How would you spend two weeks in central Spain in July?
 

I'm planning a trip to Spain for this July. I just got back (last week) from Sevilla (4 nights), Cordoba (2 nights) and Granada (3 nights). In March of 06 I spent 4 nights in Barcelona. With the exception of Cordoba, where I felt 2 nights was enough, I could easily have been happy with at least another couple of days in each of the other cities. Given that it will be July (hot) I'm figuring on needing even more time than "usual" since I'll want to take it slower, siesta, etc. In addition to the "sites" I spend what some people would consider inordinate amounts of time just wandering around taking photos.

So given that background, how much time would you spend in Madrid, Toledo and Segovia? I am thinking of day trips out of Madrid for Avila and Salamanca. Open to other suggestions for day trips, etc. I can afford about two weeks (three actually, but I'm flying to Scotland for the last 5-7 days).

Thanks for the suggestions.

Anyone?

Sorry - for me July is just too hot in Spain. I would do somewhere in Scandinavia instead.

I would not go to Salamanca on a day trip, it's too far and it's too lovely for that. Yet you could do Toledo as a day trip. If you have a car, you must stop at the Escorial, drive to Segovia, spend a night in Avila at the Parador, then drive to Salamanca and spend a night (the Parador is too far from the beautiful old town, which must be walked at night to see it at it's most beautiful).
Our 2 week trip in the area was somewhat like this: 3 nights Madrid, 2 nights Avila, 2 in Salamanca, 2 in Segovia, 1 n Chinchon, 2 in Cuenca, 1 last night in Madrid.
It will definitely be very hot. Make sure your hotels have a/c.
You don't need the car once you arrive in each town, but it makes getting there much easier because there aren't convenient trains to each place. Of our many trips to Spain, this itinerary was one of my favorites.

hi, isabel,

I'm with the OP - there must be other times you could come to Spain. Madrid would be hell, IMO.

If it has to be spain, the northern coast would be much better [not called the costa verde for nothing] and you could get up into the mountains.

I like the idea of northern europe much better - holland, denmark, Ireland, Scotland.

in fact, we faced the same dilemma in that we had a window for our family holiday in July 2007. WE started off thinking of Venice, but dismissed it as too hot, and have ended up booking to go to South Africa! [winter there so no problems with excessive heat!]

regards, ann

Yeah, I looove Spain, but even natives do not care for the heat of July and August.

I had a good laugh with my friend who grew up in Cordoba about tourists who come to Spain to see the sites in July and August. It's really crazy.

If you must go to Spain then, head to Galicia or some where in the high north right on the sea.

Isabel,

Or any of you Fodorites, Maybe you can help me. I am trying to plan my trip in May from Madrid,day trip Segovia, back to Madrid then day to Toledo .

Here's where I'm getting confused. I will not be renting a car, but traveling by bus where possible, otherwise probably local trains.

I want to go to Cordoba for a day, Seville for 2 or 3 days, LaLinea for Gibraltar- just a day trip, and then on to Granada for three days, then fly back to Madrid for plane home.

But what order do I go to these cities in? Or do I reverse it all? And what transportation?

Is it better to fly to Granada from Madrid, then bus to La Linea? then train, bus or plane ? to Seville? Then how to Cordoba? And from Cordoba how back to Madrid? for plane home to the states?

Sorry but I'be been working on this for days online and now am totally confused.

I can't book hotels or planes till I know where and when I'm going . Yikes - and time is growing short!

It might better if you copy this question and start a new thread. You'll get detailed information if they have to answer to just transportation problems in Spain. I am sure we can all benefit from their answers. I know I will.

Thanks Elba.

Have just done it.

Nor would I: we spent July '04 in N Portugal and Galecia, Spain - daytime highs were in the high 70's/low 80's F
while Sevilla had highs of 50C/122F on 30 June that year.
M

Thanks for your replys. I really do hear you - and it was on the advice of fodorites that I decided to do Andalucia in March rather than July - and I'm very glad I did. But while Andalucia was 75 degrees in March, Madrid was more like 45-50. In the summer weather is a crap shoot. I've had quite pleasant weather in Sicily, other parts of Italy, Portugal, etc in July - and really unpleasant hot weather in places that are suppossed to be cooler (like England and Switzerland - where there is very little AC). So I'm willing to gamble and try central Spain for a couple of weeks. That's why I want to plan a rather "slow" trip, so I can manage the heat better by resting in the hottest part of the day.

Aleta - I won't have a car on this trip, and partly because of that I'm trying to reduce the number of different hotels, that's why day trips, even if it means a bus/train ride of a couple of hours each way - is more appealing to me than moving to a different hotel. I had originally planned on overnights in both Salamanca and Avilla, but I thought if I could do them as day trips it would be simpler, even if kind of a waste of time to some extent. I picked Toledo as an overnight because it sounds so wonderful. But I'm open to having my mind changed.

elba - I can help you with some of it. I don't know if it would be better to do the Madrid portion at the begining or end of your trip, but day trips to Segovia and Toledo look very easy to do. This site (http://www.softdoc.es/madrid_guide/t...buses.html#res) looks very helpful for buses out of Madrid (for Segovia, etc). I believe the AVE train to Toledo is the way to go for that one.

I suggest you do Cordoba as a stopover on the way to Sevilla. I really loved Sevilla, but Cordoba the main attraction was the Mezquita. They have left luggage at the train station and you could easily spend 3-4 hours and then continue on. Not that I didn't like Cordoba, but if time is limited I'd skip an overnight there in favor of more time in Sevilla. We spent 4 nights and it was barely enough. From Sevilla to Granada there are both trains and buses. We took the AvE train from Sevilla to Cordoba, and the bus from Cordoba to Granada - both were comfortable, climate controlled and very easy to do despite my lack of Spanish.

Thanks Isabel. Mayha was the one with the urgent need. I am just trying to plan a decent schedule. I can't make heads or tails out of so many choices. I'll start posting my questions when I know a little bit more about my choices.

&quot;<i>So given that background, how much time would you spend in Madrid, Toledo and Segovia?</i>&quot; None. Everyone has given you the same basic advice. If it were me - I'd say &quot;OK, bad idea. Guess I'll change my game plan.&quot; And either go to the north coast -- OR bag Spain altogether for this trip and spend the whole time in Scotland.

Me personally - I'd do Scotland . . . .

Many Thanks Isabel. That was helpful.

I will look over that site - one I haven't seen before.. I pretty much have the route figured out now with the help of the Fodorites...now it's just a matter of how many days - day trip to Segovia and Toledo, maybe one night in Cordoba, 2 or 3 days in Seville,? 3 in
Granada? will those 3 be enough? And guess I have given up on Gibraltar for this trip.

Why is everyone so down on Gibraltar -? looked like it might be an interesting if out of the way jaunt.

I wouldn't. Too damn hot. If I had to, I'd spend it all day submerged in the Med on the Costa Brava, nowhere near the Costa del Sol.

Well I really do appreciate the input. And as I said, I took Fodorite advice and did not do Andalucia in the summer. The historical weather sites have the Madrid area at 5-10 degrees cooler than Sevilla so I was thinking that might be enough. I do certainly know it will be hot. My problem is that I get one week in March and as much as I want in July/Aug. The towns I want to see - Segovia, Avila, Salamanca, Toledo and Madrid - that just seems like way too much for an 8-9 day trip, plus the weather there in March is 40s - not all that pleasant. People on this forum were advising travelers to Madrid a few weeks ago to bring hats and gloves. So doing the same trip slowly, spread over two weeks, seemed like a good idea. I absolutely do not have the option of doing this trip in any other months for at least 15 years.

So I am rethinking it, but in the meantime, could anyone answer the question forgetting about the July part, just tell me how you would split the time in those cities, what order you'd do them in, etc. Thanks

Hello Isabel,

You never now about the weather! I was in Madrid , Avila and Burgoa last summer in late July/ August and the temps were very pleasant. The highs were in the mid 80's. Actually, Burgos was cold in the evenings! So you shouldn't be deterred by that.

Having said that, if I had 2 weeks I would spend part of those two weeks in Northern Spain to take a respite from the extreme heat that you might get. IMO , 2 weeks gives you ample time to visit the cities that you mention PLUS a little detour to Northern Spain.

I would suggest 7 days in Madrid, from where you could do the day trips to Toledo, Segovia and Avila. I think 3 days day trips and 4 days Madrid is a good mix, even if you get hot weather.

Then 2 days in Salamanca and the last 5 days in Galicia.

Hi, Isabel! When I went to Spain, I spent about the same amount of time in Sevilla, Cordoba, and Granada as you did, so maybe you'll find it helpful to know that I spent 1 night in Segovia, 1 in Avila, 2 in Salamanca, 4 in Madrid, and 2 in Toledo. I felt very comfortable with that schedule: Although I would have loved more time anywhere in Spain, I saw the things that I most wanted to see at a pace that felt right to me. Hope that helps!

kia - thank you, that's exactly the kind of information that helps alot. Did you have a car to move from one city to another? If you did it with public transportation could you give me more details. I'm trying to minimize the number of times I change hotels, and I'm adding extra time since it will be summer and therefore I'll be at a slower pace. So right now I'm thinking 3 or 4 in Segovia with a day trip to Avila, 2 in Salamanca, 4 in Toledo, and 3 in Madrid. How does that sound? At one point I was thinking I might even do Salamanca as a day trip from Madrid (adding the extra nights to Madrid) but I think maybe I want to spend the night in Salamanca. Any hotel recommendations? Thanks again.

I did not have a car. I used mostly trains, but a bus from Segovia to Avila (the bus company was Sepulvedana) and I think I used a bus from Madrid to Toledo. I know I did a lot of research to identify which buses and trains worked best for my schedule, but I don't remember what the options were.

How much time to spend in various places depends so much on personal interests that I'm not sure that I can make any recommendations, but I don't think I'd recommend Salamanca as a day trip - there's a lot to see there, and the travel to and from Madrid would take a chunk of time. And it's a delightful place to spend a night or two! I'm also a bit surprised that you would choose to spend more nights in Toledo than in Madrid, but again, it depends on what you want to do.

I strongly recommend the Hostal del Cardenal in Toledo, both the hotel and the restaurant (same location, different management - at least when I was there). I also really liked the Hotel Rector in Salamanca. In Segovia, I stayed at the Hotel Infanta Isabel - great location! For Madrid, I stayed at the Lope de Vega, which was perfect for my main interests (primarily the museums).

Hope that helps!