jada2016

Hi everyone

I'm thankful for the ppl who helped me deciding where to go in my earlier post ( http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...ember-2015.cfm )

Here is my schedule for this trip
We will be heading to Barcelona on the 17 of Sep.

17 - 21 (morning)
Barcelona - Will try to attend the Barcelona match!

21 Tarragona
Spend a day to enjoy Portaventura
(where to sleep, did not decide yet)

then I got confused a bit
22 Valencia ?
Is it worth the visit?

23-24-25
southern cities (might live in one city and visit 2 if they are near) or divide my trip into 2 ( Seville and Granada ? )
I read this and I got a bit confused

Granada - Located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains, it's home of the Alhambra Palace.
Seville - Also called Sevilla, known for its charming nature and moorish influence. They have a wonderful Alcazar, Cathederal and have the best Semana Santa (easter week) and La Feria (spring fair) in the country.
Malaga - A key beach going town on Costa Del Sol, east of Gibralter, it's the birthplace to Antonio Bandera and Pablo Picasso. They have a subtropical mediterranean climate. The town has remains of a roman theatre and ancient phoencian wall.
Cadiz - Gorgeous beaches, this shore town boasts the title of Europes oldest city.
Jerez de la Frontera - Sherry country, outstanding Bodegas are here, and home to "Tio Pepe" and the Gonzalez Byass winery.
Cordoba - Located on the Guadalquivar river this must see town boasts roman history, moorish sytle patios and a magnificant mosque, the Mezquita.
Ronda - A gorgeous and charming white hill town with an amazing gorge. Home of the oldest bullring in the country.

26 back to Barcelona and enjoy the last day before we head back home


- Do I rent a car? or train will do?
How about when we go back to Barcelona? a flight maybe?
( Looking for cost effective option )

- I want couple activities?
Classes, live music or performance .... anything fun

- Do you think I'll find some resort with private pool (similar to Maldive) to enjoy the privacy
( willing to pay for a night only)

- How can I get a hold of festivals in the cities I'll be visiting

- Is Madrid worth the fuss cause I could not fit in this schedule (it's in the middle)
We will stop there for about 5 hours in our trip. What can we do (something very very near the airport- it will be morning time BTW, at 6:00 am maybe )

- Parachuting, Jet ski and other stuff. Where to find and how much?
Found a website that offers parachute for 200 euro, is it normal?

- Any tips will be helpful?

Thanks in advance

bilboburgler

You can treat Cordoba and Seville as an easy train ride one to the other. I've had a car in both and you don't want one here.

Malaga is further away but on the train.

Try Rome2Rio website for some more views on travel

MFNYC

3 days in southern Spain doesn't leave you much room to visit multiple places. There's lots to do in Seville alone. You can maybe do 1 day trip, but that's it.

jada2016

Thanks will keep this website in mind.
I thought about this
Valencia to Cordoba - seville (3 days)

Again what activities to do there. This also is a good question for Barcelona
What fun things to do for as a couple?

jada2016

Mfnyc

Please tell me more about what are the things In seville?

MFNYC

Here's my trip report on a trip last year to southern Spain.
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...-andalucia.cfm

I arrived in Seville on day 6 (from Ronda) and left on day 10 (to go to Madrid). We also visited Cordoba and Granada,

Robert2533

Portaventura is an amusement park, not some thing I would travel all the way to Spain to experience unless you're dragging along the children.

Sassafrass

First, if at all possible, I would go straight away to Seville or Ganada and not do two visits to Barcelona, requiring two check-ins and ckeck outs. You have to be in Barcelona at the end anyway, so put all your time there together.

Personally, With such limited time, I would skip Tarragona and Valencia and add those days to Sevilla, Cordoba and Granada.

Skip Madrid also. Madrid has lots to offer, especially day trips, but absolutely pointless to waste time and money going up there if you do not have time to do and see things there. Now, if you do not already have tickets, and could fly into Bacelona and home from Madrid, saving the trip back to Barcelona and giving a couple of days to Madrid, I might say do that. However, being a major city, it might be just as easy to make a stop in Madrid on another trip, even to another country.

Fly from Barcelona to Granada, train or bus to Seville, fly back to Barcelona from Seville. No car necessary.

kja

"23-24-25
southern cities (might live in one city and visit 2 if they are near) or divide my trip into 2 ( Seville and Granada ? ) "

I would find this plan extremely frustrating. Granada itself easily warrants two nights just to see the Alhambra. Sevilla can easily consume 4 days or more. Cordoba can be seen as a day trip from Sevilla, but easily merits 2 full days.

"I read this and I got a bit confused "

Sounds like you would benefit greatly from a good guidebook or two. IME, they are always a worthy investment, but you can also consult a library.

"26 back to Barcelona and enjoy the last day before we head back home"

Do you already have your airline reservations? If not, consider an open jaw flight. If so, consider putting all of your time in Barcelona at the END of your trip.

"Do I rent a car? or train will do?"

That depends on your final itinerary. For most of the places you mention, a train should work well.

"I want couple activities? Classes, live music or performance .... anything fun"

Consult a guidebook.

"Do you think I'll find some resort with private pool"

Consult booking.com

"How can I get a hold of festivals in the cities I'll be visiting"

Consult a guidebook.

"Is Madrid worth the fuss cause I could not fit in this schedule (it's in the middle) We will stop there for about 5 hours in our trip."

I thought it worth 4 full days and did not think it a "fuss".

"Parachuting, Jet ski and other stuff. Where to find and how much?"

Consult a guidebook.

Good luck!

jada2016

MFNYC
Thanks I'm reading your post now.

Robert2533
Yeah, I know. But I wanted to visit any amusement park (yes we love to play) and I guess it's the best in Spain. am I right?

Sassafrass
that was my plan until we added (attending FC Barcelona - Levante UD) which will be 09/20/2015 20:30
get my point?

Here is some information about what we are looking for in this trip:

We are in our 20's looking for activities like : Theme parks (yes we love to play), cafes and restaurants (again we love good except sea food ), sports like parachuting cycling, water sport will be nice, places to enjoy a long walk, good deals of shopping (I adore outlets), live shows or music, couple classes for cooking e.g. and not to forget we love to chill and smoke hookah.
Mmm, visiting Alhambra and old palaces is one of the things we want but not all.
Lots of activities in such a limited time, I know.


kja
thank you for your great help. we decided that train will do.
A suggestion was to go back to Barcelona on the 26 by flight since it's our last stop


What more information I should keep in mind?
please remember that I bought the ticket to Barcelona (to and from)

thank you

kja

"A suggestion was to go back to Barcelona on the 26 by flight since it's our last stop"

Right. So leave Barcelona ASAP and put all your time there at the end, when you will need to be there to ensure you can catch your flight.

jada2016

kja
Thanks.

Hi all,

If we wanted to go to Portaventura, I guess we can do that while we are in Barcelona so there is no need to put an extra day there in Tarragona unless it was worth the stop.

kimhe

Barcelona, the huge Merce festival 19-24. Sept and very controversial elections about independence from Spain on Sept. 27: http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/...0Q824020150803

Excellent info about Sevilla, the undisputed queen of the cities in the South. Things to do etc. etc. http://www.exploreseville.com/

Check this guide about tapas bars and restaurants in Sevilla. Azahar lives here and knows what she's talking about. Click on "By barrio" to see bars/restaurants with reviews by districts: http://azahar-sevilla.com/sevilletapas/sevilla-tapas/

Santa Cruz is the most famous (and touristy) district in Sevilla, but be sure to also visit the Triana district just on the other side of the city river Guadalquivir. Great atmsophere, and among many other things, a cradle of flamenco culture: http://www.andalucia.com/cities/seville/triana.htm

Perhaps go to Casa Anselma in Calle Pages del Corro, 49 after midnight. Anselma herself in action: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gw1atBQq_u0
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/spain/se...r/casa-anselma

And the Alameda/Macarena district is great fun (Alameda) and very local feel (Macarena):
http://www.veoapartment.com/seville/...hbourhood.html
http://www.andalucia.com/cities/seville/macarena.htm
http://www.andalucia.com/cities/seville/alameda.htm

And the Arenal district, very close to the cathedral and the main sights, is also excellent both day and night. Many fabulous tapas bars and restaurants here, the huge Maestranza theater, the bullring, Torre del Oro (Gold Tower), river boats etc: http://www.sevillaonline.es/english/seville/arenal.htm

jada2016

Thank you so very much
Been reading these links like crazy ��

Egbert

I would have skipped Barcelona, flown in and out of Madrid.
As mentioned, Seville deserves 3 nights at least and Granada, 2. Other places worth visiting are Cordoba, Cadiz and Malaga.

maitaitom

Here's our first eight days in Spain (Barcelona and Granada in words and photos). I should get Sevilla and Cordoba done before you leave.

<B>http://travelswithmaitaitom.com/spain-2015/</B>

jada2016

since we will available from 21 till 26 morning I guess we will have time to get to enjoy the southern

Now let's talk transportation
early morning of 21 I will be moving first to
( Malaga - Granada ) which is more convenient to get to (I prefer metro if cheaper )

kja

"since we will available from 21 till 26 morning I guess we will have time to get to enjoy the southern"

I though Andalusia deserved at least 10 days minimum, and wish I'd had more time there. To each his/her own!

You should be able to find plenty of great information about transportation in guidebooks, using internet searches, or even using searches of this forum.

kimhe

<early morning of 21 I will be moving first to
( Malaga - Granada ) which is more convenient to get to (I prefer metro if cheaper )>

Malaga is more accessible than Granada, a huge int airport in Malaga means more flights/day and normally lower costs. Malaga is also on the high speed AVE train line.

3000 year old Malaga city on the Med is a fabulous place in itself, and a perfect base for visiting famous Cordoba (50 mins with the AVE Train), Granada (90 mins by bus) and Antequera, the so called heart of Andalucia, just north of the city. http://www.andaluciacoastandcountry....era-spain.html
http://wild-about-travel.com/2011/07...ing-antequera/

About Malaga: http://www.theguardian.com/travel/20...rs-restaurants
Video presentation: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/de...pt-secret.html