First time to Spain
 

We are travelling to Spain in December, first time to Europe. Can anyone pass along some pointers and also should we purchse travellers checks in USA before we go or buy Euros when we land?
Thank You

Get some Euros in advance (maybe $100-200) just for the cab to airport (if you need one), a quick bite and maybe some miscellaneous. tipping. Other than that, your ATM and credit cards is all you need. You can withdraw Euros with your ATM as soon as you arrive. Traveller's checks really aren't necessary.

A bit more information would be helpful. How long are you going for, what are you interests? Spain is a very big European country. If you have limited time you might consider Andalucia which is lovely and you could easily spend several weeks between Seville, Granada and Cordoba and some of the white villages. It will also be warmer than anywhere else in the south.

Don´t bother with travellers cheques as they are far more trouble than they are worth. Use ATMs which are everywhere.

Thanks all, we are going for 17 days and will rent a car for that period too, we enjoy a bit of history and architecture and also like the smaller villages and countryside. A few museum visits in Madrid and Barcelona will be enough then we would like to travel to smaller cities.
Hope this is helpful.

Spain may be bigger than you think. After 5 trips we still have not seen it all.
In your time I would spend 6 days in centro Spain--Madrid, Segovia, Toledo, Salamanca----then the rest in Andalusia, to include Seville, Granada, Cordoba and the white villages. That will consume 17 days. I am not sure you have time for Barcelona which is another world altogether.

Have you read this trip report on Fodors?

http://tinyurl.com/4scad6

17 days is more than enough time to see Spain. we went to barcelona, valencia, seville and madrid in 8 days. we cant get away from work for more than a week really so we make do with our time. and believe me, it wasnt fast paced, not running from place to place. 3-4 days in Barcelona is enough to see most IMO. but its definitely an awesome city. I would not bother with traveler's checks. No one takes them anymore, and its a bother trying to find a place to change them for euros. Upon arriving at any international airport, we always hit the ATM. No need to get euros before hand. Just be sure to let your bank know you will be traveling.

Disagree about seeing Spain in 8 days. It would take that long to really see much of Andalusia - never mind the center or north.

We have done 2 trips - one 3 weeks and one 2.5 and still haven;t seen a lot.

Suggest you look at what you want to see where to get an idea of how long you'll need to stay in each place not to be disappointed. We were in Seville 3 days - and still didn;t see everything we wanted. It really depends on your interests.

"barcelona, valencia, seville and madrid in 8 days"! That's a much different pace then what I'm used to. Sounds more like a marathon then a holiday.

We just spent 10 days in Navarra, covering 1200 km, and saw less than half of what we wanted to see.

You can see and do a lot in 17 days, but I’ve always found that slowing the pace down makes things a little more enjoyable when you’re on vacation.

Since you'll be traveling in December, you may want to stick with Mediterranean coast, from Catalunya to Valencia, including a stop in Madrid for a few days. The new Parador at Alcalá de Henares, outside of Madrid, is now open and the rates are very good.

17 days is plenty (for me) to see the sights. I would describe it as getting a good flavour. You won't see it all. Allow plenty of time for travel between the cities though as they are surprising far apart (especially Barcelona). I have seen a fair bit of southern spain and I suppose all told, it was about 17 days!

http://stumblebumstravels.blogspot.c...ch/label/SPAIN

A message to those you think they can see all of Spain in a few days….
YOU CANNOT.
Sorry for the caps but I wanted to make it very clear.
In the lists of those who think or are wanting to see ALL of Spain have left out many many regions. Like Basque country, Cataluña (there is more than BCN to this region) Galicia (where I live) Asturias, Castile y Leon, Extremadura plus others which I ma most sure someone will add.
If the OP wants to see something of Spain in the few days they have then in 17 days se Madrid, use this time to overcome jet lag. Then move on to a zone. It seems you are keen on Andalusia. I wait for others to give you advice on that.

i envy you all for being able to take 17 days for a trip abroad. but like myself and im sure many others, we are not retired, unemployed nor have the luxury to take 3-4 weeks vacation at one time. i take what i can get, and i've seen what i wanted and set out to see in 8 days.

.... and besides i get damn home sick after 8 days!

"17 days is more than enough time to see Spain. ".....

Spain is a large and diverse country.
We visited twice in the last two years : 17 days ( Barcelona, Madrid, Toledo, Granada), and 14 days ( Santander, Bilbao, Girona, Santillana del Mar ,Barcelona). Next year we are going for another 2 weeks to Seville, Cordoba ,Barcelona and .....
On the other hand some people don't have the time ( money or interest) to spend more than a couple of days in a place.
One often reads here reports from travelers who are perfectly happy with 3 days in Rome , 2 days in Madrid or 4 nights in Paris.....

We visited Spain for the first time this Fall. When I started planning I thought surely 8-10 days would give us plenty of time to drive down Costa Brava, spend time in Barcelona and drive down to Andalusia and see some sights. I am ever so grateful that Fodorites informed me of just how large Spain is and they recommended I scale down my trip. I am so grateful they did!

However many days you have, whether it be 7, 17 or 27...you need to realistically plan for the amount of time you have. To blow through a country such as Spain, in my opinion, is just plain foolish.

We stayed 3 days in Llafranc on the Costa Brava and made day trips to nearby villages. We then drove to Barcelona where we stayed 6 days. It took every bit of 6 days to adequately explore Barcelona. I returned home but when I did my husband flew down to Granada and picked up a rental car again and spent the next 8 days driving through white villages as well as visited Seville and Madrid. He says that he felt like he rushed through this area and wished he had scaled back a bit. As a poster stated earlier - the distance between many of these regions in Spain are much longer than you might expect.

Bottom line...make more than just one trip to "see" Spain. Pick a region and explore it to the fullest. At least that's my take!

It is an interesting and perhaps endless debate as to whether 17 days is enough to see Spain. To paraphrase the question of the OP, they only have 17 days and wish to see Spain, and would like advice on how best to divide their time. If that is indeed the question, my advice would be:

Barcelona : 4 days
Madrid : 4 days (incl a day trip to Toledo, and perhaps Segovia or Salamanca)
Granada : 2 days
Seville : 6 days (incl a day trip to Cordoba, and a day trip to Ronda).
This adds up to 16 days. One day would easily go in travel.

Would you see ALL the interesting spots of Spain in 17 days ? No way. But IMO the above would cover most of the "high points" and give you a good flavor of the country.