AirBalloon

Hello everyone,

We have decided to change our vacation destination from Portugal to Spain for our summer, 2015 family vacation. Although Portugal looks nice and interesting, Spain has more to offer, in our opinion.

We were able to book our excellent return flights to and from Madrid at incredible prices so we are now turning our attention to our itinerary.

We will be travelling for 17 full days (not including travel to and from home) and we are a family of four (myself and my husband and our two boys, ages 15 and 17) and all enjoy a balanced approach to European travel, including museums, cuisine, walking and discovering, a few days relaxing at a nice beach, nighttime walks and just simply enjoying being wherever we are.

We are considering using rail passes throughout this vacation (we have always rented a car in our prior trips to Europe). The travel time between all of the destinations below are all between 1.5 and 3 hours and we have come up with this initial itinerary:

Day 1 through 3: Madrid (arrive early morning)
Day 4 through 7: Seville
Day 8 through 14: Valencia (including beach time and exploring surrounding area)
Day 15 through 17: Madrid

Totals (not including travel time):

Madrid, 5.5 days
Seville, 3.5 days
Valencia and surrounding area: 6.5 full days

We were initially thinking about travelling south from Seville to the Costa del Sol for some beach time but found Valencia to be very interesting and also has some very nice beaches as well as some very interesting medieval towns nearby.

As well, would it be a good idea to take a day off Madrid and two off Valencia and take a few days to travel to Ibiza or Majorca for our beach time?

Please let us know if this works and if you can offer any other suggestions, we would really appreciate your advice.

Thank you very much.

Andrea

AirBalloon

Sorry, but the title of my post should be:

Spain, Summer 2015 Itinerary Suggestions (not 2014).


Andrea

Sassafrass

I would probably go straight to Seville and put all of the time in Madrid together at the end.
Personally, would cut Madrid to 3 & 1/2 days and do day trip to Toledo, and perhaps even Segovia.
I would definitely include Granada - 2 nights and visit the Alhambra
Do a day trip to Córdoba from Seville.

There are beaches nearby Barcelona too, if you wanted a few days there. About 3 & 1/2 hrs from Valencia and 2 hrs back to Madrid. Maybe too much, but with 17 days, a possibility.

Another idea. Being summer, head North to San Sebastián for beaches and great food.

AirBalloon

Hi,

We have spent almost 10 days in Barcelona (on two different occasions) so going to Barcelona is not an option. As well, we have heard that Cordoba is not worth the day trip to take away a day from Seville.

Toledo is somewhere we would want to see as a day trip from Madrid. Granada also seems very interesting but that would just be to much checking in and out of hotels, which is something we want to try and avoid, unless Granada would be a better choice than Valencia.

We have also thought of San Sebastian as well but that would change our whole itinerary around. Something to think about though. Thanks.

Andrea

kja

IMO, the highlights of central / southern Spain include Granada's Alhambra (which requires a minimum of 2 nights to see, although Granada itself easily merits an extra day & night), Cordoba's Mezquita (which can be seen as a day trip from Sevilla, although I thought Cordoba merited 2 full days and 2 nights), Sevilla (several days), Toledo (which can be seen as a day trip from Madrid, but which I though merited 2 full days and 2 nights), and -- if you appreciate art museums -- at least 3 or 4 full days in Madrid. That doesn't count other worthy sites in / near Madrid or Andalusia.

I recommend that you get some good guidebooks (or spend some time with a few in your local library), identify the things you most want to see in each location, note their opening/closing times, and mark them on a calendar. Then pencil in your transportation, add some time on either side (for getting to/from the train/bus station or whatever, checking in/out, packing/unpacking, getting oriented, etc.

I strongly recommend the Rough Guide or Lonely Planet as your primary resource. I would also recommend that you consult Fodor's, Frommer's, or the Michelin Green Guides to help prioritize and the National Geographic Traveler, Insight Guides, or Eyewitness for inspiration.

If you are flying into and out of Madrid, I recommend putting all of your time in Madrid at the end of your trip to eliminate one change of hotels.

With only 17 days, consider deferring Valencia for another trip. For beach time, consider Malaga instead -- it fits your itinerary better.

You'll have a wonderful vacation -- enjoy!

kja

"we have heard that Cordoba is not worth the day trip to take away a day from Seville"

Cordoba's Mezquita is, IMO, among the most spectacular buildings in the world. IMO, finding time for it is well worth the effort. And as I said above, in a message that seems to have crossed your last message in hyperspace, Cordoba was, IMO, well worth 2 full days. JMO.

And yes, IMO, Granada is a must-see.

I'm not sure where you have been getting your information, but it makes me reiterate my recommendation to consult some good guidebooks. You might find that the advice you have already obtained best suits your interests, but only you can decide that, and obviously, you can only do that if you have consulted some good sources of information.

Good luck!

Bedar

If you are going to Seville, you must also visit Cordoba and Granada. Moving hotels shouldn't be a comsideration. That's how important they are, and you have three strong fellows with you to heft luggage!! I would spend beach time in Marbella or take a flight from Malaga to Mallorca/Ibiza/Formentera then go on to Madrid. While Valencia is "nice", it's somewhat pedestrian.

AirBalloon

Hi everyone,

I really appreciate your advice but I need some advice on the merits of Valencia. Although it may not have the tourist draw of Granada or Seville, the research we have done shows that it and it's surrounding area to be quite interesting and different than the southern cities.

Please let me know if anyone has been to Valencia and your opinions.

Thanks.

Andrea

BigRuss

Google "Maribel guide spain" and you should find a Spanish national who has written guides to various Spanish cities. Considering its size, Valencia should be in the mix. And those guides tend to be fairly comprehensive.