First time to Spain (Barcelona)... What do you think of this intinerary?

Honestly, for a trip this short, I'd skip Valencia entirely. Compared to Barcelona and Madrid (where there's plenty to see and do), it's just not that worthwhile (and you're trying to go on the cheap - adding another city increases your cost).

You really have just 7 days at best, not counting the days you fly in or out (the day you arrive at 9 am, after an overnight flight from the US, you'll most likely be jet-lagged, and a bit disoriented). Any day you're moving from one city to another the day is mostly lost, so you're down to six days (or five if you still include Valencia - another reason to skip it).

I see no good reason for renting a car on this short trip where you'll only be in big cities. Take the train or fly (there are cheap flights).

Most of all, you could save yourself a lot of time, trouble and money by flying in to one city and flying home out of the other - no need to waste time and money back-tracking. On a short trip like this, that's critical.

September is a good time to go to Spain.

Hope that helps and good luck.

David's right, the return to BCN seems a waste of time and money. Even so, I just looked at flights leaving BCN on 06/09/09 and returning before noon on 10/09/09. Total price per person was around €78. This would allow plenty of time in each city, and would save 15 or so hours of driving, plus gas, plus tolls. I wouldn't even think about the car. If you want to waste time and money, you might consider the train.

Here are my standard recommendations for visitors to BCN: http://quia-absurdum.com/barcelona/two_days.html

Have a great trip.

Thanks for the the info; I've been trying to research train costs... However RailEurope won't let me book that far in advance..

Does anyone know what the "going rate" is for a train ride to Madrid from Barcelona ?

Although flying out from Madrid makes complete sense,
unfortunately I don't think it'll be possible without having to pay a hefty charge. I only paid $330/person (taxes incld) for my flight to Spain from LAX. Been trying to call Delta but all there lines are busy... If in fact the change/upgrade fee is reasonable I'll look into that.

RailEurope's definitely not the place to check costs for train travel. The Spanish rail company, RENFE allows you to book 62 days in advance.....62 1/2 actually for us, since they start loading in the next day's fares at midnight, Spanish time, which is 3 pm the day before your time. Since it's a little early yet for you, simply go to the website, click on "Buy Tickets" at the top of the page, and check out a similar day of the week you wish to travel...that'll give you an idea as to prices. Advance purchase discount fares Madrid-Barcelona can be as low as 44 Euro one-way. You can book them on line and print out your tickets, much like an airline boarding pass. Simply back-time 62 1/2 days from your planned day of travel and get your tickets. I too would suggest a little more time in Madrid, to see Segovia and Toledo.

Just as I expected... $550/person to change my departure city. So it looks like we will have to do a Round trip train ride.

Unless I am doing something wrong but pricing on Renfe was 110 Euro and I'm assuming this is One Way. I used dates that were closer to my arrival dates and I used days I would be going to Madrid.

Ok, I finally was able to navigate on Renfe's website and weird thing about it I was actually able to select my days.

A non-direct, round trip, train would be roughly 87€... Now for you experience travelers what station would I be selecting seeing as there are many to choose from, from both locations.

Jason, Sants is the main station in BCN and the destination will almost certainly be Atocha in Madrid. Both of these stations are hubs for their respective cities' metro systems, and are quite well connected. I still don't understand why you'd chose the train over an airplane. Ecological reasons? An opportunity to learn patience?

Hi Jason,

Thought maybe you hadn't looked into budget flights because you weren't sure about airlines.

We will also be in Spain early September and are using vueling to get between cities: http://www.vueling.com/

I checked your dates and to fly out of Barcelona to Madrid on 9/4 is 39 or 49 euro per person. Same rates for flying back to Barcelona on 9/9; in time for your flight. Just thought I'd throw it out there. Have a good time!!

I've done the new AVE (less than three hours downtown to downtown) and the plane Madrid-Barcelona, and I still find the train much nicer...IF...(a big IF)....you can get one of the advance deals. That makes it comparable to the discount airlines in price (which you have to book early as well, to get their deals) and in journey time, but avoids the hassle of getting to and from the airports. From Barajas in Madrid to Sol, it's three lines and two changes...schlepping luggage up and down stairs. While I travel light, it's still a pain. And of course, on the train, you can wander around, and you get a much closer look at the scenery! ;)

Great!

Thanks for everyones help. I think by tonight I will book the Hotel in Madrid and Barcelona. I'm considering once I fly into Barcelona just to book a flight 3-4 hrs after arrival to Madrid. I figure were already at the airport no reason to stay in Barcelona first.

Do you guys think 3-4 hours is a good gap to book between flights ? or should I do 4-5 hours.

Not sure if you mean to just book upon arrival, but I would advise against that. Check the airline policies carefully - "discount airlines" typically have crazy low fares, but they're only low if you book in advance. Trying to book same day, I would expect the ticket price to skyrocket (if you can get a ticket). I don't know the specifics about this route but I would certainly not count on just showing up at their ticket counter and buying seats then. Also check their luggage policies carefully, that's another way a "cheap" ticket can end up costing you a lot more than you expected.

3-4 hours after arrival should be OK as long as your inbound flight is on time....but if your inbound flight is a few hours late, you're toast. Depends on how many stops you have before you arrive (each leg is an opportunity for a delay or missed connection).

Logistically it makes sense to go to Madrid straight away.. but I would be a little bit leery.

I've never had problems - but the last two years in a row my mom has gotten stuck staying overnight at a hotel near the Chicago airport due to random things like security hazards and weather hazards - putting her in Europe a whole day late. I notice you're on the west coast too, so having that layover could be a little risky. Budget airlines are a great deal but they are REALLY unforgiving - so if you missed your flight I don't think you would get on a later one without much grief (unless there is some kind of fancy insurance that you can buy).

Personally, it would make me too anxious. I would either:

Do Barcelona first, go to Madrid, and fly back to Barcelona a night early for your outbound flight.

Or I would stay one night in Barcelona before going to Madrid. You can catch the airbus from Plaça Catalunya for 4.50 Euro each way to and from the airport, and it leaves like every 6 minutes, so they make transport to the aiport pretty convenient. Anyways, that's my vote!

Thanks again everyone, really. This website is trully making my trip planning much easier. I would definitely book the other flight to Madrid in advance. As of now my new itinerary looks like this:

fly in Barcelona on 09/02 at 8:50am local time.
Fly to Madrid same day - departing at 1:50p
Madrid from 09/02 to 09/06
barcelona from 09/06 to 09/10

I am set on flying to Madrid the same day because I figured we will be losing a day from the flight and we'll already be at the airport - kill two birds with one stone. I'll have to take the chance and book a few hours after our arrival.

What do all of you think?

Jason, I flew into Madrid with the idea of catching a separate flight to Barcelona a couple hours later. I almost had heart failure when I almost missed connections, but it all worked out and let's just say I was so glad that I had carry-on luggage because my US airline probably wouldn't have sent my bags onto Barcelona. One less thing to worry about! So my advice is not to check anything. Do you have Rick's guidebook for Spain? I recommend getting that as well.