My wife and I (retired in mid sixties) booked airfare to Madrid for March 29 to May 16. We'd like to see most of the sites/cities especially in Andalucia. Also, we'd like do a short tour of Morocco for two or three days. We understand that the Semana Santa will be in late March to April 10 or so and the Feria will be later in April. We'd prefer to avoid the crowds of Seville during Semana Santa. Here's a few questions: 1. Can you provide an itinerary for us? 2. Do you have a good tour guide for Morocco. 3. We were thinking of going south early in the trip to get the warmer weather and then seeing the more northerly cities in late April/May. Can we go directly to say Cordoba and then Granada early and still miss most of the commotion of Semana Santa? I have more questions, but not enough time left on this computer. Will sign in again later. Thank you,
Eddie and Rebecca Green
Posted by
Myrtle Beach, USA
12313 posts
We're going April 1 -29, flying into Barcelona and out of Madrid. Our basic itinerary, not finalized is: Barcelona, Montserrat, Zaragosa, Pamplona, San Sebastian, Burgos, Valladolid, Zamora, Salamenca, Avila, Segovia, Toledo, Granada, Ronda, Gibraltar, Cadiz, Arcos, Sevilla, Cordoba, and Madrid. We'll pick up a car in Barcelona and it in Cordoba before training into Madrid. Rick's book suggest tour guides for Morocco. If you're spending a few days, at least go to Marakesh. We're skipping it because, to me, visiting Tangier is like going to Tijuana and thinking you've seen Mexico. Since we don't have more time to explore, we'll save it for another time. I normally try to work with the weather. I ended up going north first only because flying into or home from Barcelona was considerably cheaper at the beggining of April than the end. (I'm flying that hop with Spanair, be sure to check Vueling). By May, the north should be very comfortable and the south possibly too warm. I think you're smart to plan it the way you do. There have been some discussions about avoiding Sevilla during Semana Santa, but it sounds like it isn't a problem. We may have trouble seeing a bullfight because of our timeframe, and it's something we want to do. It seems like Sevilla runs corridas during Semana Santa and the (late April) Feria. Madrid may not start until May and runs them on Sundays, with a novice version on Thursdays.
Posted by
Atlanta
3262 posts
Hi Eddie, Do you have a copy of Rick Steves' Spain guidebook? It will help you plan an itinerary and determine the best way to get from one destination to another (train, bus, discount airline or rental car.) For example, beaches aren't a high priority for us so our itinerary wouldn't include the southern coast. Your itinerary will reflect what most interests you! Highlights for us includes Madrid, Cordoba, Granada, Seville, Salamanca, Santiago de Compostella, San Sebastian, and Barcelona with lots of other great destinations too numerous to mention here. We've spent 6 weeks in Spain on 3 different trips and have always enjoyed our time in Spain. I haven't traveled in Spain during Festival events so I can't offer suggestions for planning your itinerary around those times. You might post on a Trip Advisor forum for more information about what to expect during festival dates. For better input post a separate question asking for a recommendation of a good guide for Morocco. Best wishes!
Posted by
OP
Los Alamitos, CA, USA
10 posts
Dear Sharon, Thanks for your very kind reply. We did buy Rick Steves Spain and checked out of the library Fodor's Spain. After doing some reading, we decided to first do a week in Madrid then go down to Granada (unfortunately during Semana Santa) for 3 days. That should take us to Easter Sunday. I think then maybe we'll go to Cordoba for a few days, then to Tarifa/Morocco for a couple of days. After that we'd like to do "slow" travel and settle into Sevilla for a week or so. What do you think of our plan so far? I'm a little worried about the crowds in Granada/Alhambra during Semana Santa. I'll post another few questions about Morocco guides, etc. Thanks again for your advice, Eddie Green
Posted by
Orlando
516 posts
Don't forget Cadiz. Two days should do it there. I would only do 1 night in Cordoba. 3 in Granada is perfect. Are you going to Barcelona?
Posted by
OP
Los Alamitos, CA, USA
10 posts
Dear LaRae, For sure we'll see Barcelona after Sevilla. Thanks for the advice about Cadiz, I'll put that onto the intinerary. Thanks again Eddie
Posted by
Atlanta
3262 posts
Hi Eddie!
I like your plan so far - you're going to some great cities and spending enough time in each to really enjoy them! When I think of Cordoba, I remember a great restaurant experience at Bodegas Campos - we had a fun meal in the informal restaurant on the ground floor.
Posted by
Texas
531 posts
You might consider Cordoba during the Patio Festival. We did Cordoba as a day trip and used Isabel Martinez listed in Rick's GB. Highly recommend her. I wished we had planned on several days in Cordoba. RE: Morocco - Rick's book only suggests Tangier which in my opinion is not representative of what Morocco has to offer. We spent 10 days with a private guide/driver who picked us up at Tangier ferry and drove us over the Rif Mountains to Chefchaouen for an afternoon and then onto Fes for 3 nights. From Fes we drove to Rissani and Merzouga in the desert for 2 nights (should have spent 3 or 4) and did a camel trek into the desert for an overnight in a Berber camp. We then made our way to Marrakech and Essouria for 3 nights. There is a lot to experience in Morocco and when we return I would spend a couple of days in Chefchaouen , return to Fes (loved it), return to Merzouga for several days and rely on our to show us the rest of his country. Oh......and we are 60 and 65!