Hi, we are two couples in our 50s, looking to travel to Spain in October. Nothing has been booked but I am anxious to get going. We definitely want to fly into Barcelona. We will have about 5 days there. After that, we are up in the air. We are not big museum people. My friends are sun worshippers...So, I've seen beautiful resorts in the Costa del Sol area. I also love the idea of touring the south of Spain. (Seville, Granada, Cordoba). We really only have about 12-13 days total. I hate the idea of a long flight back home (NY). I prefer nonstop flights. Any ideas, people??!! I usually love planning vacations but this one has me stumped. Thanks in advance. ~Regina

Obviously, you need a better sense of what, exactly, you want to see and do. And while I can't tell you how long that will take, I can give you some rough guidelines. IME, an average first visit to Andalusia fits well in 10 to 14 days. IMO, 5 days (meaning 6 nights) is reasonable for Barcelona, but you might want more or less time, depending on what you want to see in the city and which, if any, day trips you want to take. And if you want to see any of the surrounding area -- for example, Girona or other parts of the Costa Brava -- then you might want much more, say 10 days or so.

If you are fully committed to nonstop flights, then your options might be limited to Barcelona and Madrid -- and if you end up in Madrid, then even with little interest in museums, you might want a week to 10 days -- time for Madrid and Toledo and Segovia and Avila and Salamanca....

Good luck with your planning!

October would be a good time for Andalucia. With 13 days you could do both Barcelona and Andalucia (Seville, Cordoba and Granada) but it will be pushing it. And how are you figuring the 13 days - is that 13 actual days on the ground or does it include your travel days getting there and home? And I think the only non stops flights from NY to Spain are to Barcelona and Madrid.


With 13 days it would look like this. Five days in Barcelona (including the first, maybe jet lagged day), a travel day to get to Granada, then 2 nights (minimum, giving you only 1 full day) Granada, 2 nights Cordoba, 3 nights Seville, last night near Madrid airport. It would be a much nicer trip if you could add 1 night each to the Andalucia cities.


If you can't add time I'd consider dropping either Barcelona or Andalucia and combining whichever one you keep with Madrid. The two 'best' day trips from Madrid (both actually worthy of at least one overnight - depends how you feel on switching hotels frequently - doesn't bother me but some people hate it and prefer day trips) - is Segovia and Toledo.


Here's my photos of Spain, maybe it will help you decide. Zenfolio | Isabel's_View | Spain

Trains are best for going between cities like you and most do on a short first trip - Barcelona - fly to Seville - Codoba - Granada train to Madrid fly home from Madrid. Book trains far in advance at Renfe - great advise on trains and tickets and what to expect- www.seat61.com; BETS-European Rail Experts and www.ricksteves.com.

Trains are good in Spain and don't forget Cadiz. The weather was great last Oct still for the beach there

Yes did Cadiz as a day trip by train from Seville - lovely old town on sea and also same day to Jerez-de-la-Frontera to see a Sherry House and the prctice sessions of huge Andalusian horses in local arena for shows they give periodically here and all over. Both easy by train.

BTW, while I understand a preference for non-stop flights, I would far rather book a flight with a stop somewhere than have to worry about getting to a city I don't plan to visit the night before a non-stop departure. JMO.

no kidding, me too. Because you are wasting more time by traveling back to Madrid, probably.

Personally, I prefer the nonstop flight when returning home because I am just running out of steam more at that point. When going, sure, I"d prefer nonstop, but since my first day is kind of a loss anyway due to no sleep on the plane, arriving at noon in a city versus 7 am is no big deal (and in fact, you can't do anything when you arrive at 7 am anyway). So I'd fly into Seville with a connection, and end up in either Barcelona or Madrid for a nonstop to go home (American does this). In fact, the OP specially said she did not want a long flight returning home, so I think that's the best idea.

13 days is probably too much for all those places, I think you may have to choose between Madrid and Barcelona. Obviously Madrid would be a lot easier to get to by train from Andalucia.

I do not understand the reasoning for definitely wanting to fly into Barcelona. As I said, it doesn't work that well.

" My friends are sun worshippers...So, I've seen beautiful resorts in the Costa del Sol area."

Yeah, but you're talking about October, which is not the summer. Malaga is roughly on the same parallel as Norfolk, Virginia. Even in Texas the temps drop below beach level in October. And Malaga (it's on the Costa del Sol - largest city in the area) averages highs of 75 (24C) during October.

Malaga blends sunny beches (if not hot) and a nice old town but most other Costa del Sol resoerts IME are blah modern high-rise areas full of foreign tourists - especially Brits who flock here to escape dismal weather back home and party down.

Cadiz - close to Seville is also a seaside town though on Atlantic but nice beaches.

We spent 2 nights in Malaga last September and really enjoyed it. I highly recommend. The old town is beautiful. We visited the Alcazaba and castle; the cathedral; and Picasso Museum. Walked along the seaside promenade, and had drinks overlooking the harbor while watching the sun set. There is a wonderful indoor market and lots of restaurants.

And I agree with Isabel that October is the perfect time to visit Andalucia. It is extremely hot during the summer months.

Wow, thank for all the advice. We may do Barcelona and Madrid now and skip the Andalucia region for another time. It seems a bit much to try to do all that in 13 days. Or we may just do Barcelona only, and take a day trip somewhere from there. Thanks again for your tips and advice!!!

Barcelona and Madrid is a good combo. You could fly to Barcelona and continue right away to Madrid (. You are at the airport )
...a great city with many options for day trips ( Toledo, Segovia, Avila,Aranjuez etc) , then take a train to Barcelona for the other half of your trip.

Flay home.

We just got back from a trip to Spain -- if your trip is anything like ours was, you'll have a great time!

It sounds like you're focusing on Barcelona and Madrid at this point, but FYI, Malaga is also a viable option for non-stop flights home. On this past trip, our kids flew in to Madrid and home (to New Orleans, via JFK) from Malaga. We actually found that flight out from Malaga were cheaper than Madrid.

Wonderful day trips from Madrid - Toledo - fantastic old city just less than an hour by train - Segovia - especially for famous castle - Avila for St Teresa fans - and a longer day trip two hours about each way Salamanca - plus El Escorial - famous palace near Madrid also easy by train.

Barcelona - Montserrat and its mountain-top pilgrimage mecca - just short suburban train trip away; Figueras for Dali Museum again easy by train; Sitges neat seaside resort and many more.

While many people visit the places PalenQ mentions as day trips, some of us think they deserve much more time! I know I’m not only in thinking that Toledo and Salamanca easily merit 2 full days or more. It really depends on what you want to see and experience.

(And BTW, I enjoyed Segovia for its aquaduct and cathedral, I skipped its castle; I enjoyed Avila for its walls and brooding hidden streets, not for any connection to St. Teresa; etc.)

If you go to Barcelona only, I wouldn't do just one day trip from there. 13 days in Barcelona is not necessary. I would spend one week in Barcelona, and then spend the other week traveling around Costa Brava, Girona, and into the Pyrenees. Cadaques is a wonderful place to stop for a few days, and there are other places along the way. Girona is a wonderful small city that merits a few nights. And you could travel through the Pyrenees and visit small towns such as Besalu, Ripoll, Rupit, Vic. We spent 3 nights getting a taste of the Costa Brava and this included a day stopping in the small towns I mention in the Pyrenees. We could have used more time in this beautiful part of Spain. Very scenic!

Or spend one week in Barcelona with a day trip or two, and then one week in Madrid. If you do this, I highly recommend spending at least one night in Toledo. Toledo is beautiful, but very crowded with tour buses during the day. It's so much nicer in the evening when the daytrippers have gone and the city is so beautiful lit up at night. I really enjoyed both Barcelona and Madrid, and I think this would be an interesting combination because they are very different cities.