I have done all my research and wanted to see if anything needs tweaking-
Leave May 27th-Arrive May 28th in Barcelona at 8:55am. Catch Aerobus to Hotel Catalonia Albinoni( same hotel that we will be staying in for the start of our Rick Steve's tour). Drop off luggage at hotel. Walk around the city grab some lunch and maybe do Picasso Museum/Cathedral or take taxi to Park Guell. Check into hotel. Maybe take short nap. Head back out to stroll Las Ramblas (carefuuly).Have dinner and hit the sack. Day 2- Have breakfast at hotel and get tickets for hop-on bus(whichever route takes us Montjuic.) Spend the day there and then take the cable car back down to port. Meet rest of tour at 5:00 and start 16 days of ETBD. (Barcelona, Madrid, Segovia, Toledo,La Mancha and Granada,Ronda and Tarifa, Morocco,Arcos,and Sevilla.)I am thinking about doing the horseback tour in Arcos on our free afternoon. We finish in the morning in Sevilla then jump on the slow train to Cordoba (don't like the high speed trains makes me nervous when I rode on one in France) arrive in Cordoba and drop of bags at hotel(Las Casas De La Juderia)and head to the Mezquita. Spend the afternoon there and have dinner somewhere nearby. In morning, check out the baths near the the Mezquita then leave luggage at hotel and tour Jewish Quater and possibly the Archaeological & Ethnological Museum and Palacio de Viana. Catch a train to Madrid and arrive early evening. Check into hotel. I am looking at two possible choices: Hotel Liabeny or Best Western Atlantico( We are staying in Hotel Eurpoa during our tour so I wanted something different.) Relax and have a nice dinner. Have two days in Madrid doing things we didn't do on the tour. Do the tapas tour with Adventurous Appetites. Sadly leave Madrid and Spain on June 17th. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!( 46 days and counting :)
Posted by
Seattle, WA, USA ☔️
6792 posts
Sounds like you've got things covered. Can't quarrel much with what you have planned. Personally, I'd opt for the fast train to Cordoba (then on to Madrid), and I'd really just do Cordoba as a day-trip stop on the way from Sevilla to Madrid (that's what we did). You can do all of what's most worthwhile in Cordoba in one day. That, plus taking fast trains, would buy you another day (maybe two?) in/around Madrid. Just something to consider. You'll have a wonderful trip regardless. Dunk a churro in warm chocolate pudding for me one morning in Madrid (we liked "Churro Maestro").
Posted by
OP
Atlanta, GA, USA
62 posts
David,
Thanks for the feedback. My husband ( David) thinks I am being silly about the high speed train so maybe I'll just suck it up and deal with it. As far as Cordoba, I am just worried about arriving too late in the day to see the Mezquita as well as the Jewish Quater. Were you able to store your luggage? I read that the train station has no luggage storage and the bus station only has a limited number of lockers.
Posted by
cochranville, pa, usa
322 posts
I see you mention horseback riding on the free afternoon in Arcos. Unless the tour has changed you do not really have a free afternoon.
We took this trip last year. We arrived at our hotel in time to get settled in and get ready for dinner. Don't remember the exact timing but it wasn't very lenghty free time.
Posted by
OP
Atlanta, GA, USA
62 posts
Pat,
I was planning the horseback riding for the end of our second day in Arcos. Your right about the first day because we basically get there and go to bed. On the second day, we have stuff in the morning, a free afteroon, and then spend a second night in Arcos.
Posted by
Seattle, WA, USA ☔️
6792 posts
Gail,
That was correct when we were there in Oct. 08 (no luggage storage in the train station, limited luggage storage in the bus station across the street). We were able to store our bags in the lockers in the train station - we beat out a few other travelers who got off our train (they were slower, and not as focused as we were). I think if you make a beeline from the train, know what your mission is, you should be OK (have some euro coins ready, no change given in the bus station without a purchase). Be ready, get off the train quickly, and go straight and quickly to the bus station
We then hopped a bus to the old center, wandered for a while, spent a few hours in the Mezquita (wonderful - my advice is to go there late in the day, after the crowds thin out - you'll have it nearly to yourself and the late, low sun fills it with amazing golden light, utterly magical). The Mezquita is the reason to go there. The other stuff was nothing special (compared to what else you'll be seeing on this trip). Catch the train on to Madrid and be there in time for tapas.
Have fun!