May in Spain, pls comment on itinerary

Old Oct 22nd, 2013, 09:57 AM
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May in Spain, pls comment on itinerary

Hi All,

My DH and I are going to Spain in May! We are young, active 50's who like art, churches, food, wine, some relaxing and are open to small adventures. Here is the very tentative itinerary:

Day 1: Fly from US to Madrid
train to Barcelona
Days 2-5- Barcelona with some side trips. Dali museum is a possibility. I've found two likely places to stay, haven't chosen.
Days 6-9 Train back to Madrid, touring Madrid. Found some likely Airbnb places I'll chose from.
Days 10-13 Train to Seville, tour Seville, rent Fiat 500 and drive to Granada and Rhonda. Staying at least one night in a parador where we will relax.
Days 14-15 Return car in Seville, fly from there or train to Madrid to fly back home.

We generally like to have one big thing a day, then enjoy the cafe culture and exploring back streets, quaint shops, etc. We hate to rush and have the relaxing part of vacationing removed. Metro and local buses don't bother us at all. We'll eat anywhere from street meat to nice restaurants. I understand we'll see some touristy stuff, but we also enjoy finding small, local treasures. DH has rudimentary Spanish, but traveling and asking questions doesn't bother us.

I'd love some feedback on this flexible schedule and some places you've particularly enjoyed especially if you feel your travel style is similar to ours!

Thanks in advance,
Mutti
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Old Oct 22nd, 2013, 10:11 AM
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Paradors often sell out many months in advance - so if you want to stay in one - reserve it now.

May is the very latest I wold do this trip since it will be hot (90s and up) and very possibly humid in the south and also possibly Mardid. (We had unbearable weather - 99 and humid - one trip at the end of April). Be sure yuor lodgings have pools and strong AC.
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Old Oct 22nd, 2013, 10:13 AM
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While in the South, be sure to also visit Cordoba. Why bother to return the car to Seville ? When you get to Granada, turn it in there and take the train to Madrid.
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Old Oct 22nd, 2013, 10:18 AM
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I don't understand why you return to Madrid in the middle. I'd consider flying to Sevilla and saving the time in Madrid for the end. Or, start in Sevilla.
With only a few days, a car does not seem to be worth it. When will you explore Sevilla, Granada, Ronda? Half a day each? Having to return to Sevilla also seems like a time sink.
Are you 100% sure your best bet is flying round trip to Madrid? I have gotten good fares with Iberia, flying open jaw.
This is all doable, but I would definitely work on the order to avoid backtracking. If you want to explore Andalucia by car, I would strongly consider saving Barcelona for a future trip.
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Old Oct 22nd, 2013, 10:20 AM
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You would not do any backtracking if you
Flew into or, as stated, took train to Barcelona

then flew to Granada or Sevilla

Train or bus to either of those cities from each other

train back to Madrid, which would be easiest and fastest from Sevilla/Cordoba or as you say.. fly out from Sevilla back home
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Old Oct 22nd, 2013, 10:38 AM
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I was also curious about flying to Mad just to train to Barcelona? Spain is a big country. Def don't back track if you can help it. other than that, the cities you've chosen will give you a diverse and wonderful representation of Spain, and you will love the people. They are so welcoming and kind. Tell your husband to dust off his spanish for Seville!
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Old Oct 22nd, 2013, 11:20 AM
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So far, good replies about the backtracking. I love to save money and time in all things, especially travel! So I'll revisit my timetable and see what changes would work. As I've said, this is my tentative itinerary and is flexible.

Any great/interesting suggestions for the cities, after the obligatory sites? Restaurants or cool places? I'm reading all the posts marked Spain and cutting and pasting into a Word doc for later. I did this for our Italy trip and it worked very well.

Thanks again and keep the interesting insight coming!

Mutti
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Old Oct 22nd, 2013, 12:44 PM
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Why wouldn't you fly directly to Barcelona? JFK and Newark have flights daily.
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Old Oct 22nd, 2013, 02:31 PM
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Musts in Seville?. Everything! the great thing is that the catedral, giralda, Barrio Santa Cruz, etc are all in close proximity. Parque Maria Louisa is beautiful and fun to combine with a horse carriage ride. Definitely try to catch some flamenco.
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Old Oct 22nd, 2013, 04:26 PM
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I must admit that I would find this schedule very frustrating, and I travel HARD. It sounds like you prefer slow travel, making this itinerary even less likely to prove satisfying. You might want to consider seeing at most 2 of your 3 major areas -- Madrid + and/or Barcelona + and/or Andalusia. A good guidebook should prove invaluable as you make the difficult choices you will need to make about what to see on this trip.
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Old Oct 22nd, 2013, 04:57 PM
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Thanks for all the insightful suggestions. We've changed our flight ideas for an open jaw. It takes a little more time and one more stop in the air, but it will save us some travel time on the ground. DH wants to drive around the southern part of the country to experience the drive and the Fiat. The locations and time are up in the air. We definitely want to go to Granada. We're cozying up on the couch right now rehashing our schedule. I'll check in when we firm it up. We are going to keep our dates in mid-May, we felt the chance of super hot weather was small and a risk we were willing to take.

Thanks again! I'll see you all in a few days.

Mutti
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Old Oct 22nd, 2013, 05:04 PM
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What Fiat?
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Old Oct 23rd, 2013, 05:28 AM
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May is serious festival time in Spain, especially in Andalucía. Most of the festivals goes way back in time and are primarily local events. Great opportunity to get under the skin of things and experience the history, culture, food, wine and Andalucian atmosphere. And May is perhaps the best time of year to go to Andalucía, full spring blossom and the summer heat is still some weeks away. Past 17 years statistics for the two middle weeks in May in Sevilla says daily highs at 78-84F and night lows at 55-61F (wetteronline.de).

In May, all Andalucian towns - but especially Granada and Córdoba - celebrate the "Cruces de Mayo": http://www.spanish-fiestas.com/spani...es-de-mayo.htm

Córdoba in May is something special, the "cruces" celebration is followed by the patio competition leading on to the flamenco inspired Feria by the end of the month.
Córdoba patio exposition and competition: http://www.andalucia.com/cities/cordoba/patios.htm
The Feria in late May: http://www.andalucia.com/festival/co...pring-fair.htm

In Jerez, you have the horse fair Feria de Caballo de Jerez: http://www.andalucia.com/festival/jerez-horse-fair.htm

May is also the month of the San Isidro festival in Madrid, the huge celebration of the city's patron saint: http://www.madrid-guide-spain.com/san-isidro.html

Here's this years programme for San Isidro, just to give you an idea. http://www.esmadrid.com/sanisidro/index.php/en/

Local food and concerts in majestic Plaza Mayor, and processions, lots of music, dance, food, wine and fiesta into the night in the La Vistillas park close to the cathedral and the Royal Palace.
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