Valencia, Spain! + Train Service.

Come on, RS people! Please respond to my question ;-) Should I put Valencia on the Itinerary or not???

You asked for help so I'll try. I've never been to Valencia although I had relatives in Barcelona for several years and I've been to Spain often. Somehow of all the times I've been there I never found the time to make it to VLC. What I heard about it though, from my relatives who lived in Catalunya and my friends in Italy who go there often, Valencia is to die for. I don't know however if it's because of the things to see or the many things to do in terms of nightlife and stuff. Since you have 2 weeks and Sevilla is "been there, done that", you definitely have the time for Valencia. The only thing is that there is no AVE (high speed) from BCN to VLC, and that's what stopped me from visiting when I was in Barca. It takes almost 4 hours from Barcelona Sants to Valencia by train (about the same if you drive). But if you go there from Madrid, the AVE can take you there in 90 minutes. Flying from BCN to VLC is not really a good idea. First of all only Air Nostrum (part of Iberia) flies between the two, therefore it's probably rather expensive. Second of all, by the time you include transfer to El Prat, security procedures, deplaning in Manises and get the city center in Valencia, you might as well drive or take the train. Going from Valencia to Granada is even worse: 8 hours by train (only one a day) or over 5 by car. If you don't like such long journey, you could change your order and go from/to VLC via Madrid, since you have the AVE. I would go south to Andalusia via air from VLC. You can fly to Malaga (AGP) (Air NOstrum only) or to Sevilla (SVQ) with either AirNostrum or RyanAir. I'd rent a car in Andalusia to visit the Pueblos Blancos and Nerja.
There is now AVE from BCN to MAD (opened in 2009). It's less than 3 hours now.

Thank you so much, Roberto! We This is very good advice! I'm trying to avoid "back-tracking" while adding as many cities as possible for my companions who haven't ever been there. We're not that young, and could do without so much night-life, just want to see sites and enjoy nice restaurants!

Donna, Valencia is a nice destination, well worth a couple of days. I was there many, many years ago for Semana Santa and the Fallas, which was spectacular, but I am sure that even early May is too late for that since it is Easter-driven. If you (or someone in your group) is comfortable driving a rental car, the highways in Spain are really good now, so that is an option to avoid a lot of backtracking. And, I think you will find plenty to keep you busy and interested without going to Sevilla. From Nerja, or any other town along the Costa del Sol, there are so many day trips: Granada Gibraltar Ronda the beach - wonderful in May! Malaga
Pick any tiny white village to explore - Frigiliana is particularly nice, even though it does get a lot of tour buses.

Thank you for your advice Ginny! I am printing all of these suggestions up, and checking price of rental cars vs trains -- and then going over them with my companions. We are all in our 60's now. Can't believe we're that old, time flew by!

We have been to Valencia for a week for the past two years. We love the city and the beach. The first year, we stayed at the Senator Parque Hotel. We got a good deal -around 50E per night and the hotel is nice. But, you have to ride a bus to the beach and the buses quit running around 10:00PM. There might be a night bus, but I am not sure. Last year, we did a airbnb and had a nice apt. that was a 10 minute walk to the beach. We went to the beach at least twice a day. Once in the day and once in the evening/night. We took picnics to save a bit on food and had a great time, sitting on the wall or on a bench, eating and people watching. We did splurge a couple of times and got Paella at a seaside restaurant and ate at a all you can eat Chinese buffet that was actually pretty good. The buffet is close to the Senator Parque Hotel. I can give more info if needed.

Well, Donna, age is just a number, right? Our group of 4, also all in our 60s, had a fantastic 2 weeks in Spain this year, with a rental car for our second week. We stayed at a VRBO rental in the white village of Jimena de la Frontera and did day trips from there. One bit of advice if you go the rental car route: use the major highways rather than the "shorter" routes that Google maps might recommend. We almost missed the terrific horse show at the Equestrian School in Jerez de la Frontera because of following the Google advice, taking a two-lane "highway" which wound around and around and around through the hills. Our return to Jimena was on the main highway and a much more direct, if slightly longer, route.

Ginny! Thanks so much! What was Jimina de Fontera like? Where? I am trying to find a place in Nerja, because we like the sea views. I have a knee problem, so, climbing hills can be a bit of a problem for me. The equestrian show sounds nice. If you have the VRBO # please forward it. Again THANKS!

Sent you a PM.