Cutback on Spain trip
 

We were supposed to do a 16 night trip to Spain in May but my husband just got a new job so I think 16 is a bit much. We are thinking of cutting it down to 10 if that will fly with his boss. But I had already planned out the whole itinerary and fell in love with the places on the list. Now that I am cutting back I would still like to visit most of the places. We are 30 and love to eat and explore and nightlife. Not so big on museums. Originally we had

Barcelona -3 nights
Madrid- 4 nights with day to Toledo
Seville-3 with day to Córdoba
Granada-2
Marbella-4 (we want a relaxing beach vacation at the end)

If we change to the below is it too much ? I guess what can we eliminate ? I have been to Barcelona and Madrid before but my husband hasn't and I really want him to go. But I want to see new cities as well which is why I added Seville and Granada with some day trips.

Barcelona -2
Madrid -3
Seville-2
Granada -1
Marbella-2

Probably will have to eliminate both Toledo and Córdoba side trips. What do you guys think ? Thanks for any help.

Why don't you put it off for a year and make the trip you originally planned?

Bvlenci has a good idea. If you like night life, food and the beach, just pick an island that fulfills your requirements and go to Spain another time.

We may have kids then haha. We wanted to do this year before trying.

I would never do that if I just started a new job, could set up a bad impression even if the boss says okay. I could see it, of course, if tickets had already been bought, etc., but this is just an idea at this point.

You could obviously drop Marbella, you can go many places to have a beach vacation, it's completely unnecessary to go to Europe to do that. I just find your priorities odd, that you'd drop Toledo and Cordoba in order to go to the beach? So is that what your husband is going to tell his boss, we just really need to go to the beach?

Your call, but I would not find your proposed trip enjoyable. And I personally would skip Barcelona and Madrid to have a reasonable amount of time in Sevilla, Granada, and Cordoba. I would not skip Cordoba -- it's among the gems of the world, IMO.

Good luck, and congratulations to your husband on his new position.

The stress level during the trip - the thoughts of the new job and all that - could severely interfere with the enjoyment. You want to be fully THERE and not have your mind wandering to other concerns.

That said - and only you will know what's best for you - just as a hint: You can visit Cordoba (in my book preferable to Seville if something has to give) on the way from Seville to Granada if you leave early. You'll still be in Granada by nightfall, ready for the Alhambra the next morning.

Try to include Cordoba.

If you reverse the order you can go to Barcelona's beaches at the end of your itinerary, eliminating Marbella.

So I was thinking about this and how much I really want to go to all the cities we originally planned. I am thinking of breaking this in to 2 trips. One in May and one in September. Would do 9 nights this trip so would essentially just be taking one week from work. Would save Barcelona for September and could mix that in with either Portugal, N. Spain, France or Germany... For May was thinking this:

Madrid- 3 nights- possible day trip to toledo
Seville- 3 nights- day trip to Cordoba on way from Madrid
Granada- 1 night- rent car and drive to Marbella
Marbella -2 nights- Drive from Marbella to Malaga to fly home

Does this sound any better?

How do you plan to get from Seville to Granada? Your one night there will hardly allow time to see anything unless you take the morning of your travel to Marbella day, which only leaves you one full beach day...to me wouldn't be relaxing at all, but up to you.

I think I would change to Madrid 2 nights, one full day to do museums there. Add the extra night to Granada, then you can leave early on your Marbella travel day, and at least have 1.5 beach days.

Good idea to leave Barcelona for another trip though.

Would take the bus or train from Seville to Granada early in the morning so would have the full day in Granada. We are not really museum people. We prefer exploring and eating so taking away a day in Madrid would not be a bad idea. Thanks for the suggestion!

As I recall, the train from Sevilla to Granada was a full 3 hours, so even with an early morning train, you won't have a full day in Granada, where IMHO, you really need at least 2 nights to do justice to the Alhambra (breathtaking...), the Capilla Real (where Isabella and Ferdinand are buried), the Mirador San Nicolas view out to the Alhambra and walking through some of the charming neighborhoods.

I'll echo others' comments...why go all the way to Europe to lie on a beach? I get it, I was 30 once. But you can lie on a beach anywhere. I would take your 2 nights from Marbella and add one to Granada and one to Sevilla (my favorite city that I visited, although I really enjoyed Madrid as well).

One other question...thinking about this from your husband's boss' perspective, will s(he) really care that much less if you say you are taking two longish trips over the span of 5 months vs. just taking one long vacation in either May or Sept? Why not take your full 16 day trip in Sept. after your husband has acclimated (and somewhat proven himself) on the new job?

It would only be one day at the beach. I also wanted to explore the town and harbor in Marbella. The hotel we would stay at is a villa in the hills that looks awesome and romantic and we like nightlife and people watching so I figured the main plaza would be great for that.

My husbands boss is his friend as well. He is helping manage the business so I feel like 16 days would be way too long to take off even after 9 months or so. I think a week is pretty standard for vacation as that is what people usually take at my work as well. The September trip was just an idea so will see if that even happens.

I agree that adding a day to Granada would be a good idea. Enjoy!

Maybe a relaxing beach vacation at the end of your trip won't be so vital given the shorter duration. I say skip Marbella. I would definitely visit Toledo.

Ok think we will take everyone's advice and eliminate Marbella. We are also going to go the end of April. So it will be:

Madrid -4 with day trip to Toledo
Seville- 3 with day trip to Córdoba
Granada 2

How does this sound ? Anything we are missing ? Thanks for all the great suggestions.