Calling experts on Spain

It looks nicely paced to me. Flights from Sevilla connect in Madrid, so compare the price of flying from Sevilla to the cost of taking the train back (and then getting to the airport).

I might a night from Madrid and add it to your Andalucia tour. Spend two nights in Granada and then pick up your car when you are ready to leave. This will give you a night or two for a small town and 2 nights for Seville. Do you know about saving 60% on the AVE trains by buying 62 days in advance on Renfe? That makes the cost of Barcelona to Madrid much better. Also brings the cost of returning by train from Seville to Madrid by train down to 33,30 euro if you decide to do that instead of flying. We really liked Hotel Jazz in Barcelona. Like you that was our first stop in Spain, so we arrived after a long fllight from the West coast of the US. It was really east to get there using the airport bus, which stopped practiclly across the street at Universitat stop. It is also close to Placa Catalunya which is kind of the center of Barcelona, at the top of Las Ramblas and the start of Eixemple. We walked just about everywhere from there, except Parc Guell. There are busy streets on both sides of this hotel but the rooms face a quiet little pedistrian area to the front. We were on the 6th floor and heard very little traffic noice. Bed was very comfortable and we also really liked the rooftop terrace as a place to relax with a glass of wine in the early evening before going out for dinner. We only spent one nigh tin Madrd (stayed 2 nights in Toledo instead) so wanted to stay close to the train station. It was fine, also close to the Prado and Retiro Park, but for several nights you migh twant to be closer to del Sol. If not, out hotel, Husa Paseo del Arte, was very inexpensive yet a nice 4-star place, very quiet because we had a room at the back.

I would definitely not take a night from Madrid - with the very worthy day trips that you have planned, you only have a day in Madrid as it is. (I have said it here before, Madrid along with Lisbon and Budapest are the most underrated big cities in Europe.. o.k. I admit I have not been to every city but you get the idea.) I would skip the car part. You are only going to get one very long day, and it's the Costa Del Sol which is supposed to be very overbuilt and overrated (never been there). I live in CA and can drive to the ocean though, so your preferences may be different. Flying out of Seville is likely to be very pricey, make sure and check that out first. Although we did fly into a smaller city (Strasbourg) in France and it was not cost prohibitive. Consider the night train from Barcelona to Granada - my wife and I took that train in 2005 and it worked out great. Then you could circle back to Madrid for the end of your trip, as we did. Also consider a stop in Cordoba, can be done en route between Seville and Madrid. Check on it but back in 2005 they had luggage check at the train station, so you do it as a day trip on the train on your way to Madrid (assuming you take my advice and end in Madrid after the aforementioned night train).

Have you thought of changing the order of your trip? I would suggest Madrid to Andalucia to Barcelona. Or vice versa. Look into flying to GRanada. Vueling should have flights. As was said before, you will not fly back to the States directly from Sevilla so it doesn't make sense to me to do that area last. If you do want to end the trip in Andalucia check into flying out of Malaga to the US. I like Malaga. Lots to see and do there and it is a great town for walking around. In Barcelona make sure you do a daytrip to Montserrat. We took the train out there on our own and had no problems. Granada's Alhambra is spectacular but make sure to order your tickets in advance. In Madrid take a bus out to El Escorial. A suggestion for a place to stay in Madrid is Hostal Acapulco. We have stayed there on three different occasions and have always been satisfied. It is near the Plaza Mayor and Plaza del Sol area. In Spain, a "hostal" is a small family run hotel, not a youth hostel. Hostales are good choices for moderate priced lodging. If you have a car during your travels in Andalucia look into staying at "casas rurales" in some of the smaller towns for a feel of the real Spain. Good luck with you plans.

I know it must be hard to see your well-thought-out plans critiqued, but the points raised about flying out of Sevilla are good ones. So I second ( or third?) the suggestion to put Madrid last. And you do not have to fly to Granada, or take the night train, to do that. I hate to fly once we get to our destination in Europe, and I plan our trips to avoid it. The hassle of getting to the airport, dealing with security, wait times and delays, etc. is not something I want in the middle of my vacation. Lots of people will contend that for travel times of six hours or less, it is not worth it. While Barcelona to Granada by train does take longer than that, you can head to Sevilla first (5.5 hours by AVE) and swap the positions of Sevilla and Granada in your trip. If you proceed with the car plan, pick it up in Sevilla and return it in Granada, or drive back to Madrid. Or you can do it all by train ( we did). If the idea of a 5.5 hour train ride sounds too long, you can break it up with an overnight somewhere between, like Cordoba. Or take a slight detour and overnight in Toledo. We did that and we're really glad,mas I am convinced it is a much better experience than the daytrip from Madrid version with hordes of other people. May seemed like the perfect time in all these places-great weather and lots going on. It is a beautiful country with welcoming hospitable people. Try to pick up a little Spanish if you haven't already.

I concur with the ideas to start in Madrid and end in Barcelona (or visa versa). If you did take the AVE back to Madrid to catch a flight, chances are you'd need/want to be there the night before - so that's a night wasted. Airfares between Granada and Barcelona are very reasonable. The other issue I see is how long do you have with the car to explore the coast? It's a nice idea and there are wonderful hill towns to see in that area, but for one day it's probably not worth it. Alternatively, you could drive from Granada to Barcelona, maybe stopping in Valencia, but again you'd need a couple of nights. Remember too that Barcelona has a nice beach, so you can easily do the beach walking there. Three of my favorite hotels are the Nouvel Hotel in Barcelona (just off Las Ramblas, pretty quiet), Hotel Europa in Madrid (perfect location off Puerta del Sol, a courtyard room is very quiet), and the Hotel Anacapri in Granada. And don't forget to make your advance reservation for La Alhambra. I prefer a morning slot and then stay as long as you like and enjoy a nice lunch on the grounds.

Walking and gardens-there is a nice cactus garden on the side of Montjuec facing the sea. We walked up through there from the end of Las Ramblas and then continued on to the Olympic pool area and down the other side to Placa Espana. The gardens of the Alcazar at Sevilla are lovely. And then of course there is the Alhambra. We did a walking tour, the "Conquest of Water", in addition to the regular "day visit" to the palaces, Generalife and gardens, and alcazaba. (These were on successive days). It was well worth it both for th einformation and for the "behind the scenes" visit to some areas not generally open to the public.

I would hit Seville ahead of Granada and consider coming home from Malaga. It is an international airport with direct flights back to the US instead of connecting through Madrid or elsewhere. Malaga is easy drive, bus ride of about an hour and a half from Granada. And the airport is easily accessed.

Hotels - I agree on the Hotel Nouvel in Barcelona. Ask for the room with the patio on 5. Plus, it is about 3 minutes from the airport bus (~6 Euros vs. 30 for a cab). Anacapri in Granada is good and an unbeatable location. In Madrid we found that the Hotel Preciados was really nice and a true value. The best hotel we stayed in in Spain. It is near the top on TripAdvisor rankings. Good location, very nice rooms, free internet, excellent breakfast, helpful staff. There is no easy way to do your itinerary. We just faced the same issue. We: Flew into Barcelona AVE to Madrid Regular train (5 hrs) to Granada (we had teens with us and they slept anyway) Car to Ronda and other white hill towns (1 day driving the towns is enough, 2 would be nice for really exploring) Car to Sevilla
Fly to Barcelona and fly home (would have preferred to take the AVE back to Madrid to fly home from there)

I did not realize that you can get to Seville from Barcelona in 5.5 hours these days. That's definitely worth considering, although I try and limit it to four hours a day in transit. One longish day in transit might not be so bad though. You are still going to be best off on airfares and convenience of flight schedules and so on if you fly into/out of MAD and BCN. You could go Barcelona-Seville-Granada-Madrid, or the other way around. I think ending in Madrid is best, but I have a special fondness for Madrid.

Starting in Barcelona, then to Madrid, Seville and Granada makes sense. Flying home from Malaga may be the best way to do it - be sure to price that as an option. Unless you're making intermediate stops, either a bus or train is a good transportation option - trains are only cheap with advance reservations, busses are always cheap. Busses are perfectly comfortable. In most of Spain, you can arrive sooner by bus than by train (because train routes are limited). The time in each place is reasonable, except I'm not sure how long you plan to spend between Seville and Granada. If it's just a drive for the day, you won't be able to take in the coast. IMO the Costa del Sol can be skipped - it's essentially a crowded resort area with condos and golf courses lining every available foot of beach (and well inland from there). If you have time, visit Jerez and Arcos from Seville. Go to the Costa de la Luz for nice beaches that are sparsely populated working down to Tarifa. After that visit Gibraltar and Ronda, add a day stop to see the tombs in Antequera on the way to Granada. We didn't have trouble traveling without reservations except we really should have had our entry to the Alhambra in Granada reserved. We ended up fine but it was close - even during an unusually cold April.

Thank you very much for all of your helpful suggestions. I am going to change my itinerary to start in Barcelona and end in Madrid. Happy travels!