knwolf

My husband and I will be traveling to Spain in the last 2 weeks of Sept. We are in our early 30's and enjoy culture, food, and wine. This trip will start out as a family trip with my sisters, brother-in-laws and parents. We plan to arrive in Barcelona on a Sat afternoon around 5pm. After 3 full days as a family in Barcelona, we will be going our own seperate ways...some to Italy, some to France. My husband and I have decided to stay in Spain. I have spent the last 3 hours reading other fodorite's itineraries and the feedback given, and this is what I have come up with:

Barcelona- 4 nights
Granada- 2 nights
Ronda- 1 night
Sevilla- 3 nights
Cordoba- 1 night
Madrid- 3 nights

I have a couple questions about this itinerary:

1. Does this order of travel make sense, or would it be better to fly to Sevilla from Barcelona instead of Granada and reverse the order of the middle 4 cities?
2. Am I giving enough time to each city?
3. I feel bad leaving out Malaga, but we just don't have the time. Is Malaga worth trying to fit in? Should we switch the one night in Ronda to one night in Malaga? Or should we completely skip both Malaga and Ronda and add the extra night somewhere else?


I would appreciate any feedback.

danon

we flew from Barcelona to Granada ..worked fine.
How much you spend in places depends on your interest... Madrid is a big city with fantastic museums and nightlife.
Malaga is lovely - two hours from Seville by train.
Some posters adore Ronda, some don't .
Given the time frame ( and number of locations), your itinerary seems doable.

bilboburgler

I'd look at the trains from Seville to get to Cordoba and Malaga. I've done both and Cordoba is pretty close for a day trip, I think Malaga is a bit too far for a day trip.

Malaga is great, a beaut of a museum, a castle (now a hotel but you can drop in for a drink), old town and good restaurants.

You don't say but you don't want a car in any of these cities, though it will be ok in Ronda. Still not sure why you want to go to it Ronda, it's a bridge, get over it

amer_can

Rhonda?? Why you ask...Because it's there and it will another notch on belt of travel experiences.. If possible don't miss a trick!!!

nytraveler

You doing a lot of moving around. I would bag Ronda and not add Malaga. You can really use more time in Cordoba - a fascinaitng city - and Seville.

Be prepared for super high temps in the south - it;s often more than 100 in the summer - so make sure your hotels have great AC and good pools.

senozkadir

Malaga is at its best during 'feria de Malaga' in August.Since your plan is for September,you can skip it for this year.
In general,your plan is doable giving enough time to each city.
There is no bus but a direct train from Granada to Ronda(2,5 hrs)
There is no train from Ronda to Sevilla so you need to take a bus(2 hrs)
From Sevilla to Cordoba you can choose the bus(2 hrs) or the train(45 min)
Cordoba Madrid takes about 2 hrs by train and 5 hours by bus.
While in Ronda you can also explore Setenil de las Bodegas by public transport.
glad to help you more---have a nice time in Spain

annhig

do give yourselves long enough in Granada to do not only the day time tour, but the night time one too. they are really very different experiences and well worth paying the extra money for.

AND book both well in advance incase they have sold out for the dates you are going to be there.

kja

I can see this itinerary working for you.

Do you think you might return to Spain? If so, Madrid is a likely entry/exit point and so a city that you would likely be able to easily visit again. It might make sense to add a day to Seville or Cordoba - or fit Malaga in - and either shorten your time in Madrid or cut Madrid from this itinerary entirely. (Note that I say that even as a great fan of Madrid! I thoroughly enjoyed my 3 full days+ there, and that time did not include my visits to Toledo or Segovia.) Just a thought....

CathyM

Personally I hate 1-nighters so would either take away Ronda and spend 2 nights in Cordoba or visit Cordoba as a daytrip en route from Sevilla to Madrid. My advice regarding Ronda would be to skip it and add a night in Sevilla. Not only would it eliminate the one-nighter in Ronda but Sevilla is an enchanting city with lots of possibilities for daytrips (in addition to Cordoba) - Jerez, Arcos, Carmona, Osuna. I don't dislike Ronda it's just not as easy logistically to fit in your schedule with the timing.

kja also brings up a great point about Madrid. If there's a possiblity you'll return to Spain then you could save Madrid for another trip freeing up some time in your itinerary.

Also, if you're going to be in Barcelona from Sept 20-24 you're in for a treat as it will be during La Merce, the biggest festival of the year in Barcelona.

ribeirasacra

O am with CathyM. One night stands do not work.
What method of transport are you planning on using? Apart from the flying south that is.

yorkshire

I think it works. I am one of the Ronda fans, and I think an overnight there is a must versus a day trip because it changes so much at night--and the sunsets over the gorge are fantastic. It also breaks up your trip from Granada to Sevilla, particularly if you are using public transport. It really depends on your preference, if you think you can handle the accommodation change easily, then why not. If you are the type who likes to settle in, then consider fewer moves.
Malaga is nice, but I think you are hitting the highlights with this plan. I like your order because there is a high-speed train from Cordoba to Madrid, so it looks efficient to me.
I agree with kja that if you desire more time in Andalucia that you could put off a proper Madrid visit for the future.

knwolf

Thanks for all the great advice. As far as the method of traveling, we were planning on using public transportation on the entire trip (except for the flight from Barcelona to Granada). If we decided to see Ronda overnight, I would consider renting a car. After reading alot of advice on other forums, I know most people say that I car is not necessary for my itinerary. I do like the idea of being on our own time-table however, and my husband and I usually prefer to drive rather than taking buses. So we may decided to get a car. Thanks for the info on train/bus logistics senozkadir. It is hard to make a decision on Ronda with so many varying opinions. I haven't considered saving Madrid for another trip. I am not sure if we will ever return to Spain, however. CathyM, I am bummed to learn that I will be missing La Merce! Do you think I should arrange my itinerary to see it?

bilboburgler

I expect the flight from Barcelona to Granada will be public transport too.

danon

bilbo,
Vueling is so inexpensive - It is almost public transit. !

Egbert

I agree with Cathy. The view of the gorge in Ronda is spectacular but Seville is 100 times more interesting. It might be the best part of your trip. Ronda is quiet and sleepy at night but if you don't mind a one nighter in a quiet place then you might like it and it is the only part of the trip where I would rent a car. Read maribelsguides.com for great advice as well.

Lexma90

I'm another who would suggest skipping Ronda (though I've never been) and adding a night to Cordoba. We very much enjoyed Cordoba; as the former capitol of Moorish Spain, there is much to see in addition to the Mezquita. Sevilla was everything we'd heard it is, and we loved Sevilla. Granada we didn't love as much (we spent two nights there), but it was worth the time there to see the Alhambra.

Re train vs. car, we did both, though our itinerary on our most recent trip to Spain did not include Barcelona. We started from Madrid, and rented a car from there, to Toledo for one night, then on to Granada, as that's the most comparatively difficult city to reach by public transport. We parked right off the highway, in a public parking area that I'd located beforehand. We walked from there to our hotel (much too long a walk). We then drove to Cordoba, where we dropped the car. We took a train for the remainder of the trip, to Sevilla and then on to Madrid.

knwolf

Ok, maybe I will skip Ronda and spend an extra night in Cordoba or Sevilla. I really want to thank everyone that has commented on my post. Traveling to another county can be so stressful! It is so nice of you all to take time to post and help others out!

knwolf

Ok, I have another question. I have decided to nix Ronda, but I'm wondering where I should add the extra day. There have been suggestions of adding it to either Sevilla or Cordoba. I have been reading a lot about Toledo. Should I add an extra day to Madrid to do a day trip to Toledo? Or should I add it to Cordoba or Sevilla? Thanks for sharing your opinion

kja

My opinion:

Ronda - just under 1 full day
Sevilla - 3 full days
Cordoba - 2 full days
Madrid - at least 3 full days not counting any day trips
Toledo - 2 full days

Enjoy!

danon

Toledo is a very small town...2 full days would not be my choice.
I would spend 4 days in Barcelona as you intended.