Ideas for two weeks in May/June 2010, Andalusia/Madrid or add Copenhagen
Jul 18th, 2009, 12:05 AM
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Ideas for two weeks in May/June 2010, Andalusia/Madrid or add Copenhagen
So Seville, Alhambra and Andalusia have been on my list for years.
So have Copenhagen and Scandinavia in general but so far, I've gone for 1 week to Stockholm.
Andalusia, I've thought about flying into Malaga (because of Skyteam flight availability) and then renting a car for a 1 or 2 weeks. One option would be to make my way to Madrid for the last couple of days, to either hang out in Madrid (which I've visited before) or go on side trips to Salamanca and/or Toledo. I could either take the AVE up to Madrid and fly out of MAD or continue to rent the car and use it to drive to Salamanca and/or Toledo, then return it in Madrid, depending on what makes the best sense for time, money, convenience.
So I've reserved a 2-week itinerary, into AGP in the middle of May, out of MAD at the end of the month.
But I've also reserved a 2-week itinerary, into AGP, then MAD-CPH, then fly back to SFO from CPH.
Obviously the second itinerary would take days away from Andalusia and Copenhagen. Instead of 2 weeks in Spain, it would be 7 full days (with one day transit to Spain and one day transit to CPH) and 4 full days in Copenhagen.
Do both places deserve more days than I'm giving them with the second itinerary? This second one was motivated by the goal of maximizing my award miles, which I'd be using.
But probably giving short-shrift to both.
So have Copenhagen and Scandinavia in general but so far, I've gone for 1 week to Stockholm.
Andalusia, I've thought about flying into Malaga (because of Skyteam flight availability) and then renting a car for a 1 or 2 weeks. One option would be to make my way to Madrid for the last couple of days, to either hang out in Madrid (which I've visited before) or go on side trips to Salamanca and/or Toledo. I could either take the AVE up to Madrid and fly out of MAD or continue to rent the car and use it to drive to Salamanca and/or Toledo, then return it in Madrid, depending on what makes the best sense for time, money, convenience.
So I've reserved a 2-week itinerary, into AGP in the middle of May, out of MAD at the end of the month.
But I've also reserved a 2-week itinerary, into AGP, then MAD-CPH, then fly back to SFO from CPH.
Obviously the second itinerary would take days away from Andalusia and Copenhagen. Instead of 2 weeks in Spain, it would be 7 full days (with one day transit to Spain and one day transit to CPH) and 4 full days in Copenhagen.
Do both places deserve more days than I'm giving them with the second itinerary? This second one was motivated by the goal of maximizing my award miles, which I'd be using.
But probably giving short-shrift to both.
Jul 18th, 2009, 01:47 AM
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lots of people will argue against what OH and i like to do
yep it wastes time
but i think seeing a totally different culture is good
no
great
dont know if we are just shallow lol but
we get bored with the same food architecture etc
so it is nice for us to tack on something different at the end without going to ridiculous len
gths geographically
four days is an ok time in a city
five is great
and 7 is ideal
the only thing -youll probably hit scandinavian prices
id do the expensive leg first and then go nuts in the cheaper regions
we went to russia first which was so much cheaper than norway so we had to reign it in a bit
but maybe we shouldve done it the other way and let our hair down in russia
i just didnt expect to enjoy russia as much we did so we got that over and done with lol
the only other drag is the change of money
nuisance if its not all in euros
yep it wastes time
but i think seeing a totally different culture is good
no
great
dont know if we are just shallow lol but
we get bored with the same food architecture etc
so it is nice for us to tack on something different at the end without going to ridiculous len
gths geographically
four days is an ok time in a city
five is great
and 7 is ideal
the only thing -youll probably hit scandinavian prices
id do the expensive leg first and then go nuts in the cheaper regions
we went to russia first which was so much cheaper than norway so we had to reign it in a bit
but maybe we shouldve done it the other way and let our hair down in russia
i just didnt expect to enjoy russia as much we did so we got that over and done with lol
the only other drag is the change of money
nuisance if its not all in euros
Jul 18th, 2009, 06:28 AM
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Think about it and then go with the one you'd prefer. If you really have wanted to go to both, go to both Andalucia & Scandanavia. It isn't that much of a time loss for one plane trip and you could save time if you dropped Madrid and all that driving time to Madrid and flew directly from Andalucia to Copenhagen.
Definitely go to Andalucia first. The earlier you visit in May, the more likely you are to have nice weather. And perhaps it will warm up a bit in Scandanavia if you delay it for a week.
Definitely go to Andalucia first. The earlier you visit in May, the more likely you are to have nice weather. And perhaps it will warm up a bit in Scandanavia if you delay it for a week.
Jul 18th, 2009, 09:31 AM
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You could easily spend 2 weeks in Andalucia without even visiting Madrid. The weather will be wonderful at this time and I'd stick with just Spain. In Cordoba it will be the time of the patio festival, a great way to connect with the city. If you want a little diversity then do Andalucia and Madrid (and area). The architecture and food are very different as you go from one area of Spain to another so I don't see how you could be bored.
Jul 18th, 2009, 10:53 AM
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Thanks all. I may find availability in early October as well. Andalucia should still be warm, although possibly some more rain.
Then maybe Italy in May or Copenhagen in June.
All depends on the award ticket availability.
One thing though, I was playing around with car rental and train tickets.
The AVE one way appears to be around 80 Euro from Sevilla or Cordoba to Madrid.
But also thought about taking a train from Sevilla to Salamanca. However, the renfe.es site returns nothing. Seems I would have to go through Madrid to get to either Salamanca or Toledo.
Then maybe Italy in May or Copenhagen in June.
All depends on the award ticket availability.
One thing though, I was playing around with car rental and train tickets.
The AVE one way appears to be around 80 Euro from Sevilla or Cordoba to Madrid.
But also thought about taking a train from Sevilla to Salamanca. However, the renfe.es site returns nothing. Seems I would have to go through Madrid to get to either Salamanca or Toledo.
Jul 19th, 2009, 08:23 AM
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Leaning towards just staying within Spain instead of trying to squeeze in Copenhagen at the end.
Could either go at a more leisurely pace or try to squeeze in more time in Costa del Sol, Madrid, or even try to hit Barcelona or Valencia.
Another option is Liguria. Have a hold on a ticket to Genoa and return from Milan, so Cique Terre and maybe Lake Como.
Sad thing is, May is described as the best time for all these places and there is only one May each year.
Could either go at a more leisurely pace or try to squeeze in more time in Costa del Sol, Madrid, or even try to hit Barcelona or Valencia.
Another option is Liguria. Have a hold on a ticket to Genoa and return from Milan, so Cique Terre and maybe Lake Como.
Sad thing is, May is described as the best time for all these places and there is only one May each year.
