Possible itinerary - thoughts?

Old Jan 31st, 2016, 11:06 AM
  #1  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Jun 2015
Posts: 103
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Possible itinerary - thoughts?

Hi,

Sorry to post about this again, but how does the allocation of days/nights per city and overall logistics sound for this honeymoon itinerary? We are thinking to split Barcelona in order to 1.) attend La Merce festival at the end of September and because it would be easier to fly back to the US from there rather than Andalucia and 2.) when we were working out the cost/time details of traveling from either San Sebastian to Andalucia or San Sebastian to Barcelona, the second option came out ahead. What does everyone think? The time travel estimates are from Rome2rio.com


This itinerary breaks down as follows: (not including travel days in the full day amounts)
Amsterdam: 3 nights, 2 full days jetlagged
Paris: 7 nights, 6 full days or 5 full days with Versailles day trip
San Sebastian: 3 nights, 2 full days
Barcelona: 6 nights, 4 full days
Granada: 2 nights, 1 full day
Seville: 4 nights, 3 full days

Wednesday August 31 Day 0: Depart US (JFK, Boston, or Hartford)
Thursday September 1 Day 1: Arrive Amsterdam
Friday 2 Day 2 Amsterdam
Saturday 3 Day 3 Amsterdam
Sunday 4 Day 4 Amsterdam -> Paris 3 hr 21 min by plane
Monday 5 Day 5 Paris
Tuesday 6 Day 6 Paris
Wednesday7 Day 7 Paris
Thursday 8 Day 8 Paris
Friday 9 Day 9 Paris
Saturday 10 Day 10 Paris
Sunday 11 Day 11 Paris -> San Sebastian 6.5 hrs by train
Monday 12 Day 12 San Sebastian
Tuesday 13 Day 13 San Sebastian
Wednesday14 Day 14 San Sebastian -> Barcelona 4 hr 15 min by plane
Thursday 15 Day 15 Barcelona
Friday 16 Day 16 Barcelona
Saturday 17 Day 17 Barcelona
Sunday 18 Day 18 Barcelona -> Granada 4 hr 52 min plane
Monday 19 Day 19 Granada
Tuesday 20 Day 20 Granada -> Seville 3 hr 5 min by bus
Wednesday21 Day 21 Seville
Thursday 22 Day 22 Seville
Friday 23 Day 23 Seville
Saturday 24 Day 24 Seville -> Barcelona 4 hr 21 min plane
Sunday 25 Day 25 Barcelona
Monday Sept 26 Day 26 Barcelona - > home (JFK or Boston)
kbmtravel is offline  
Old Jan 31st, 2016, 11:18 AM
  #2  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Jun 2015
Posts: 103
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Also, we could also leave one day earlier to see more of La Merce in Barcelona. The dates are flexible!
kbmtravel is offline  
Old Jan 31st, 2016, 11:26 AM
  #3  
 
Join Date: Sep 2011
Posts: 17,924
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Why fly to Paris rather than take the train?
Also do you need an overnight flight from Boston? I flew back from there and arrived the same day. I thought it was only flights from further west that were overnight. Personally I would rather spend the extra on another hotel night than try and sleep on a plane if I didn't have to.
hetismij2 is offline  
Old Jan 31st, 2016, 11:30 AM
  #4  
 
Join Date: Oct 2003
Posts: 57,890
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
I would not go back to Barcelona at all - you are just wasting time. You can easily fly from Malaga to the US through Madrid in one day.

And I would definitely add a day to Cordoba - not to be missed and the greatest city in europe in it's heyday.
nytraveler is offline  
Old Jan 31st, 2016, 11:31 AM
  #5  
 
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 49,560
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
I do not find Rome2Rio to be a reliable travel site. At all.
StCirq is offline  
Old Jan 31st, 2016, 11:55 AM
  #6  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Jun 2015
Posts: 103
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Hetismij2, I could take the train from Paris to Amsterdam if that's a better option.

I would prefer an overnight flight so that I don't need to take any extra time off from work and to save on the hotel. We took an overnight flight to Italy with no issues, it didn't bother us much and we took jetlag medicine (prescribed) which really worked for us.

Nytraveler, I wanted to see some of La Merce festival in Barcelona if possible, that's why we would split the time. Cordoba we will probably do as a daytrip from Seville.

StCirq, do you have a better suggestion? I like to have a quick ballpark estimate of how long for travel times, without looking up specific flights/trains.
kbmtravel is offline  
Old Jan 31st, 2016, 12:02 PM
  #7  
 
Join Date: Sep 2011
Posts: 17,924
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Well the train is city centre to city centre, and takes three hours twenty minutes. If you book it early enough you can get a good price on it too.
Fair enough on the overnight flight, though it is only a 7 hour flight from Boston so you won't get much sleep.
hetismij2 is offline  
Old Jan 31st, 2016, 12:26 PM
  #8  
 
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 49,560
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Well, if you need a one-stop shop for travel times that include trains, planes, and buses, you'll have to settle for the kind of mediocre (and just plain wrong) information Rome2Rio provides.

I use individual national country railroads for trains (or capitainetrain.com), and skyscanner for planes. I hardly ever use buses, and there are few of them in Europe other than for workers and students, so that's not usually an issue. I also use www.viamichelin.com extensively.
StCirq is offline  
Old Feb 2nd, 2016, 08:46 AM
  #9  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Jun 2015
Posts: 103
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Does anyone else have any other thoughts?
kbmtravel is offline  
Old Feb 2nd, 2016, 04:53 PM
  #10  
 
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 3,215
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Questions for you: Why did you pick the locations (all cities) that you did? What about them appeals to you?

Do you have any interest in time in rural areas? When I can, our vacations include time in big cities and in small towns. But of course, that's a matter of personal preference. For example, if I had three weeks, and had previously visited the same places that you have, I might start in Amsterdam, fly to Paris, then after that, rent a car and drive around a region of France, staying in small towns (the Dordogne, or Provence, for example).

As a rule of thumb, before you start getting specific travel times, plan on losing 1/2 day each time you change locations.

San Sebastian is a bit of an outlier. While you generally seem to have a good amount of time in places (without knowing anything about what your interests are), it seems a shame to visit San Sebastian without be able to spend time, for example, in the Spanish / French Basque country and/or Bilbao.

I would also suggest time in Cordoba, again without knowing your interests. I love history and culture, and Cordoba was the capital of Moorish Spain for a long time; there's more to see than just the Mezquita. When we visited that part of Spain, we drove a rental car from the Madrid airport to Toledo, then on to Granada. (As you've probably noticed, Granada is a bit of a hassle to get to and from.) From there, we drove to Cordoba, where we dropped the rental car. Train from Cordoba to Sevilla. So if it was me, I would drop San Sebastian and add time in Cordoba. Then you could fly directly from Paris to Barcelona.

In terms of figuring out flight and train times, I also use the country-specific sites for trains and the airlines for flights. Google maps for car travel.

In terms of flying back to Barcelona, that's a decision only you can make. Is the travel time and additional change of location worth seeing more of La Merce?

Can you put your time in Barcelona all at the end of the trip? Let's say if you flew Paris to Granada, even with a connection in Madrid, it would still take less time than the back and forth to Barcelona. Or Paris to San Sebastian, then San Sebastian to Granada, though that last bit would take a while (connecting again through Madrid).
Lexma90 is offline  
Old Feb 2nd, 2016, 05:52 PM
  #11  
 
Join Date: Oct 2007
Posts: 14,960
Likes: 0
Received 4 Likes on 1 Post
StCirq on Feb 1, 16 at 7:31am
I do not find Rome2Rio to be a reliable travel site. At all.
-/-/-----

So, what do you use / find reliable / recommend?
Bokhara2 is offline  
Old Feb 3rd, 2016, 02:38 PM
  #12  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Jun 2015
Posts: 103
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Lexma90, we enjoy eating, drinking, general sightseeing, history, and just finding fun activities to do. Good food is a must! We are not interested in seeing art, churches, or (most) museums. In Venice, we loved going kayaking and participating in a free tour about the history of the city. We spent a lot of time on the go in Italy, and this trip we would prefer a better mix of activities/sightseeing with relaxing in a beautiful place. We don't want to spend a lot of time on the beach, but a few beach days here and there would be okay.

I agree that San Sebastian is definitley out of the way, but we picked it because of the great reviews we've read about it and it seems to be a good contrast to the other places we're going. It is known for great food and we would like to go to the beach, hiking and/or kayaking, maybe go to La Perla spa unless we decide it's too expensive. San Sebastian's also known for cider which my fiance loves!

Amsterdam we chose because I know quite a few people who have been there that recommended it to us. We plan to go to the Anne Frank house, take a free tour of the red light district, and just walk around.


I'm hesitant to choose rural places as we went to Tuscany in October and really didn't enjoy it, we didn't find much to do that interested us. Is there somewhere in the Basque region that you would recommend? I briefly looked into Bilbao, but didn't see much that interested me, especially given that we are not interested in museums and I know that many go to Bilbao for the Guggenheim museum.

Also, I'm definitely going to look into your flight suggestions and consider moving Barcelona to the end. Thanks!
kbmtravel is offline  
Old Feb 3rd, 2016, 02:58 PM
  #13  
 
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 7,561
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
How slow are these gawdam planes? Are you taking 5-stop flights?

There's no way Seville-Barcelona is a FOUR hour flight, nor is Barcelona to Granada nearly 5 hours nor San Seb to Seville more than four. Same for Paris-Amsterdam - that's a short flight: a train can do that route in 3h22.

And don't double dip - go to Barcelona once. End there.
BigRuss is offline  
Old Feb 3rd, 2016, 03:00 PM
  #14  
 
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 49,560
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
I told you above what I useforaccurate info. Can you not read?
StCirq is offline  
Old Feb 3rd, 2016, 03:59 PM
  #15  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Jun 2015
Posts: 103
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
No, that includes the few hours early you should get to the airport and other miscellaneous travel time.
kbmtravel is offline  
Old Feb 4th, 2016, 01:38 AM
  #16  
 
Join Date: Feb 2009
Posts: 5,934
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
A few honeymoon tips for Sevilla, San Sebastian and Barcelona:

The greatest and most prestigious flamenco festival in the world goes on in Sevilla from Sept 8 to Oct 2 2016. The finest flamenco artists on stages around town every night. Could be a crash intro to this powerful and beautiful art so important for Sevilla and all of Andalucia. A night at the Bienal could easily be a highlight of your trip: http://www.labienal.com/en/
A taste of flamenco: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOjtXiPl8Rk

In San Sebastian - the food capital of Spain if not all of Europe - I strongly recommend Casa Urola. This is the kind of place locals take vistors to show what the food culture up here is all about, and my favourite restaurant in town since the late 1980's. Casa Urola was voted best restaurant in the region last August by the major local newspaper El Diario Vasco, and it's much more affordable than the many Michelin star restaurants in town. Also a fabulous pintxos bar on the ground floor: http://www.casaurolajatetxea.es/es/portada/
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restauran...e_Country.html

Several fine coastal villages close to San Sebastian. For example fantastic restaurants in tiny Getaria, some 10 miles east of the city. Had the lunch of my life here in 1996, it was something like this, and they still do it exactly the same way: http://www.thepauperedchef.com/2007/...-in-getar.html
http://www.euskoguide.com/places-bas...taria-tourism/

Tickets in Barcelona is paradise versions of traditional tapas and beyond, now voted amont the 50 best restaurants in the world. Fun and affordable for what you get. You just say what kind of food you like and how much you want to spend, and then leave it up to the kitchen. You'll have some 15 tapas/tastings each and plenty of wine/cava for some 80-90€ pp. You must book table on midninght Barcelona time 60 days prior to your visit, ten minutes after midnight all tables are normally gone:
http://www.theworlds50best.com/list/...estaurant.html

And a little more about food crazy San Sebastian...
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/de...r-foodies.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwmBAvqa_0U
http://www.sansebastian.co.uk/beaches/
kimhe is offline  
Old Feb 4th, 2016, 10:32 AM
  #17  
 
Join Date: Feb 2009
Posts: 5,934
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
One of the greatest concerts of the Bienal takes place when you are in Sevilla, on Wednesday 21st, 9.30 pm in a spectacular outdoor venue in the Real Alcázar gardens dating back to the 11-12th century.

Israel Galván has got all the dance prices there are, last week he won the Special Award for Exceptional Artistry during the National Dance Awards in London: http://www.theguardian.com/stage/201...burgh-festival
Here in intimate Casa Patas in Madrid: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VL9Wav9v7Jc

Rocío Márquez is one of the two-three finest young cantaoras/female flamenco singers on the current scene. Here from when she won the most prestigious flamenco song prize, La Lampara minera, with the greatest margin since Miguel Poveda in 1993: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6646_dBgjbY

And rising star Dani de Morón on guitar. He was voted the best guitarist during the Bienal in Sevilla in 2012: http://www.deflamenco.com/revista/en...itarist-1.html

And also some fabulous male singers; Arcángel, Pitingo, Jesús Méndez and the inimitable Duquende: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ljbo7G04aRI

Tickets start selling on February 15th, and this concert will sell out fast: http://www.labienal.com/en/
kimhe is offline  
Old Feb 4th, 2016, 10:41 AM
  #18  
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Posts: 78,320
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Yes no-brainer to take train Amsterdam to Paris (www.thalys.com) - 3.5 hours city centre to city centre and fares from 39 euros or even less I've seen if you book really early.

for overnight trains you can do Paris to Hendaye overnight (changing in Hendaye for commuter trains to nearby Stg Sebastian/Donostia in the morning and between Barcelona and Granada and Seville and Barcelona - save daytime travel time even over flying and the cost of a night in a hotel (as you say you want to do by flying at night).

Anyway for loads of great info to plan the rail part and about overnight trains check www.seat61.com; www.ricksteves.com and www.budgeteuropetravel.com. And you are one of the few folks traveling enough by train in France and Spain to take a good look at the France-Spain Eurailpass, valid on all those trains, even night trains though you do have to pay for the sleeping option of your choice but the basic train fare is paid.
PalenQ is offline  
Old Feb 4th, 2016, 12:23 PM
  #19  
 
Join Date: Sep 2010
Posts: 42,600
Likes: 0
Received 3 Likes on 3 Posts
San Sebastian to Barcelona takes about an hour by air; BCN to Granada about 1 hr and 20 minutes

Check budget flights at www.skyscanner.com

Agree with using rail between Amsterdam and Paris as it is much more convenient than flying

As to non-overnight flights from Boston or New York..if you can actually get a day flight you might consider it but I realize they aren't that common.

And as to not getting much sleep...that's an inappropriate comment IMO.
Dukey1 is offline  
Old Feb 4th, 2016, 02:09 PM
  #20  
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Posts: 78,320
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
I hardly ever use buses, and there are few of them in Europe other than for workers and students>

Generally true about Europe in general but NOT about Spain which has an extensive bus system that is cheaper than trains and at times go more direct routes (like Seville to Granada or to Ronda). In Spain check on buses that may be cheaper and quicker at times but the nearly 200 mph high-speed trains of course are faster on main lines.
PalenQ is offline  

Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Manage Preferences - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information -