8 Days in Spain
 

Hi,

I have been invited to a wedding in Malaga in April and will be spending a week there with friends, afterwards I will have 8 days of travelling around by myself. While in Malaga we hope to do some day trips to Cordoba, Seville and Granada (Alhambra) and will be hiring a car. Would these be realistic day trips, we know we wont get to see everything but hope it might be a nice opportunity to see something around the area.

Looking for some feed back on my planned itinerary when travelling by myself

Day 1 - Train from Malaga to Madrid
Day 2- 4 Madrid - with a day trip to Toleda
Day 5 - 8 Somewhere else, was thinking maybe San Sebastian or Salamanca

Can anyone tell me which would be better? Or maybe even spending the whole 8 days in Madrid and do day trips to Toledo, Segovia and even Salamanca?

Or even somewhere else? Possibly skip Madrid all together? I am very open to suggestions. I have been to Barcelona and Valencia on a previous trip to Spain 5 years ago.

I enjoy natural scenery, delicious food, looking at interesting architecture and history. I am happy to walk around and am relatively fit and have no mobility issues. I would probably just catch trains/busses in between places or possibly hire a car and drive, though would probably prefer public transport.

Thanks in advance for your help.

Malaga to Seville - about 2 hours whether car or train
Malaga to Cordoba - less than 1 hour by train, about 1:45 by car
Malaga to Granada - 1:45 by train, about 1:30 by car

Cordoba is the only one of the three that is really amenable to a day trip. In Granada you need a reservation to visit Alhambra and visiting either in the morning or the evening means that the drive to and from Malaga would severely influence the stress and enjoyability of the experience.

Seville, at 2 hours is at the outside edge of do-ability but is the one with the most to see and do and I think most people would be quite upset they only allotted 6-8 hours to see it.

Book Malaga-Madrid and long-distance train tickets far in advance to get discounted fares - www.renfe.com or www.thetrainline.com (same fares folks say but lot easier for foreingers to get to work.) Check www.seat61.com for adroit advice on doing that; for general info on trains www.ricksteves.com and www.budgeteuropetravel.com.

Whether those are reasonable day trips from Malaga or not depends on your interests. Many people visit Cordoba as a day trip; I wanted 2 full days there. Granada’s Alhambra can take a full day in and of itself, with more time for the city’s other treasures. I’m glad I had 3 days in Granada. And a stay of 3 or 4 full days in Sevilla would not be inconsistent with that's city's gems.

Toledo is another place that many people visit as a day trip, but I am very glad that I had 2 full days. And Madrid itself can easily take 4 days, more if you want a day trip to Segovia.

I adored Salamanca and consider a 2 or 3 day stay there in line with it’s offerings.

I recommend that you get some good guidebooks (or spend some time with a few in your local library), decide on what you want to see in each location, and then use the internet to check their hours. 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. Once you have that information, you can plot things out on a calendar to see what you can fit into your time.

Hope that helps!

with 8 days only San Sebastian is too much an outlier - Barcelona is only a few hours from Madrid by train and many find it more enjoyable - fly home from there.

Salamanca to me was fantastic - suprised more folks here don't consider it - could be day trip from Madrid.

I'd base last part of trip in Madrid - if tire of city do daytrips to Toledo, Avila, Segovia, Salamanca - all some of the nicest places in Spain.

Long ago I did a day trip from Malaga to Granada - very easy by car and only saw Alhambra but that is what most go to Granada for. Better to stay longer but if only can do day trip do it. Ditto for Cordoba and Seville.

Make every effort to get to Granada and the Alhambra !