travelzue

We have a total of 8 nights and would like to squeeze in all three places. I am dying to see Andalusia and fascinated by all things Morrish, but my husband really wants to see Barcelona on the weekend.

Please keep in mind we are not interested in seeing Madrid on this trip. We had to fly through there because we're using miles.

We land in London on 7/29, overnight layover, fly out to Madrid 9:30am. Im hoping to get some rest that evening, although my husband is convinced he'll be able to get scalped ticket to an Olympic futbol game.

I tried to put this together so we can do the night tour of Nasrid Palace (only available T-S), and the early morning tour of Alhambra (8-2), as I saw this way recommended by many.

1. M 7/30 Land in Madrid 1pm, take the 5pm AVE to arrive in Sevilla about 8pm.
2. T 7/31 Tour Sevilla
3. W 8/1 Tour Sevilla, take the 5 pm bus to arrive in Granada about 8 pm. See Nasrid Palace at night 10-11:30.
4. TH 8/2 Tour Alhambra 8:30am-2:00 pm, tour Granada.
5. F 8/3 Tour Granada in the morning, Fly to Barcelona afternoon arrive by 5pm.
6. S 8/4 Tour Barcelona
7. S 8/5 Tour Barcelona
8. M 8/6 Tour Barcelona morning/Take train to Madrid late afternoon/evening
T 8/7 11 am departure to US from Madrid

Does this make sense? Any suggestions for changes? Thanks!

Egbert

I guess so. I wouldn't try it but I guess technically it can be done, just not fun or relaxing at all.

ashcanannie

I assume you know about making reservations ahead of time for the Alhambra. On such a tight schedule, you won't want to risk not getting in when you need to.

Like Egbert says, it appears to be possible but certainly not relaxing. Good luck!

travelzue

Thanks for your input. What would you do differently? Less time in which place? Fly vs bus? Go to Granada, then Sevilla?

Robert2533

It looks fine as long as you don't consider getting over jet lag, the time it takes to check into and out of your hotels, stopping for lunch somewhere during the day, or taking the time to relax and enjoy your surroundings.

And forget about unpacking and repacking your bags. All you'll need are a pair of shorts in the 100º+ temperatures you will encounter in Madrid and Sevilla. Granada does cool down a little in the evening, but not that much. The average temperature in Barcelona is around 82º in early August, but the humidity levels can be high.

annhig

personally i would drop Barcelona or andalusia. i think you know this but if neither of you are prepared to compromise, you are going to end up with a rushed and unsatisfactory trip.

if you ARE stuck with it, i think that i would go to Barcelona first, and use that slightly longer leg to recover. I certainly wouldn't want to schedule a night visit to the Nasrid palaces on the night I was arriving in Granada in case something went wrong with the arrangements.

so i might do this:

1. M 7/30 Land in Madrid 1pm, take the AVE to Barcelona.
2. T 7/31 Tour Barcelona
3. W 8/1 Tour Barcelona
4. TH 8/2 early flight to Granada. tour Granada.
5. F 8/3 Tour Granada Alhambra-evening visit to the Nasrid palaces
6. S 8/4 Early train/bus to Seville
7. S 8/5 Tour Seville
8. M 8/6 Tour Seville morning/Take train to Madrid late afternoon/evening
T 8/7 11 am departure to US from Madrid

emily71

I know you said you don't want to see Madrid but personally I'd do Madrid for a day or two and then Andulusia since you're arriving/departing from there, especially with only eight days. Also keep in mind that many places in Granada and Seville to a lesser extent close in the afternoon for the siesta.

travelzue

We've finalized the following and were able to book the Alhambra tickets. Now on to the trains. We arrive Madrid 1:00 pm. I'm thinking a 5pm train to Sevilla should be safe, in case of delays. I think I read somewhere that you can always change to an earlier train for no charge. ?

travelzue

Here's the final itinerary:
7/30 arrive Madrid 1 PM, train to Sevilla (
7/31 Sevilla
8/1 Sevilla
8/2 Bus or train to Granada.
8/3 8:30-2 Alhambra. FLY to Barcelona late afternoon
8/4 Barcelona
8/5 Barcelona
8/6 Barcelona, train to Madrid early evening.
Yes it's a lot but we enjoy the adventure. We can relax at home. I'm so excited!!

kimhe

Sounds fine and hectic, think you'll have a great trip. One more thing:

In Granada you might catch the flamenco performance by the Ballett Flamenco de Andalucía in the spectacular outdoor theater in the Generalife gardens up at Alhambra. 'Llanto por Ignacio Sánchez Mejías' (A cry for Ignacio Sánchez Mejías' - based on the elegy of Granada's and Spain's greatest poet in the 20th century Federico García Lorca (1898-1936) - is a major production. It runs every night up at Alhambra from July 18 to August 31. Here is all the info about the performance: http://www.flamenco-world.com/notici...a05072012.html

Could easily be a quite spectacular night, great artists and the surroundings are of course simply unbeatable.
http://www.alhambra-patronato.es/ind...5d637b1e38d/0/

You'll see three of the absolute greatest flamenco dancers among many other fine artists. Dancing legend Antonio Caneles will be there as will young and fast rising star Patricia Guerrero from Granada. I would nevertheless hold my breath for plain fantastic Pastora Galván. She was voted best bailaora (female flamenco dancer) by Spanish critics last year. She can be spectacular, and she has recieved raving reviews for this performance. Here on Andalusian TV: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2SBUcrJgeQ

Tickets are now on sale through El Corte Inglés: http://www.elcorteingles.es/entradas...culo=200900519

travelzue

Thanks Kimhe. Looks great! What do you think about the train time in Madrid. Is 5pm good? Is it true you can take an earlier train if you need to without penalty?

kimhe

The 5pm sounds fine, would give you time to have a nice late lunch in Madrid before you go. If you want to settle with a light meal, El Brillane next to the Atocha station and in front of the Reina Sofia museum (fabulous!) offers fine food and great, hectic Madrid atmosphere. They sell much of their Madrid speciality Bocadillo de calamares (Fried squid roll) http://11870.com/pro/el-brillante/media

Know nothing about the earlier train thing, sorry.