We are traveling to Spain in July for 10 days - family with 3 teenagers. Flying into and out of Madrid.
Would love some ideas on how to best do both city and seaside time. Ideally will have 3 locations/bases (Madrid, Barcelona and a seaside town) with 2 days in Madrid, 4 days in Barcelona and 3 days seaside town or something like that depending on driving times between places. Plan to rent a car.
Itinerary ideas and recommendations much appreciated.
Posted by
Charleston, SC, USA
925 posts
I suggest taking the train to Barcelona when you first arrive. Spend a few days there and explore the area. I would advise NOT renting a car unless it's when you get to the seaside town to explore the coast or inland areas. You will not need a car in Madrid or Barcelona and the train is the easiest way to travel between those two cities. Parking and traffic are two good reasons to avoid renting a car. There are a few coastal town near Barcelona that are easily accessible by train as well. Check out Figueres and Sitges as options. If you base in Barcelona, there is a beach there as well and you can do day trips to seaside towns. Here is more info on side trips.
https://www.ricksteves.com/watch-read-listen/read/articles/beyond-barcelona-montserrat-figueres-and-sitges
This link will help you plan your time in Barcelona.
https://www.ricksteves.com/europe/spain/barcelona-itinerary
Finish your trip in Madrid.
Posted by
Washington DC
28083 posts
Figueres is pretty near the coast but not on it. I think perhaps Stephen is thinking of Cadques. The two are often mentioned in the same sentence since they both have Dali sights in them (Figueres) or nearby (Cadaques). Cadaques is gorgeous (white houses dripping with bouganvillea when I was there in August last year), but I don't pay any attention to beaches and don't kmow whther you'd encounter rocks or sand. Also, I suspect Cadaques might be one of the most expensive options.
Posted by
Charleston, SC, USA
925 posts
Acraven - you are correct! Thanks for catching that!
Posted by
Barcelona (Catalonia)
3071 posts
A total of 7 days in Catalonia, four of which in Barcelona don't really require renting any car. You can have two different approaches, either be based the whole week in Barcelona and simply make day escapades to different towns/cities (ie. Girona, Tossa de Mar, Sitges, etc.) by public transportation, which is inexpensive, convenient, efficient and safe --and it's what most visitors do-- or indeed choose a coastal town for the last days and go there by train/bus (depending on the chosen destination). Traffic in July in coastal towns is very heavy and there's a lack of parking space and in many towns, the only way to park is in private parking lots (=expensive).
Yet, I grant you that renting a car would allow you to further explore an area, not just this town or that city.
Maybe it'd be a good starting point to make a list of towns/cities near Barcelona you'd like to visit. Catalonia is the size of Maryland so you can actually visit a lot of it on day escapades from its capital city, Barcelona. From there is far easier to advise whether a car would be best or not.
Posted by
Brisbane, Australia
7175 posts
Barcelona is on the sea, so I would settle for the 2 locations, rather than 3.
Spend 4 nights in Madrid, and 6 nights in Barcelona.
Choose a Poblenou-Diagonal Mar location in Barcelona so you are close to the city beaches.
Hire a car for a long day to somewhere on the Costa Brava.