I'm going to add one more thought, my rule of thumb is 1-2 cities tops as a base for 7-10 full days (1 place is preferred), 3 base cities is fine is you have at least 11 or 12 full days and that is only if those places are on the same path, and include smaller cities/town, and if you have an open jaw.

You can always take another vacation - don't look at this as your only chance and pack it in. I have wish lists of destinations either that are new or to return to, I just plan one area/place/etc. at a time, and know that I'll get to the other places on the next go around.

Bottom line is a vacation is supposed to be relaxing, too many places and too much planning kills that.

Thanks everyone for your response and input. Program almost finalized, with some significant changes.

- Now the 2 kids are coming along!!!
- Going in October rather than November
- Going for 14 days rather than 9 days!!!

With that, still landing in Madrid, and now with the option can leave from Barcelona or Paris.

Haven't completely thought it thru...let's see.

Suggestions? Thanks,

Hmmm, well, that could be Madrid, Barcelona, Paris OR Madrid, San Sebastian, Paris.

So,
Madrid - 4/5 days
San Sebastian - 4 days
Paris/Barcelona - 5/4 days

If you want to have all four places, Madrid, San Sebastian, Paris, Barcelona - but I would not personally do this as it won't give you much time anywhere.

Also, you could do just two places - Madrid and Paris/Madrid and Barcelona.

What're your preferences? What do you (and your family) like doing?

I do not have a specific suggestion for you, but I do have a point of view that differs a bit from the opinions expressed so far. I think it is quite possible to have a good time seeing Madrid, Barcelona, and Lisbon in nine days, or those cities and another in fourteen days. In fact, I took a trip four years ago, seeing Barcelona, Ibiza, Madrid, and Lisbon in thirteen days.

We flew on Vueling between cities for very reasonable fares.

We did not take side trips and if that is important then I agree there is not enough time.

My trip report, testifying to the fact that this was indeed fun for us:

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...rip-report.cfm

Whatever you do, don't miss San Sebastián!

If this is your first trip to Spain I wouldn't miss Andalucia. As much as I like the North it will not be the best season to visit. 14 days would be about the perfect amount of time for Madrid & Andalucia.

The big question would be: do your kids have any specific area of interest?

Thanks everyone. So this is what has been booked now...vacation time confirmed!

Dep Toronto Sat Oct 9th
Arr Madrid Sun Oct 10th
- Booked 4 nights there and planned itinerary with 3 full days in Madrid and 1 day trip to Toleda & area.

Dep from Barcelona Sun Oct 24th
- Plan to arrive in Barcelona on Thu Oct 21st
- 3 full days in Barcelona with 1 of those days for a day trip to Montserrat

The Question is what to do between Oct 14th morning to Oct 21st morning i.e. 7 clear days...

Option # 1
- Take the train from Madrid to Seville on Oct 14th morning
- Spend 2 days in Seville until Oct 16th or 17th
- Take the train from Seville to Lisbon arriving Oct 16th
- Lisbon Oct 16th or 17th - 20th or 21st morning i.e. about 5 days to explore Lisbon, Sintra and maybe surrounding areas
- Oct 21st fly to Barcelona

Option # 2
- Take the train from Madrid to San Sebastian on Oct 14th morning
- Spend half day 14th and all of 15th in San Sebastian
- Take the morning flight from Biarritz France on Oct 16th to Paris
- In Paris Oct 16th - 21st morning i.e. 5 days and see Paris and surrounding areas
- Fly from Paris to Barcelona on Oct 21st morning

What should I do? Cost wise the San Sebastian thing is a bit cheaper bcoz the flights from Biarritz to Paris to Barcelona is cheaper and so is the train from Madrid to San Sebastian, although the taxi from San Sebastian to Biarritz is hefty.

Also if I do the Seville and Lisbon thing, should I get a Euro Pass is that a better idea since there will be about 3 - 4 days of trains i.e. Madrid to Toledo to Seville to Lisbon to Sintra & back etc.

Suggestions?!!! Thanks, Sourbh

Of these two, I'd go with option 2 because I would want to spend more time in Seville and surrounding areas than you have outlined. Oh and in 5 days, I'd say stick to Paris with maybe a trip to Versailles.

Euro pass - you should calculate the total of point to point tickets and compare to the relevant pass price.

All of that said, I would personally do Madrid, Andalusia, Barcelona. But this is your trip! = D

Thanks Sam86...based on that, for Option 1 I could also change Seville to 3 days and Lisbon to 4 days....thoughts?

Then you wouldn't have time to do justice to day trips from Lisbon and Lisbon itself. Also, there's much to see in Seville, but then there is also Cordoba and Granada. So I'd pick one or the other but not both. You could do Madrid, Lisbon, Barcelona if the transport works out. If you think geographically, in Option 1, you go south from Madrid to Seville, then west, then south east - quite a zig zag!

BUT - if you think you will not get another chance to see these places, go for it = )

With 7 days I wouldn't do option 1 or 2. Instead I'd do something like this:

4 nights Sevilla
2 nights Granada
1 night Pueblos Blancos or Malaga

I There, the problem is that you're thinking of Madrid first. It would be better to make Lisbon or barcelona First, then Madrid, and then Barcelona or Lisbon... forget Seville, barcelona and Lisbon have a lot more to see than Seville... if you really want to do Madrid first it's preferable to book a flight in a lowcost airline like easyjet from madrid to Lisbon, it's a lote cheaper than the train, and a lot faster... unless you're a train lover and really prefer train.

I have a somewhat related question- Is combing a trip between Lisbon, Salamanca, and Santiago de Compostela do-able in 10 to 11 days? We are planning on flying over to Lisbon from Marrakesh, but wanted to see if we could fit in those Spanish cities as well. And no worries, we have already been to Barcelona, Madrid, Sevilla, Granada, Toledo, and Cordoba (ok, so we missed Segovia- suppose that could be a day trip from Salamanca?). Any advice is greatly appreciated!

kayaklady.
It would have been best to start a new thread you are more likely to get a better response that way: When you do that could you please give us some more details like time of year your interests and method of travel. It would also help us if you posted where you are going to after you have visited the Iberian peninsular.

Thanks

good call, ribeirasacra...i'll start a new one