wvgirl

My daughter(21) & I are taking a tour of Italy before meeting up with husband and other daughter in Madrid. We have 3 nights between the end of our Italy tour and when we have to be in Madrid....suggestions?? We were thinking of Amsterdam, Vienna or somewhere in Portugal but are open to other ideas!

lincasanova

you can fly cheaply out of rome to many places, and then on to spain form there. low cost flights at

www.whichbudget.com

when is this? does an island to RELAX sound good? Mallorca.. ibiza..menorca? Malta?

or munich/salzburg/fussen?

the mosel for three days with a bit of the rhein would do nicely.

or take the ferry/ship GRIMALDI group over to spain. it is similar to a cruise ship but less expensive.

www.grimaldi-lines.com

wvgirl

Our three days are 3/19-21...thanks for the ideas so far!

lincasanova

You might have some weather issues in March for most of those destinations.

I donīt know what your madrid plans are, but there is A LOT to see and do around the hub.. well worth your extra THREE DAYS or more!

Or fly into Sevilla,. enjoy, then take the AVE bullet train up to madrid.

annhig

Hi, wvgirl,

ideally find somewhere that has good connections between your departure and arrival points.

so we know that you want to be in Madrid on 21/3 - where are you starting from?

if you can get to Seville easily from there, that would be ideal as it would be lovely in March. but you might also like BCN, etc. In the time available I wouldn't complicate things by going for a cruise or tour - IMO you need one place that you can get to and enjoy.

regards, ann

lincasanova

the grimaldi ferries go directly to barcelona, no messing around, but might be a relaxing way to get there if march seas are calm!

wvgirl

Sevilla then the AVE to Madrid sounds like a good plan...How far in advance would I need to buy AVE tkts

wvgirl

p.s. we are starting in Rome on 3/19 after a week tour in Italy

kayd

Stay in Rome for those three days since your week tour of Italy surely can't include enough time in Rome to see even the highlights there.

Mimar

I agree with kayd. With only one week in Italy you won't have seen much of Rome. And there's so much to see. Plus you'll save time you'd have spent transferring here and there.

cruiseluv

That's Holy Week, 3/21 is Good Friday. I think Sevilla gets very crowded at that time.

kayd

Oops, same goes for Rome, but you would be leaving on Good Friday, so avoiding the most crowded days.

wvgirl

Well, we just decided to leave Rome and head to Barcelona for 3 nights. After reading some posts, we decided on the Hotel Inglaterra! Now I just need to book our plane tkts....other than whichbudget.com do you have any other suggestions...any airlines to avoid?

Nikki

For flights to Barcelona, try www.vueling.com. I have flown on Vueling in Spain and Portugal and they have very good fares, new planes, assigned seats.

wvgirl

THanks Nikki! just used that site and bought the tkts....can't wait!

wvgirl

Is it worth taking the AVE first class between BCN & Madrid? If so, is 91.20 a good price?

Maribel

wvgirl,
I think you'll like the Hotel Inglaterra. The staff is very nice.

That fare of 91.20 in first class is a 40% discount, estrella (star) fare.

I don't know that I would spend the extra euros on first class now that the trip takes under 3 hrs. on the non- stop trains. When a trip takes 4 hrs or more, I have splurged for first class, but this new AVE is a very comfortable ride in tourist class.

If folks purchase tourist class tickets in advance (up to 62 days out or within a minimum of 15 days in advance) a 60% discounted WEB fare for 47,80 can be found.
But...
I've read they're completely sold out until the end of March.

But tourist class estrella fares may still be available for 71.40.

wvgirl

Thanks Maribel! I booked the Hotel Inglaterra after reading one of your posts! And, I found 2 AVE tkts(tourist class) from BCN to Madrid for 60 euros each! Can't wait!

Maribel

Good going!
Please tell Gemma, the manager of the Inglaterra, that I said "hi". We'll be staying there at the end of July.

I'm glad you decided to go to Barcelona for your 3 days. That was an excellent suggestion by annhig. You'll have a great time, I'm sure!