How to plan my trip to Istanbul and Spain during Jan ?
 

Hi,

I need help ! I am planning on visiting Istanbul and Spain in Jan. I am thinking of leaving on Jan1st and this will be a 2 week trip. In Spain , I really want to visit Barcelona, Madrid, Seville, Grananda and Cordoba. Please help me in deciding the number of days I should be in these cities. If I should leave out any city? Is it easy travelling within Spain by bus or train?

Thank you for your reply !

Please explain how Istanbul fits into your itinerary. Your 2 weeks could easily be filled in Spain so not sure what to advise there unless you already have purchased tickets (provide details if so).
It is quite easy to travel among those cities in Spain by bus and train. I think the number of days really depends on personal preference, so you will need to tell us more about your interests and what you have identified to see and do in those places.

I am interested in History.

And Istanbul--does that fit into the two weeks or ? Are your flights booked, or do you know where you will likely fly into and out of?

You may be able to fit Istanbul in if you leave Barcelona out since Barcelona does not fit the pattern anyway.

It is not a historic city like the others but a highly artistic one that requires at least 4-5 days on its own, especially if you are interested in Gaudi, Picasso, Miro, Dali.

Also, do not forget that you have very short daylight periods for sightseeing.

Some years ago, we spent 3 nights in Madrid, 2 nights in Cordoba, One night at Sevilla and 2 nights in Granada (one night in Valencia also which you would not need). It was barely enough to see some of the major sights. And that was in late April with longer days and we were driving outside Madrid.

If you repeat our performance, that may leave you four nights in Istanbul.

There are direct flights from Madrid and Barcelona to Istanbul and vice versa.

With only 2 weeks, I don't think you have time for Istanbul AND Spain. In fact, I don't think you even have enough time for the places you list in Spain. Check some of the planning threads for Spain on this board.

If I were planning I think I would do Madrid, Barcelona, and Istanbul. You could do 4 nights in each city and get an idea of what they are like. Maybe then you could do a future trip and focus more on one of them.

In that case, should I just focus on south of Spain and Istanbul? I have not booked my flights yet. I really want to visit Istanbul. Which one would you recommend. North or south spain?

For a first time trip to Spain start with the south. Seville, Cordoba, Granada and Malaga or Madrid. Having said that I would spend all of the time in Spain and plan on another trip in the future to Istanbul.

Thank you for your help ! Between Cordoba, Granada , Seville and Malaga, which city should I leave out for now?

Have you looked at the guide books to see which historical sights are in which places.

Are you prepared for weather in both places?

It's really up to you.
May be it depends also a bit on your flights: Malaga has rather more international flights than the other 2 airports.

I am planning on taking flight to Malaga.What is the best way to travel to Cordoba, Granada and Seville ?

http://www.renfe.es/
http://www.alsa.es/