LATINAPR

Hello All:

I am planning my first trip to Spain this September and am having trouble deciding on how to book my trip. My plan is to travel from Philadelphia to Madrid and stay there 3 days, then take the AVE train (Renfe) to Barcelona and stay there for 4 days and come back home from Barcelona. The only website which I have found to be the most accommodating was www.europeandestinations.com. They allow you to book your trip by arriving in one city and then leaving another. Does anyone have any suggestions on other website I may use? Any hotels you recommend? Any other information or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I'm super excited and can't wait to book.

anyegr

Why is this labeled as a trip report? You'd probably get more amswers if it wasn't.

Recommending hotels would be difficult without knowing how much you want to pay for the room. Please don't say things like "budget hotel" or "three-star" or "unlimited budget". A max sum per night, preferably in Euros, will make it easier for people to help you find the right hotel. I've seen lots of recommendations, on other threads, that sounded really good except the price was double what I could afford.

As for flights, I have no idea, since I live in Europe. But, yes, flying into one city and out of another is the right thing to do.

TDudette

Hi LATINAPR,

Try kayak for air travel. It should be easy to fly into one city and out of another.

I recently stayed at NH Paseo del Prado in Madrid and loved it. Google it for info about prices but it's a stone's throw from the Prado.

In Barcelona, we stayed we stayed at NH Les Corts but it was further from the center so it might not suit you. Others can give you more info.

Do you have an idea about what you want to do in those cities? You can also google 'hotels near ....' and get lots of ideas. Come back with specific hotels and you'll get even more help.

LATINAPR

Thank you anyegr and TDudette. I'm not exactly sure why I labeled this is a "Trip Report". I have not used Fodors in a while.

I definately want to see "Sagrada Di Familia", Las Ramblas, see a bullfight and flamenco dancing.

I appreciate both of your comments.

anyegr

TDudette: I googled the hotel you mentioned and it costs more than twice as much as the place I've booked for my June trip. On the other hand, I haven't actually been there yet, so I have no idea if my hotel choice will be decent or a disaster, which means I can't really recommend it yet. From what I can see, your recommended hotel has a lot of services that I have no need for, but I'm sure some people do.

TDudette

Sorry anyegr. Have you looked at Trip Advisor for hotels? You can sort them by price--then edit that down by location.

Looking forward to reading about your trip.

adrienne

Any airline web site will allow you to fly into one city and home from another. You can check United or US Air or any other airline that uses Philadelphia as a hub.

debinthepeg

I've used the Flight Hub website to find "open jaw" flights choosing the option of "multiple city". Once I find them" I prefer to book directly from the airline. Many airlines have options to book "open jaw" tickets online as we'll. For our upcoming trip I booked online from KLMs website - flying into Nice, flying out of Barcelona. I believe you can do this on United's site as we'll and I'm sure most others

anyegr

TDudette: There's no need to apologize. The main reason I mentioned the price difference is to make the original poster understand why people need to know her budget to make good recommendations. I'm sure her budget is higher than mine. For that matter, if I shortened my trip I could afford more expensive hotel rooms.

LATINAPR

Thank you all for the helpful information.

PalenQ

Any other information or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.>

Be very careful of your belongings as these are two of Europe's most street-crime-ridden cities with many tourists who do not know the extent of the problem being victimized - be leery of anyone coming up to you for any apparent reason.

Do not carry anything valuable in a day pack you are wearing - don't wear the family jewels.

And don't worry as long as you are vigilant and know the problem the problem is greatly lessened.

Carry valuables in a secure under the clothing money belt or device - my sister-in-law several years ago was attacked by a mugger who wanted her day pack and she wanted to give it to him but could not get if off neither could he - she ended up bruised and battered on a Sunday morning in front of Atocha station.

Again don't over stress but be careful in these two cities.

PalenQ

For the AVE train to Barcelona booking online at www.renfe.com - the Spanish Railways site can get nifty discounted tickets but they are train-specific and I think cannot be changed nor refunded so be sure of your dates and time.

Such seats are sold in limited numbers so must be booked weeks early to guarantee (they may be available much later too but you never know) - but you can save a lot of money over just walking up and buying a ticket - always possible.

For lots of great info on Spanish trains I always spotlight these IMO fantastic sites - www.seat61.com - good dope ondiscounted tickets); www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.ricksteves.com.

BigRuss

<Does anyone have any suggestions on other website I may use?>

Any of the major travel planning websites: Travelocity, Expedia, Kayak, Orbitz, Google and Yahoo! Travel, Hotwire. Just do "Multi-City" set up.

You won't see a bullfight in Barcelona. And you need to check schedules for Madrid. They're not exactly a daily event.

Look into Vueling.com for one-way flights from Madrid to Barcelona. It can be far cheaper than the train if you don't get a discount train ticket.

And keep hold of your stuff. Barcelona is infamous for petty larceny - so much so that Madrid gets overlooked.