lilceeja123

I am planning my honeymoon in Spain and came up with an itinerary. Wanted to see if I am spending enough time in each city or if I am missing anything that we have to see. I have been to Spain twice before and gone to Barcelona and Madrid. I loved both but actually preferred Madrid. But now I am bringing my fiancé for the first time so definitely need to go back to both. I also want to explore some new places with him as well. We are in our late 20s and are big foodies, like to explore and people watch and enjoy some nightlife. Also, when is the best time to go. Our wedding is in October but I cant really go until between March-June. Here is the itinerary:

- Fly into Barcelona then fly to San Sebastian-2 nights
-Fly back to Barcelona- 3 nights
- Train to Madrid- 4 nights-day trip to Toledo
- Seville- 3 nights- day trip to cordoba
- Granada- 1 night
- Marbella- 3 nights (wanted somewhere relaxing to end with)-fly back to Barcelona to fly home

Any suggestions are appreciated! Thanks!

PalenQ

October should be fine - especially in Adalusia - fewer crowds weather can be really nice vs hotter than you want in summer. Seems like a sweet itinerary - now about train travel - book tickets well ahead of time and get nifty discounted tickets - www.renfe.com - Spanish Railways official site (which can be hard to use those for first-time users!) - there is also a Spain Railpass you may want to investigate if you want to be able to take any train anytime once there - otherwise discounted tickets will be cheaper but since they have to be booked in stone weeks in advance to guarantee getting them as they are sold in limited numbers and I believe may well be non-changeable non-refundable - not sure but check conditions.

For loads of great info on Spanish trains in general check www.seat61.com - great info on discounted tickets; www.ricksteves.com and www.budgeteuropetravel.com.

bilboburgler

of all of the places you mention, the one that jars is Marbella, home of arab hangers on and garage owners from the north of europe with their mistresses. If you must go to this sort of area Malaga is far nicer.

lilceeja123

Haha well we were looking to go somewhere that we can have a more "typical" honeymoon and lie on a beach and relax. We were looking for beautiful beaches, not too many crowds, good restaurants and a nice resort/hotel. Does Malaga have this? Or any other suggestions for this type of place? Had originally been looking at benidorm and palma Majorca but it seemed they were both out of the way of our trip.

Nelson

Depending on where you are flying from, you might consider looking into an open-jaw. or multi-city flight): fly into Barcelona and return out of Malaga. It could save you the time of the return flight back to Barcelona.

It may turn out the routing is no better, but worth looking into.

Robert2533

Why waste all the time returning to Barcelona? If you want somewhere wanted relaxing to end your honeymoon, then I'd go with the following itinerary:

Arrive Barcelona - 3 nights
Train to Granada (flying is an option) - 2 nights
Train or bus to Sevilla - 3 nights
Train to Cordoba - 1 night
Train to Madrid - 3 nights
Flight to San Sebastián - 3 nights (relax on the beach and eat well)
Private transfer or bus to Bilbao - 1 night
Fly home from Bilbao

lilceeja123

It seems Barcelona round trip is the cheapest to Philadelphia ( my home). I will look into bilbao though so thanks for the suggestion. Does San Sebastian have quiet beaches or are they more crowded similar to Barcelona?

Robert2533

Donostia-San Sebastián is famous for its three beautiful beaches, as well as it's outstanding cuisine and natural beauty,

www.sansebastianturismo.com/en/
http://www.maribelsguides.com/menu-g...-donostia.html

sundriedtopepo

San Sebastián is a wonderful place to relax at the end of a holiday. Just check the weather for the time that you are going to be there. March would not be beach weather there.

bilboburgler

san seb has great beaches.

Malaga pretty good

Vonse

Robert's itinerary would be a wonderful honeymoon.

PalenQ

Robert's itinerary would be a wonderful honeymoon.>

Yes but I would move one day from Donastia and put it into a day trip from Madrid or in Madrid.

kja

That itinerary is WAY too rushed for my tastes. For example, seeing the Alhambra during both the day and the magical evening hours really requires at least 2 nights in Granada; I thought Toledo and Cordoba each worth 2 full days (although many people visit them as day trips), etc.

But what matters, of course, is whether you can have the trip YOU want. I recommend that you get some good guidebooks (or spend some time with a few in your local library), identify the things you most want to see in each location, check their opening/closing times on the internet, and mark them on a calendar. Then pencil in your transportation, add some time on either side (for getting to/from your lodging, checking in/out, packing/unpacking, getting oriented, etc.). Then see how things fit together. Only then can you decide whether the trip works for you.

Congratulations, best wishes, and enjoy!

lilceeja123

Thanks everyone for the ideas. Now taking into consideration everything said it seems Marbella should be dropped from the trip. I am still thinking that San Sebastian might not fulfill my beach honeymoon part of the trip though. I am looking for white beaches, blue water and relaxation for last few days. Is it too much to add in Ibiza??

kimhe

<Haha well we were looking to go somewhere that we can have a more "typical" honeymoon and lie on a beach and relax.>

Take a look at charming Nerja a little east of Malaga city, nine small and large beaches among the cliffs (the brand new water cleaning plant is in full service from summer 2016). Nerja has got a lovely old town with lots of local atmosphere tapas bars and restaurants, but you also have a vide range of international and cutting edge restaurants in the more touristy parts of town. http://www.spain-holiday.com/Nerja/a...ja-beach-guide

The Parador in Nerja would be perfect for a relaxing resort kind of stay right on the beach. The Parador is on the edge of the Old Town and it's a ten minutes slow walk to the center of town and landmark Balcon de Europa: http://www.booking.com/hotel/es/para...rja.en-gb.html

The Parador lies on the cliffs to the right in this photo, and there is an elevator down to two of the many beaches in town. https://www.flickr.com/photos/trondjs/3735908317/

Close by Hotel Carabeo is an excellent alternative: http://www.booking.com/hotel/es/carabeo.en-gb.html

About Nerja: http://www.nerjatoday.com/

<Does San Sebastian have quiet beaches or are they more crowded similar to Barcelona?>

The Zurriola beach is huge and usually less crowded than La Concha and Ondarreta beaches. A favourite for surfers and young people. Right in the city center, just on the other side of the city river Urumea from the Parte vieja/Old town. http://www.sansebastianturismo.com/e...o-to-the-beach

Could give you lots of tips for both Nerja and San Sebastian depending on your interests, what kind of restaurants and tapas bars you're after etc. etc.

PalenQ

October is too cold to swim in Spain anywhere near Barcelona or Donostia.

bilboburgler

Surfing is good in wet suits though.

lilceeja123

We are probably going to go in April-May actually. Nerja sounds nice! Will beach do you prefer san Sebastian or nerja? Or we could do both and do Nerja in place of our original Marbella.

Bedar

April/May is not beach weather in SS. Better to go to Nerja, but that time is not summer so whether the sewage plant will be up and running then is a question. All projects run behind schedule in Spain so when the plant is really functional, I'll believe it. Don't cross off Marbella and look at Sotogrande just down the coast.

lilceeja123

ok now im thinking of the following itineraries. Which sounds better?

Barcelona-3
Madrid-4
Seville-3
Valencia-3
Ibiza-3

or

Barcelona-3
Valencia-2
Madrid-4
Seville-3
Granada-1
nerja/Marbella-3