Flying from Sevilla to Madrid same day as flight home??
 

We will be ending our trip to Spain by flying out of Madrid at 11:30am on a Friday morning near the end of November. Right before that, we will be in Sevilla. We were hoping to take a flight Friday morning from Sevilla to Madrid and then grab our flight back to the US. The flight would arrive at Madrid airport at 8:30am (if it was ontime of course.) This would give us three hours before our flight back home was scheduled to leave. But we need some help on whether this is doable. We would rather spend our last night in Sevilla versus Madrid but also don't want to put ourselves in an unrealistic time crunch Friday morning. Your feedback is appreciated. Thanks.

if this is all on same /one ticket, then your luggage will be transferrd and the time frame is no problem. even if you missed that madrid flight.. you would be taken care of, put on next available flight, since it is a continuation of your itinerary.

on the other hand... if you are adding a low cost fight.. or separate ticket altogether, the danger of missing your madrid flight, and having to recoup and re-check bags, and stand in line to check in, go through security , etc., would not encourage me to stay another night in sevilla.

there are plenty of great, inexpensive airport hotels that by taking the LAST flight or latest train to madrid from sevilla, would give me peace of mind.

chi-jen,
The 3 hr. time limit is "conceivably" doable if all goes like clockwork, you have one ticket with automatic luggage transfer and no change of terminal. But know that the 11:30 US bound flight will begin loading an hr. in advance and you may need to change terminals with luggage in tow.

Lincasanova is exactly right in her concerns:
To have your luggage directly transfered to your US flight you absolutely MUST purchase these two tickets as one.

If you purchase on the web a cheap ticket Seville-Madrid separately on a low cost carrier, you will have to pick up your luggage in Barajas and recheck it yourself with your US bound carrier.

And if your low cost Seville-Madrid flight lands at Terminal 1 and your US bound flight departs from Terminal 4 (or vice versa), you need an absolutely minimun of 40 minutes to make the transfer from one terminal to another (I've timed it), and this does NOT include the time you wait for your luggage to arrive at baggage claim.

It took us 40 min. to walk from our gate at Terminal 4 to bus to Terminal 1 and arrive at our check in counter there without baggage, and we know the airport well.
Plus Barajas luggage handling can be extremely slow.

Just somethings to keep in mind.

The last time I did that my Continental flight departed from one of the 'new' gates at Terminal #1. I came in from Santiago on Air Europa (terminal #3). It was a 'hike' (with luggage) to the Continental Check-in (long queue also) and another trek to the departure gate. I barely had time to call relatives in Madrid (Almeda de Osuna) to tell them I couldn't meet them for Churros & Chocolate at Toribios on the Plaza in Barajas pueblo.

You also might be facing a weather delay (Fog) with an 08:30 scheduled arrival at Barajas in November.

You're going to have to be there at 08:30 anyway for an 11:30 departure, so plan using Finnagle's First Law: If anything can possibly go wrong, it will.

chi_jen,
Also figure in the very long lines and seemingly interminable wait that you can often encounter at your Barajas ticket counter to check in for your US bound flight. We have FF gold and above status so we use the fast first/business class line, but before we did, that wait always added to the stress in connecting.

Thanks for the feedback. It is much appreciated. Looks like we will plan to get into Madrid the day before. Is it worth it to get a hotel in the city and try to see a tiny bit that afternoon/night, or should we just plan to get a hotel close to the airport and prepare for our early morning departure?

Maribel -
Your travel guides have been very valuable as we plan our trip. We appreciate you sharing your expertise. On that note, would you suggest we spend 3 nights in Barcelona and 4 in Sevilla or the reverse?

chi_jen,
I really dislike impersonal, remote-feeling "you could be anywhere-bland" airport hotels, even if they are 4 star or even luxury, and avoid them if I can. I'd rather wake up super early to have my last night in a vibrant city. I just love spending every last minute that I can in lively Madrid (or any other city that I love, for that matter). It takes me only 20 min. by taxi from a downtown hotel to Barajas in normal conditions, leaving at around 8 a.m.
And there are hotels in the upmarket Salamanca district, which would be a nice change of scenery for you, that are only a 10-15 min. taxi ride from Barajas.

About where to spend the 4 days, I'm really torn. Weather will be milder in Seville. You may have damp conditions in Barcelona (??? who can predict weather in Spain these days!)
Seville is "quintessentially romantic Spanish", Barcelona, the capital of fascinating Catalunya, a "country" within the country.
Where are you staying in both places?

Lincasanova will probably say Seville, and laclaire will surely lobby for her beloved Barcelona, so I think I'll just stay on the fence! :)

By the way, have you checked into how early the 90-minute AVE train leaves from Sevilla?

Never mind. I just checked it out of curiousity. The timing wouldn't work.

First AVE at 6:45, arriving Atocha at 9:05.

I'd want to be at the airport by 9am for a flight to the US.

Maribel --
We were thinking the same thing that the weather would probably be better in Sevilla and so were leaning towards 4 nights there. But were wondering if there might be more to do/see in Barcelona. We are still figuring out exactly where we are going to stay in both cities based on feedback from this site, your guides and the price points we can get the rooms for. I like to stay at places on the nicer side but my husband focuses more on the cost and tries to keep me in line on that. Once I get it narrowed down to two or three places, I will check back here for feedback.

chi_jen,
Yes, just check back when you decide on your lodging. Weather versus sightseeing-the dilema.

in Barcelona I would hit the following:
Sagrada Familia
other Gaudí architecture (Casa Milà also known as La Pedrera, Casa Batllò, Parc Güell, Palau Güell,)
MNAC, which is enormous and so impressive
Fundació Miró
the very hip El Borne and Museu Picasso plus Església de Santa María del Mar
Mercat de la Boquería
Mercat de Santa Caterina
guided tours of Teatre del Liceu and Palau de la Música Catalana
Barri Gotic and Cathedral (Seu)

That will take a while, plus there are options for train trips to the cava (champagne) wineries at Sant Sadurní d'Anoia, to Girona, to Figueres (Dalí museum), to Montserrat for noon boys' choir, etc.

On the other hand...

From Seville, you can always take a day trip to Jerez de la Frontera to see the Dancing Horses Ballet at the Royal Andalusian School of Equestrain Art directly followed by Sandeman sherry tour in Jerez de la Frontera (explained in my Seville guide).

See how I'm trying to stay neutral in all this?

i think your side trips in sevilla would dictate an extra day, otherwise.. three nights should give any organized tourist a VERY decent view of interesting sites, inside and out.
the spansih riding school in jerez has shows only certain days, i believe.(used to be sundays and thursdays. YEARS ago)
a bodega tour can be fun, as mentioned.
the outskirts of jerez are full of rolling fields and cortijos (working ranches) and are a joy to drive around, weather permitting.

i think if you research and decide what you really want to do you can see how many days you need in each place.

have fun!

Hi chi,

I make it a point to be in the city from which I am departing the night before.

There is too much that could go wrong, and the consequences are too severe, to risk flying into Madrid.

((I))

chi_jen,
If you're interested in a day trip to Jerez de la Frontera from Seville for the Equestrian show and post show tour of the Sandeman Sherry Bodega around the corner....

The Spanish Riding School now has noon performances of their Horse Ballet (Como Bailan los Caballos Andaluces) in November on Tues. and Thurs. only (in Aug. a Fri. performance is added). You can purchase your ticket on line at
www.realescuela.org
Tickets cost 23 for the first two rows, great seats really close to the action near the VIP box and 17 euros for other rows which have unobstructed views.
Show lasts for 1 1/2 hrs. with intermission just long enough to run to the bar for a glass of fino (sherry) or to buy a poster in the shop.

Afterwards just take a right going out the entrance and turn the corner to walk all the way around this triangular block to the Sandeman sherry bodegas behind the Royal Equestrian School, facing the Gran Palmera Plaza Hotel. Tours of Sandeman in English (which are good and fun and end in tastings) begin on Tues./Thurs. at 2. You can buy tickets there. This makes for a great excursion from Seville. You can reach Jerez by bus or train. If you drive, be sure to download the little map, by clicking on Road to Jerez on the left side under Visits here:

www.sandeman.com/ing/general.html

Here's another day trip possibility, which I haven't personally tried, but which is recommended by Rick Steves Spain guide readers on the Grafitti wall of www.ricksteves.com
A guided tour in 8 person mini van of the perched Moorish white towns, famous "pueblos blancos", given by Australian Paul McGrath. It's a longish drive or bus ride to Arcos or Ronda from Seville, and this excursion makes seeing some of the smaller and the prettiest white towns much easier and pleasurable. The tour visits two of my very favorites, Zahara de la Sierra and Grazalema.
www.theotherspain.galeon.com/index.html

As Lin says, just do your research of what visits/monuments/sites appeal to you in Seville and Barcelona, then choose your number of days in each city based on how much you want to see in each.

Okay, I have been spending way too much time trying to pick out our Barcelona hotel for a three night stay. I could really use some help to make a final decision. Based on all the feedback here and endless website searches for the best rates, I have been debating between the Majestic ($760), the AC Diplomatic ($570) and the Apsis Atrium Palace ($480). I think the Majestic is probably out at this point, but I am wondering if it is worth it to spend more to stay at the Diplomatic? I am also torn between chucking those and going with a better deal at a place like the AB Viladomat ($276) or the Astoria ($390.) I think I could probably go back and forth on this for days longer but there is so much more planning to do so any help towards making a decision would be appreciated.

chi-len,
Only you know how to spend your money.

The Majestic has a perfect, elegant location but...you can rarely find a room for under 200 euros a night. I keep a running spreadsheet of Bcn hotel rates, and I found the Majestic once on www.gtahoteles.com for 189, but only for particular date in Jan.

If you want to save some money (and who doesn't once in a while these days?), the Astoria is fine. That's where we stay when we want/need to economize. In fact, we have a 5 night stay there coming up-superior room for 95 a night, and the rate may go down before then, since it's winter. The Astoria has a great and fairly quiet location in the very upscale section of the Esquerra (Left) Eixample (near the Diagonal, just a few blocks from the Passeig de Gracia and Majestic), and it has some Old World touches, like the beautiful spiral staircase, the marble and the murals, which give it class. It's also a member of the very upmarket Derby group, cheaper little sister to the 5 star Claris. Tonier and handier location than the AB Viladomat, which is certainly fine, as well, but Astoria has a more "swank" address in the Eixample.

The Atrium Palace is fine too, but you could spend the $90 saved on an evening out. We have our choice of all of the above as well, and we've decided to save the euros this time and put them towards great meals and entertainment. But we're not you! :)