Draft Itinerary - Spain May 2006
 

Am in the early stages of planning a first trip to Spain and would like to take opinions on how this itinerary looks:

Madrid, 4 nights (daytrips TBD - thinking of Segovia, Toledo, Avila, or none if we're short on time in the city)
Granada, 2 nights
Rural accommodations 4 km from Ronda (with pool and rental car), 4 nights (daytrips TBD)
Seville, 4 nights (daytrip to Cordoba)

Four overnight bases are more than enough for me in 14 nights. I was planning on picking up the car from Granada and dropping upon arrival in Seville. Am hoping for future trips to Spain to visit North, NE, SE (including Barcelona) ... just wanted a good pace for this trip.

Would you reallocate days? How? Why?

Depending on what you like to do and see on vacation, with 4 nights in Madrid I would just do one day trip from there.

I like all three places that you mentioned, but Toledo is an easy day trip -- about one hour by bus, with plenty of departures -- and the old walled city is very atmospheric.

There is so much to see and do in Madrid (I was just there in June, so it is fresh in my mind), especially if you like museums, food, and nightlife, that I would hate to give up another day for a day-trip.

But it depends on what you like -- the alcazar (castle) and aquaduct in Segovia are wonderful, and Avila is a lovely walled city...choices, choices.

I like your bases, but I haven't been to southern Spain in some time, so I am sure you will get some good feedback on that portion of your trip from the Spain experts on this site.

Have fun!

Thank you, Annabelle, for your reply. Thinking we'll do 1 daytrip from Madrid with the remotest possibility of a second. But, my wish list is always longer than what I expect to do when actually on the ground.

Thanks!

I know what you mean!
Where are you staying in Madrid?

This sounds like a good plan to me, but one thing to consider is flying out of Malaga so that you don't have to go all the way back to Madrid.

I liked Madrid too, especially the Prado and Sofia, but I absolutely LOVED Segovia, Toledo, and Avila. IMO you might want to cut one day near Ronda and add another somewhere else. I really liked staying overnight in Segovia, Toledo, and Avila and the Paradors are great ways to do this (check out Parador.es--especially their 5 day or week passes.)

Good to start planning now (fun too, huh?)

Annabelle, in Madrid, I'm staying at Hotel Mario

http://www.innsofspain.com/hotelview.aspx?h=1212

I liked the look of it and got a double with breakfast for 110 Euro.

Artlover - Am definitely booking openjaw tickets. Backtracking is so expensive and eats up valuable vacation time. Was thinking of flying out of Seville and cursory searches on flight prices have shown it's less than $50 than RT Chicago-Madrid.

Your input on staying outside of Madrid at Segovia or Toledo is something I really debated. With 14 nights, I was hoping to limit overnights to 4 bases and do daytrips. However, your comments are much appreciated and I'll keep thim in mind over the very long time before the trip. And, yes, planning is so much fun! This is way earlier than I usually start, but my Fall trip is already booked. Hopefully, I won't get too far ahead of myself (trying to exercise a bit of restraint).

Thanks for the feedback!

Please try to get to Segovia if you can. I flat-out loved it. The Alcazar is gorgeous, the aqueduct is incredible...and there's plenty more!

Segovia is great too, but everybody knows that already.

Sounds like you have done your homework -- your itinerary looks good. (I too love a day trip to Segovia from Madrid, mr_go.)

Do you have your accommodations booked for Seville yet?

If not, and since you are planning to be there 4 nights, I can highly recommend the apartments offered on sevilla5.com.

My husband and I stayed in the Arfe (#5) in May and we were delighted with the location, the price, and the apartment itself. There are many other apartments to choose from on that site and many look nice, but this one was 5 mins walking to the cathedral, yet out of "tourist central." It was beautifully appointed and was an absolute steal at 59E/night. (And the two flights up help you burn off all the great tapas you will eat at Casablanca and Enrique Becerra -- just 5 mins away in the other direction toward the Plaza Nueva.)

Let me know if you want more info and I can e-mail you if you like.

Mr Go, thanks for the feedback - I pretty much put Segovia at the top of the list of daytrip options. Now, I just have to sit here and wait until next May (good thing I have Rome in October!).

Molloy, thank you so much for the link! I just took a quick surf through some photos and the options look fine for me. Accommodations are still up in the air, so I'll check these out further. It's such a helpful link, too. If you wouldn't mind, would love to take you up on your offer to email more info. Did you post a trip report, by chance? Anything handy for you to send or direct me to would be nice and much appreciated.

I did a similar trip in 2001 but stayed in Cordoba and included Barcelona. I haven't been to Ronda but I would strongly suggest a visit to Barcelona instead. It's worth it! I also loved Cordoba, very small and quiet but charming. My boyfriend (now husband) and I did all transport by train; very efficient and good value system. Don't know if you have everything booked already, but you might want to reconsider the cost and hassle of driving over there.
We took AVE from Madrid to Seville, stopping at Granada and Cordoba. From Seville with took an overnight train to Barcelona (12 exhausting hours!!!) and then another train to Madrid. Those last two were very long and tiring. Enjoyed the landscape views but if I had to do it again, I would fly to Barcelona and take a flight back home from there.
Just suggestions, anyway. You'll love Spain no matter what!!!
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Chicago_Heather writes: "... booking openjaw tickets. Backtracking is so expensive and eats up valuable vacation time. Was thinking of flying out of Seville and cursory searches on flight prices have shown it's less than $50 than RT Chicago-Madrid."

Either way, you are going to go thru Madrid/Barajas: There are no direct flights between Chicago & Sevilla.

On or more of the Tour Companies used to have a half day tour to Toledo from Madrid. I think it qwas TrapSATur.

Do a full day tour to Segovia! Don't take the 'Gastronomic' Tour (includes dinner). Do that on your own! I like Meson del Duque for roast suckling pig (or lamb).

Check out a 2006 religious calendar: If Easter is late, Sevilla's Feria de abril could spill over into May. If Easter is early, Pentecost Sunday: with the Feria del Campo & pilgrimage to the Santuario de la Virgen del Rocio will be in May. There is also the Feria de la Primavera in el Puerto de Santa Maria and a spring Horse festival in Jerez de la frontera.

Oooops. The first word in the second paragraph of my post above should read "Toledo". Sorry.

Thanks for the additional feedback. Barcelona is definitely another trip (I live in the city and like to combine small tour/rural with cities, so countryside in Andalusia is perfect for this trip). And, I love driving in Europe. We'll only have the car 4-5 days to use while staying in the countryside. That way, we can travel more easily during that time to small towns/rural areas, wherever we decided.

Also, I realize that I'll fly back through Madrid, but meant that we won't be traveling via rail or car and spending another night to catch a flight out of Madrid. It's much cheaper/easier to fly Seville to Chicago (with Madrid as a stopover).

Thank you for the heads-up on the restaurant suggestion for Segovia. I'm looking forward to all of the food! We'll most likely do Segovia and/or Toledo on our own, but will keep the recommendation for the agency to use for Toledo in my file.

Thanks!