest that you focus on those and leave Malaga, Cadiz and Ronda for another time.

Posted by
5373 posts

Kelly,

We do not like art museums, but do like history, churches, architecture, exploring.

Given the fact that you don’t like museums then I’d skip Madrid, and go straight to Toledo (1-2N), then Córdoba (2-3N), then to Sevilla (4N)

Will you be flying home from Lisbon, or from Madrid?
If flying out of Madrid, you’ll want to spend the night before departure in Madrid.

Enjoy your trip!

Posted by
113 posts

I agree with the above posters to spend more time in Seville, and maybe just day trip to Toledo. We didn't go to Toledo, but loved our day trip to Segovia. Try to get tickets for the night tour at the Cordoba Mezquita, but also get tickets to see it during the day.