Spain Honeymoon Itinerary

Old Jan 3rd, 2014, 08:02 AM
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Spain Honeymoon Itinerary

Hi everyone! I was doing some initial research for my honeymoon to Spain in late September. I found incredibly priced round trip ticket with Aerofloat from Los Angeles to Madrid at only $690 apiece. I was not planning to book so soon but I am afraid I will never find tickets as low as this. I would appreciate any advice on my itinerary as this is our first time traveling outside of the US and Mexico and we only speak intermediate Spanish (Mexican Spanish).
I had plan to fly into Madrid and stay there for two nights before taking a train to Malaga then a bus to Marbella where we would hopefully stay in my Aunt’s time share for a week. From Malaga I wanted to fly to Barcelona and spend about 4 days there before taking a train back to Madrid and flying out. We wanted the trip to be half relaxing by the beach and half site seeing/adventure. Is this too ambitious for a young couple’s first time abroad? I would appreciate any feedback and/or hotel recommendations for Madrid and Barcelona, and of course price is always a concern. Thanks and happy travels!
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Old Jan 3rd, 2014, 08:17 AM
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Look at what you get for your money--do you want a layover in Moscow in order to get to Madrid?
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Old Jan 3rd, 2014, 09:16 AM
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Areoflot has a terrible safety record. Your typo "Aerofloat" is probably more accurate than you realize. Spend the extra money to save and time and other things.

On the other hand Vueling is inexpensive but the rules are many and strictly enforced.

Two places in 11 days is reasonable. And you may be able fly out of Barcelona to LAX, if you eschew Aeroflot and save time and money.
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Old Jan 3rd, 2014, 09:54 AM
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You are just right on time to catch a night at the most prestigious and important flamenco festival in the world, the Bienal de flamenco in Sevilla. Sevilla is the undisputed queen among the cities in the south. An excellent opportunity to get a feel for this powerful art so important for Sevilla and the rest of Andalucía.

The Bienal goes on from Sept 12. to Oct 5. with the absolute best flamenco artists performing every night in different theaters around town. A night at the Bienal could be a highlight of the journey. Program and tickets will turn up here in two-three months time: http://www.labienal.com/

The high speed AVE train takes 2h 30 mins from Madrid to Sevilla.

When it comes to hotels, in Barcelona I can recommend Banys Orientals in the vibrant El Born area close to "everything":
http://www.booking.com/hotel/es/banys-orientals.html

About the area: http://www.barcelona-tourist-guide.c...s/el-born.html

In Madrid, I find great value Persal just excellent if you dont't want to spend all money on hotels. In the very heart of the city: http://www.booking.com/hotel/es/persalmadrid.html

About the area: http://www.barrioletras.com/
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Old Jan 3rd, 2014, 12:28 PM
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After a 40 hrs flight with long layovers (instead of 15 hrs) you will probably arrive at MAD in late evening.Under these circumstances, 2 nights at MAD are by far not enough (even if you take the last possible Malaga bound train (Madrid dp 21.35) on day 2. Count 3 days for a decent visit of Madrid and 3 days more if you include Toledo, Avila, Segovia and El Escorial).
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Old Jan 3rd, 2014, 03:24 PM
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Love the advice about the Flamenco Festival. We saw our first flamenco in Seville and the city was my favorite on our visit to Spain. Don't know if you can cram it in, but you might like it better than Barcelona. Quien sabe?
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Old Jan 3rd, 2014, 05:31 PM
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I agree you need more time in Madrid. Do you have to stay a whole week in Marbella?

Regarding Aeroflot - in case you have already booked these tickets and it is a done deal - I have looked at a lot of recent reports that they are not so terrible as they used to be (that was in the early '90s and before.) The reason I have looked at a lot of reports is I am going to fly them to Paris later this year. If you haven't booked then it may be better to wait because you do have a lot of time and might get the LAX - Madrid nonstop on Iberia instead, if the fares drop a little. If you have already booked, hopefully it is not too long of a layover in Madrid; mine isn't, when I go to Paris.

Here is a good thread on flyertalk about Aeroflot that I found very useful -
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/russi...-bad-ugly.html

Happy planning -
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Old Jan 3rd, 2014, 05:32 PM
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Oops I meant layover in MOSCOW not Madrid.
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Old Jan 3rd, 2014, 05:37 PM
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From a 2013 travel blog
_______
Aeroflot crash statistics

According to Planecrashinfo.com’s figures, Aeroflot has had five fatal crashes since 1992. That gives it an 1807% higher than average death rate – by far the worst of any European airline.

However, Aeroflot has only had one fatal crash since 2002. That was in 2008 – an accident that was later blamed on a drunk pilot.

Aeroflot still comes out worse than any other European airline apart from Air France (which has seen two planes go down in the same period), but general consensus seems to be that Aeroflot is cleaning up its act. The Russian has a relatively new fleet of planes, and seems to be shaking off the worst of its reputation.
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Old Jan 3rd, 2014, 05:48 PM
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Thanks for posting that ImDoneHere. Here is the complete article.

http://www.grumpytraveller.com/2013/...-fly-aeroflot/
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Old Jan 5th, 2014, 02:18 PM
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Thanks for all the advice. I have not booked the flight yet so I will keep looking into that. I defiantly think I need more time in Madrid with all the traveling so if I have to fly round trip I will do 2 days at the top and 2 at the bottom of the trip. Thanks kimhe for the advice about the Flamenco festival I will definitely make that fit into the trip for at least a day. It looks like the festival is about a 2.5 hour drive from the timeshare but there are really no direct trains. Thoughts on renting a car for a day?
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Old Jan 6th, 2014, 01:35 AM
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From Marbella you could of course rent a car and go to Sevilla for a night at the Bienal. Or go to Málaga and take the 1h 55 min train to Sevilla. Recommend to stay the night in Sevilla before going back.
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