Since I'm in the midst of planning of Scotland trip, I decided to post to get some ideas for my trip to Spain during Easter

I'm hoping to go to Spain during the Easter festivities, mainly for Semana Santa in Seville. Need to bounce some ideas off Fodorites though - should I head to Seville for Semana Santa or wait till later for the Feria de Abril? I don't mind the increase in prices for accomodation - my only fear is that it'll get too rowdy. The other problem is that my Easter vacation ends on 18 April, so that might be a week too early for the Feria, or does Seville get 'prepared' for the festival by then already?

Because of this, I still haven't decided where to fly into, but I've tentatively set a number of days for each place (not including the flight into Spain but including travelling between the places)

o Barcelona - 4
o Madrid – 4 (one day trip to Toledo or Segovia)
o Granada - 2
o Seville – 3
o Cordoba - 1

I have another week left of my vacation after subtracting the days above, so I'm thinking of hopping over to Lisbon for a week after Spain. This is mainly because I want to visit Cabo de Roca This is another problem because I'm not sure if I should leave Lisbon to the last part of my trip or do it in the middle - does it make sense for me to go there from Seville enroute to Madrid? I checked out the train fares and they do seem rather costly :/

Does my rough itinerary above sound doable? I'm hoping that this trip will act as a taste of Spain, because I still have a number of places such as Valencia and Santiago which I want to visit but will definitely not be able to fit in here. This trip is still in the planning, but all suggestions/tips are welcome, especially since I can't decide in what manner should I visit all the places. I'll be flying in and out of Spain via Ryanair, and I probably will be flying open jaw since it'll save me time.

You've got many questions there: Easter Sunday is 4 April; the BIG Semana Santa Processions will be the first / second of April.
The Feria de abril usually begins 2-weeks after Semana Santa so you'll be out of there and miss the Feria.

You say you don't mind the price increase for accomodation in Sevilla: Availability might be a Problem!

If your time in Spain begins or ends in Sevilla, the best way to get to Lisbon might be Train or Bus to Albufeira via Huelva, then another Train or MotorCoach to Lisbon.

RyanAir flys to Jerez de la frontera (XRY) from London and Jerez is near Sevilla. RyanAir also flys in/out of the Barcelona area (not Llobregat).

hey nedsireland, i'm aware of the dates of the festivals - so my main question is rather whether the feria actually begins before the stated date - this year it's 20 april, so I was wondering if I were in Seville the week before, whether preparations for the festival would be visible and ongoing already?

Since I'll be flying in from Brussels, the nearest available places for me are actually Malaga for Seville, as well as Barcelona, Madrid and Zaragoza

Anyone can advise if preparations for the Feria will be ongoing and visible before the 20 April?

Feria de Abril

Nothing public happens before the official opening, this year at midnight on Tuesday 20th April. You'll see the showground at Los Remedios across the river getting ready for the fair (everything takes place within the ground, plus at the bull ring of course), with tents going up and inside fitted out. It's 5 days of merrymaking, eating, drinking and watching horse processions - a nice way to recover from the sombre solemnity of Semana Santa.
If you are in Seville before 20th April, I'm afraid you'll see nothing, other than frantic preparation at the site (you can't go inside). But Seville is a great place to be at any time of the year.