14 days in Spain - please help finalize itinerary!
Mar 30th, 2017, 12:33 PM
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14 days in Spain - please help finalize itinerary!
Hello again,
It's our first trip to spain with the kids and I am struggling with our itinerary. Right now, this is our first rough itinerary based our schedule (we fly into Madrid and fly back from Barcelona) and tons of research on Fodors, travel books, blogs. But, I am positive that it can be improved with your help!
Day 1: Fly into Madrid from US (Arrive 9am)
— Days 1-4: Madrid, a day trip to Salamanca (visiting a friend). [4 days/4 nights in Madrid]
Day 5: Morning train+bus to Granada arriving there by noon.
— Day 5-6: Alhambra night visit on day 5, morning visit on day 6. [1.5 days/2 nights in Granada]
Day 7: Morning train/bus to Seville arriving by noon.
— Day 7-8: Seville (looking at how to best optimize the days). [1.5 days/2 nights in Seville]
Day 9: Pick up a rental car in the morning and start pueblo blanco drive
— Day 9-10 cardiz and malaga pueblo blanco — likely to be based in Ronda for 2 nights.
Day 11: Evening flight from Malaga to Barcelona.
—Day 11: Spend morning between Ronda and Malaga, drop off car. [2.5days/2night between seville and malaga]
—Day12-14 Barcelona [3 days/4 nights]
Day15: Flight back home
I have been keeping a eye on Alhambra tickets and plan to buy them as soon as our itinerary is final.
thank you!
It's our first trip to spain with the kids and I am struggling with our itinerary. Right now, this is our first rough itinerary based our schedule (we fly into Madrid and fly back from Barcelona) and tons of research on Fodors, travel books, blogs. But, I am positive that it can be improved with your help!
Day 1: Fly into Madrid from US (Arrive 9am)
— Days 1-4: Madrid, a day trip to Salamanca (visiting a friend). [4 days/4 nights in Madrid]
Day 5: Morning train+bus to Granada arriving there by noon.
— Day 5-6: Alhambra night visit on day 5, morning visit on day 6. [1.5 days/2 nights in Granada]
Day 7: Morning train/bus to Seville arriving by noon.
— Day 7-8: Seville (looking at how to best optimize the days). [1.5 days/2 nights in Seville]
Day 9: Pick up a rental car in the morning and start pueblo blanco drive
— Day 9-10 cardiz and malaga pueblo blanco — likely to be based in Ronda for 2 nights.
Day 11: Evening flight from Malaga to Barcelona.
—Day 11: Spend morning between Ronda and Malaga, drop off car. [2.5days/2night between seville and malaga]
—Day12-14 Barcelona [3 days/4 nights]
Day15: Flight back home
I have been keeping a eye on Alhambra tickets and plan to buy them as soon as our itinerary is final.
thank you!
Mar 30th, 2017, 01:01 PM
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Seems swell to be - I'll only comment on trains in case you are not familiar with them and fares -book very early to score discounted tickets in either class (if not on a starvation budget consider first class and its benefits of fewer seats in same size train car- meaning more room for luggage - kids to easily get up, etc -www.renfe.com is the official site of Spanish Railways but hard for many Americans to get to use to book your own - check www.seat61.com for alternative booking sites with similar fares- for general info also www.ricksteves.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com.
a quirk in driving regulations I believe requires any driver who wears glasses -supposed to wear glasses on their license (get an International Driving License) must carry a spare pair with them in vehicle at all times - there are check-point stops at times checking on documents and perhaps this.
a quirk in driving regulations I believe requires any driver who wears glasses -supposed to wear glasses on their license (get an International Driving License) must carry a spare pair with them in vehicle at all times - there are check-point stops at times checking on documents and perhaps this.
Mar 30th, 2017, 04:53 PM
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While I fully understand your desire to see all these places, I must admit that I wonder whether you will actually have time to see and do the things you want to do in any of them. It seems to me that you will be spending a disproportionate amount of time in transit, with relatively little time in any of the places you plan to visit to actually see or do anything. To give you just a few examples, I thought Salamanca itself well worth 2 full days; Seville well worth 3 full days, not counting time for Cordoba’s Mezquita (one of the few places in the world I wouldn't hesitate to call a "must see"); Barcelona well worth at least 4 full days, etc.
If you haven’t already done so, I recommend that you spend some time with a calendar. Each time you propose to change locations, pencil in your transportation, add some time on either side (for getting to/from your lodging, checking in/out, packing/unpacking, getting oriented, etc.). Then see how things fit together. You might end up deciding to cut a destination or two.... BTW, note that many things in Spain are closed on Monday, and often for all or part of Sundays too; and many things in Spain will also be closed daily for a very long mid-day break.
FWIW, while I’m glad I visited Ronda, I’d definitely skip it – and the other “pueblos blancos” – for more time in ANY of other destinations you are considering.
One other thought: Madrid and Barcelona are both relatively easy to reach from the US, as they have major international airports. In contrast, to reach Andalusia, you generally have to fly through one of those two cities (or some other major international airport). So, to make efficient use of your time, you might want to skip either Barcelona OR Madrid (or both!) this trip so that you can see everything you want to see in Andalusia with time to actually enjoy that glorious part of the world at a pace that works for you and your children. Basically, much as I love both Madrid and Barcelona (and I do!), they would be easier to include on a later trip.
Hope that helps!
If you haven’t already done so, I recommend that you spend some time with a calendar. Each time you propose to change locations, pencil in your transportation, add some time on either side (for getting to/from your lodging, checking in/out, packing/unpacking, getting oriented, etc.). Then see how things fit together. You might end up deciding to cut a destination or two.... BTW, note that many things in Spain are closed on Monday, and often for all or part of Sundays too; and many things in Spain will also be closed daily for a very long mid-day break.
FWIW, while I’m glad I visited Ronda, I’d definitely skip it – and the other “pueblos blancos” – for more time in ANY of other destinations you are considering.
One other thought: Madrid and Barcelona are both relatively easy to reach from the US, as they have major international airports. In contrast, to reach Andalusia, you generally have to fly through one of those two cities (or some other major international airport). So, to make efficient use of your time, you might want to skip either Barcelona OR Madrid (or both!) this trip so that you can see everything you want to see in Andalusia with time to actually enjoy that glorious part of the world at a pace that works for you and your children. Basically, much as I love both Madrid and Barcelona (and I do!), they would be easier to include on a later trip.
Hope that helps!
Mar 30th, 2017, 09:27 PM
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PalenQ - thank you for very useful information! I have marked my calendar for train tickets so that I can get them as soon as they are added in few days. I had no idea about glasses requirement...thank you for letting me know!
kja - I have been trying to optimize my 2 weeks as much as possible. While I do know that it feels rushed, I also think that we are fairly efficient travelers. Also, since we have kids with us - usually we don't get to linger around at more adult type of places (ie very limited museum time, leisurely meals, longer guided tours etc) so we often don't need as much time as someone who actually gets to visit everything at a normal pace.
I really wanted to visit cordoba but had to decide between something that I would do vs what kids would enjoy more so I am trading it for 2 days of smaller towns/villages to give them downtime from larger, crowded places.
Said that, I am definitely going to rethink my plan to see if I can adjust it further. Thank you for your recommendations!
kja - I have been trying to optimize my 2 weeks as much as possible. While I do know that it feels rushed, I also think that we are fairly efficient travelers. Also, since we have kids with us - usually we don't get to linger around at more adult type of places (ie very limited museum time, leisurely meals, longer guided tours etc) so we often don't need as much time as someone who actually gets to visit everything at a normal pace.
I really wanted to visit cordoba but had to decide between something that I would do vs what kids would enjoy more so I am trading it for 2 days of smaller towns/villages to give them downtime from larger, crowded places.
Said that, I am definitely going to rethink my plan to see if I can adjust it further. Thank you for your recommendations!
Mar 31st, 2017, 01:08 PM
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As Kja said, don't get hung up on Ronda and the "pueblos blancos". There's nothing there for kids. Better to spend more time in Seville and go to Cordoba. The Mezquita will entrance them, and hopefully they'll remember it when they take art history later on.
