15 Days In Spain
 

Hello All - If you could spend 15 days in Spain in the Spring, where would you go? We have spent a considerable amount of time in Barcelona (and loved it), but haven't been to any other parts of Spain. We don't mind flying in/out of Barcelona and spending another two days there if that makes our trip easier. We are fairly active, we are big foodies and enjoy our beverages. We are deciding between a couple weeks in France or a couple weeks in Spain. We are limited to Spring.

We don't mind driving if necessary and are not "check the box" travelers. That is we prefer to experience the places we visit as opposed to simply seeing them. We just spent two weeks in southern Tuscany and loved the charm of small towns and not being surrounded by cars and tourists.

I know its a large country with very different areas, but I figured it couldn't hurt to throw out the feeler.

Thank you

Hello WorminRome:

I am completely in LOVE with Spain; I just can't get enough of it :)

Click on 'me'. Today I posted two itineraries (both 17 days) on a previous post, one for Andalusia (in March of this year) and one from Bilbao and Castile. Sorry, I did not do trip reports, but my planning will show up as well.

For Spring, I would choose Andalusia. You will be mesmerised at what this region has to offer.

Regards … Ger

Seville!

I recommend Andalucia in the spring, too! It is much too hot to travel there during the summer months. Some beautiful historical places to consider are: Seville, Granada, Cordoba, and Malaga. If you haven't been to Madrid, I also recommend Madrid and Toledo. We visited these places in September 2017 in 15 nights. You can click on my name if you wish to read my trip report.

Andalusia or the Atlantic coast - San Sebastián and Bilbao and Getaria and thereabouts.

A matter of opinion I feel. Loads work and live in the south during the summer months. Loads still go on vacation.

Message to the OP you are going to get a lot of advice. You have not stated you are looking for or even time of stay and a very vague time of year.
Please sit down on the interweb, those paper things...yer guide books. and find some sort of route bright out a basic plan then our and your time will be better spent filling in or removing locations.
https://www.fodors.com/world/europe/spain
https://www.spain.info/

I agree that Andalucia would be perfect for a Spring trip of 15 days. It's best not to go there mid summer when it's really hot so great for spring, and about two weeks is a good amount of time. I've been there twice in March. First time I did the 'classic' Seville, Cordoba and Granada (8 days) - could have used a few more days but really didn't feel very rushed at all. The next time I did Malaga, Ronda, and a few white towns (and Gibraltar) in just under a week. So with two weeks you could do both.


Here's my trip report from that first trip - https://www.fodors.com/community/eur...report-694482/


The photos are now at: https://andiamo.zenfolio.com/f855477163


This coming March I'm doing another trip to include Mallorca, Ibizia, Valencia and Tarragona. Haven't done that trip yet so no first hand experience to share, but my research makes it look good. I do think if I had not yet been to Andalucia I'd pick that though.

Oh it's a dry heat as they say in Arizona - well it is but still a reason why Spaniards take a siesta midday and eat late at night. Dry heat is hot but maybe not as hot a feeling as a muggy lower temperature.

Yes, dry heat. I live in Texas where we have a lot of "dry heat"--very similar to Spain. I just got back from an October trip to Madrid and Andalusia (posted a trip report) and would highly recommend Andalusia in the spring (but not so much in the summer--just too hot). If you are thinking about April, remember that April 21 is Easter, and the preceding week will be Semana Santa, a big event in Andalusia (which may be a positive or negative, depending on your tolerance for crowds).

Now, one caveat: I'm no foodie, but I've always heard that the Basque country has a lot of top restaurants (a disproportionate amount of Michelin stars). So, if food is your first priority, perhaps you will want to look into that region. But, for me, I'd love to have more time in Andalusia.

Yes Andalusia would fit you for about 10 days - figuring a day of travel each way by train or really plane too plus days in Barcelona. I'd take the train between the two- probably about 6 hours all told. Then Seville, Cordoba, Granada and Malaga would be what most would recommend and all easily gone between by trains and or buses - though to me any train is infinitely more comfy and relaxed than any bus. Book train tickets as early as possible at Renfe - not the most friendly site for foreigners to use it seems by many frustrated folks on Fodor's saying they had trouble - www.seat61.com has tons of help on how to successfully book your own discounted or full tickets online. For lots on trains and what to expect and where to go in Spain check www.ricksteves.com and BETS-European Rail Experts.

Now for France - I could envision a sweet driving tour of the Costa Brava from Barcelona to the French border and then dreamy seaside towns like Couileres (sp?) and Perpignan and then going up a simply lovely valley thru the Pyrenees to La Tour de Carol - and then drive thru a neat Pyrenees pass down ton Barcelona - all in all from Perpignan to La Tour de Carol and back to Barcelona - much of it in awesome natural settings.

I realize that lots of people live and work in southern Spain, just as lots of people live and work in the southern U.S., where it's extremely hot in the summer. If that's a person's home, then they obviously aren't going to leave for 3 months, unless they are retired and can afford a second home. But when people are working, they are most likely working in air conditioned offices, at least in the U.S., and have AC in their homes, too. And some people can only take vacations during the summer so they don't have a choice. But if given a choice, I would definitely recommend visiting Andalucia during the spring or fall when temps are lower. I think it would be miserable, and perhaps dangerous, to be sightseeing and walking all day in 100 degree temps. When we visited Seville in late September/early October, it was 90 - 95 degrees. I would have enjoyed spending more time in Plaza de Espagna, for example, but it was just too hot in the sun. When I was planning our trip, I remember reading trip reports from people who were in Andalucia during the summer, and they wrote about being drenched in sweat after walking for 10 minutes. And they would have to return to their hotel early to swim to cool off. So I personally think Andalucia is a great place to visit during the spring or fall, and the OP has said their trip will be in the spring.

Personally, I’d opt for Andalusia – Sevilla, Granada, Cordoba, maybe Malaga, maybe Ronda or some of the other “white” towns…. For me, 15 days for those destinations would be perfect; as you can see, others have different opinions.

But get some good guidebooks – or consult some at your local library – and decide what appeals to you! Spain is enormous and holds a wealth of incredibly diverse opportunities.

Wow. I was not expecting this much advise this quickly! It looks like we should definitely be looking at the Andalusia region. We were thinking about splitting time there and the Basque region, but it seems like this might be stretching us thin.

We will obviously do our own independent research/reading, however we always like to get an idea of what fellow travelers have enjoyed. This helps us focus our research. From my multiple trips to Italy, I have found that travel books manage to make most areas/regions/cities/etc appear enticing for one reason or another.

Jeremy

Land in Madrid - few days there and take high-speed AVE train to Andalusia - perfect for 15 days - fly home from Seville, Malaga, etc.

Do you fine folks recommend a car to explore this region?

I know I'm a minority, but we always have a car, anywhere in Europe. The freedom of coming and going when you want, seeing small villages along the road, going places one isn't able to see when travelling by train/bus ... priceless for us!

" Do you fine folks recommend a car to explore this region? "
Which places exactly?

For Andalusia? I don't recommend a car for that area, unless just for a day or two to visit the few places that are hard to reach by car. Connections between the major destinations by train (or bus) are comfortable and convenient. While having a car can offer certain freedoms (and I do use one in many areas), there are some disadvantages:

- For one thing, some of those “oh, doesn’t that look charming!” places aren’t actually that charming, and by the time you get back on the road, you can end up with less time than might be ideal for visiting the places that were your priorities.

- For another thing, driving can be stressful – and I say that as someone who loves driving! But some roads are challenging, unexpected detours or GPS failures can be a bit daunting, and driving into cities (and finding parking) can make the last part of a long trip less than pleasant.

- Driving – or at least responsible driving – can also pose constraints on the driver. For example, the driver may be unable to truly enjoy spectacular scenery, as s/he needs to pay attention to the road -- sometimes, very careful attention! And depending on how much one eats and one’s size and and how long one relaxes over a meal, even a glass of wine with lunch may carry risks.

- Driving is generally not a particularly green choice – and for some of us, that is a worthy consideration.

- and one of the best things about taking public transportation: It can sometimes give you wonderful opportunities to interact with people from the area, or gain insights into local norms and traditions.

JMO.

aWhile it’s early in our planning we are thinking of making Seville and Granada our bases for a week or so each and explore the region from there. We are also open to adding a third base.

We we just spent a couple weeks in Tuscany where we rented a car and found it extremely helpful but we also weren’t staying within the walls of a major city.

I have spent weeks in Tuscany (and Umbria) with a car and would never travel there without one. I have also visited Sevilla and Granada with a car and thought it was way more trouble than it was worth.