I am traveling to Spain in March and our targets are Barcelona and Seville. I have been mulling over the best way to get back and forth, time to spend, side trips. We arrive in Barcelona on a Tuesday eve and depart early the following Thursday. On a budget and pricing the AVE scared me a little.
Thanks in advance for your help!
No stop in Madrid!! Shame on you!! ;)
You are leaving things a bit late. However, for an arbitrary date of March 11th, you can still find one-way tickets on Spanish discount airline Vueling for about 35-65 Euro (all in), depending on which of the seven daily flights you choose.
Tickets on the AVE can be cheap if you purchase them in advance. For that same arbitrary March 11th date, I found second-class "Web" specials for 75-80 Euro each, one way. The Spanish national rail website, RENFE can be a bit of a chore if you don't know Spanish, but several of us can help, or you can use translate.google.com and you should be OK. You'll have to purchase your tickets in two parts....Barcelona-Madrid and Madrid-Sevilla...coordinate your arrival at Madrid's Atocha station with the departure (from the same station) for Sevilla. You can print the tickets at home.
Whatever option you choose book it ASAP.
I am also doing a 10 day trip in Spain, this March. I land in Madrid on March 2 at 10am and leave on March 11 at 7am. Do you have any Ideas, I plan on seeing Toledo, Barcelona and Seville.
Norm,
We were a little worried on time. What would you do with your 10 days?
Emily...with eight days on the ground, you have time to hit up your two destinations....Barcelona and Sevilla. But you'll have to be very careful with your planning.
Essentially, you've got three full days on the ground in Barcelona (the evening of your arrival will probably be an early-to-bed night to cope with jet lag).....one day to travel to Sevilla....three days in Sevilla...and one day to travel back to Barcelona. Three days in Barcelona will give you enough time to get a taste of the city, and perhaps get out to Montserrat on a day trip....while three days will do the same in Sevilla with (if you can coordinate it) a day trip to Ronda.
I'd back up Norm's suggestions, and even go so far as to say don't stress over the idea of side trips. Both Barcelona and Seville are unique and exciting cities that will easily fill your allotted time.
We looked at the train to get us from Barcelona to Granada (11.5 hours!)in April but found a Spanair flight for $65 Canadian. We thought about flying to Seville, and the cost was comparable on Expedia.com. I'd definately check out flights - though you'll miss seeing the countryside.
Yes, Ruth, unfortunately Granada, the biggest tourist attraction in Spain, isn't yet on a high-speed rail line! However, they are apparently pushing one through now, to link up with the Madrid-Sevilla line, I think at Cordoba.
We're doing a similar trip this summer and found the Seville-Granada trip is about 3 hours each way. Still, if you want to see the Alhambra you certainly could...7-10am train, day in Granada, evening back in Seville for some tapas and flamenco. We're also doing the Barcelona-Sevile AVE day....yes, good prices if booked 60 days in advance and no airport hassles.
