Hello! I need some advice. Planning an 8 night trip to Spain. We're flying into and out of Madrid. We want to spend a couple nights in Madrid and also visit somewhere in Andalucia, Gibraltar and Tangier, Morocco. Is this too ambitious? If so, what should we drop? What's the best itinerary? What's the best way to get from Tangier back to Madrid? Also, we'll be there for Halloween. Anything fun we shouldn't miss on this holiday? Your advice is greatly appreciated!
Posted by
Whittington
984 posts
Presuming you are arriving after an international flight - 'Is this too ambitious?' - Certainly. ' We want to spend a couple nights in Madrid and also visit somewhere in Andalucia, Gibraltar and Tangier, Morocco. Is this too ambitious?' - Certainly. There is not less than 33% of your eight days spent travelling and you also will likely need to be on speed.
Think again.
Posted by
OP
Minneapolis, MN, USA
3 posts
Hi Neil, Thanks for your comment. Would love answers on the other questions such as what should we drop? What's the best itinerary? What's the best way to get from Tangier back to Madrid? Anything fun we shouldn't miss on Halloween? Thanks in advance to anyone who takes the time to reply!
Posted by
Windsor, CO, USA
54 posts
Hi banana - with an 8-night trip, I presume you have 7 days that don't involve your flights to Madrid and return to the US. That's a very limited number of days for the multiple destinations you outline. You don't mention if you have traveled internationally before; I'll assume you have not. Every day that you are traveling from one location to another is almost a day lost, even if you are driving a rental car or traveling by train. If you have not been to Madrid before, you could conceivably spend your whole week there and not be bored. My recommendation is to enjoy Madrid, and then choose a limited objective in Andalucia - I might even skip Gibraltar, too, on this trip. It is possible to do a quick loop of Cordoba - Seville - Granada and return to Madrid; you would just get the highlights of each city.
Posted by
Windsor, CO, USA
54 posts
Oh, I meant to say, drop Tangier for sure. You would not get a real flavor for Morocco, and it complicates your itinerary with so little time.
Posted by
Sacramento, California U.S.A.
10603 posts
I think it's too much, but only you can decide what you would be willing to drop. Tangier seems the most obvious in terms of geography and time. Is your 8 nights including or excluding the day you leave MN and the day you fly home? How will you be traveling, by car, train or bus? How you travel will determine your itinerary. If by train, look at your possible destinations and see how that will work. Do you have a guidebook for Spain that can help you narrow where you go? You can't see it all in 6-8 days and I'm sure you don't want to spend most of your time in transit from one place to another. As for Halloween in Spain, try googling it and see what you find.
Posted by
Windsor, CO, USA
54 posts
Halloween is not celebrated in Spain, other than the religious All Hallows Eve, but nothing like here in the States...a non-event, in my memories of a year living there. That was quite a few years ago, but I don't think it has changed.
Posted by
OP
Minneapolis, MN, USA
3 posts
Thanks to all of you for your feedback! We plan to skip Andulucia, going straight from Madrid to Tarifa. Tarifa will be our home base. Looks like the best route is the AVE Train from Madrid to Seville, followed by a bus to Tarifa. Do you agree it is the best route? To answer your other questions: yes, we have 7 full days for travel and have been to Europe, just not Spain.