|
Itinerary help
We are in the preliminary stages of planning a trip for the end of next April. We will have approx. 12 days. We are a retired couple and our 30 year old son. We are planning on renting a car. We will fly into Madrid. We aren't especially fond of crowds, so was wondering if mid to end of April is a better time to visit than mid summer. We love history and especially cathedrals. We are planning on spending approx. 4 days in the LaMancha area, wanting to see Toledo and Segovia. We will spend a day or two in Madrid. Then wondering about going to Seville for a few days. Could we get some advice on the best places to see and recommendations from others about the best smaller villages to visit. We have watched the Rick Steves shows on Utube and of course everything looks lovely. Thanks.
|
Certainly cooler but watch out for the Easter holiday. Seville is a wee way away from Madrid, but check rome2rio for train times.
|
I’m no Spain expert, but did just return from a six night trip to Madrid, so here’s my two cents. Stay in Madrid and train from there to Toledo and Segovia; the train to Toledo is a snap, and the cathedral is amazing. The AVE (fast train) to Seville is only 2.5 hours. As bilbo said, particularly in Seville - avoid the Easter holidays. (If you want some recent info on Madrid and Seville, I am posting my Trip Report right now - just click on my name and look for the link. And we went with our son, too! Really fun to travel with your kids).
|
Given the itinerary options you suggest, I can't imagine that having a car would be worth the cost or problems in parking, etc. Toledo and Segovia are each easily visited by comfortable and convenient public transportation from Madrid. And while each is easily visited as a day trip, I strongly recommend staying at least one, if not two, nights in Toledo -- its not just one of those places that is incomparably more evocative in the evening, after daytrippers have left, but it also has such a wealth of sites (including a cathedral and several other stunning churches) that it easily merits 2 or more full days. For your transportation options, consult rome2rio.com -- just be sure to click through to the underlying web pages, as the main page is not sensitive to seasonal variation in schedules.
Segovia can be a day trip or an overnight, and either way, consider Avila as well. IME, first-time visitors to Madrid typically want about 4 days there. And if LaMancha is your primary goal, give some thought to Cuenca. April will definitely be better than mid-summer, though as already mentioned, you should take note of Easter. Personally, I'd delay Sevilla until you have time to include all 3 of Andalusia's gems -- Sevilla, Cordoba, and Granada, which together take about 10+ days on average. JMO. I would not rely solely on RS for any plan -- consult a GOOD guidebook or two, perhaps the Michelin Green Guide or Rough Guide. And there are a LOT of wonderful trip reports on this forum, as well as planning threads galore -- and you can often learn even more from a planning thread than a trip report. Spain is delightful -- enjoy! |
Thanks for the input. Just what I need. Was aware of Easter. Planning on leaving afterwards.
|
The trains and buses in Spain are modern and reliable. I would avoid a car unless you want to visit small towns. It is a burden. And I agree with the above, visit Toledo and Segovia from Madrid, easy day trips. Another town to visit is Avila.
I have not read RS in a long time, but unless his Spain books have changed they are lazy. He randomly selects town to include in his books and his description of art and sights are useless. Fodor's has stepped up their game in the past 5,6 years and they go beyond a basic visit. And I agree for sights, there is no better guide than Michelin Green. We try to visit Spain in May and September, when the weather is usually agreeable and the crowds are tolerable. We have visited Madrid since the 1970's and our latest visits were in 2016 and then three weeks in 2018 when a SIL moved to Madrid near Sol. Be sure to go to the Templo de Debod at sunset. And be sure to read about when the Spanish eat. It is less of a problem in Madrid because of the tourism, but something to be aware of in the smaller towns. |
Well I'd start with a question for you and your husband - do you think you will go again? If this is likely to be your only trip to Spain, I say stick close to your origianal plan but without a car - just my opinion. You can base in Madrid and do day trips to Toledo / Segovia or opt for an overnight. (I'm not much on packing up and moving). Then head south to Seville. Cordoba, has one of my favorite sights, the Mezquita, and it is such an easy day trip from Seville. In Seville there is a moorish alcazar with nice gardens - IMO almost as impressive as in Grenada but would be easier to add to your visit.
I know folks love to "throw shade" on Rick but I used his books fo years. True, his guides may not be as inclusive / detailed as the others but for basic trip planning, logistics, overview of the main sights, they helped me plan very satisfying trips. Enjoy your trip! |
We have done a number of driving trips through Spain over the past 3-5 years, so if you really want to drive you might look into renting a car after Madrid (you could either see Toledo as a day trip from Madrid or on your way south) then driving to Cordoba and Seville and Granada and then fly or train back to Madrid from either Seville or Granada for your flight home. I think with 12 days trying to drive back to Madrid with the other things you have planned might be tough. If you don't already know about it, the website Rome2Rio is a great planning tool for transport of all kinds-that way you could look at train air and car options for instance https://www.rome2rio.com/
|
I really appreciate all the wonderful information. We enjoy having a car because we love going out into the countryside to small villages. We have traveled all over Europe with a car and have never once had any problems. I think maybe getting a car after Madrid is a great idea. We also would like to look at the windmills in la mancha and that might be difficult without a car. we were wondering if maybe taking a high speed train from Seville back to Madrid might be a way to get back to the airport. I guess the other option would be flying out of Seville. And we do expect that this will probably be our only trip to Spain. There are so many places we still would like to visit.
|
Originally Posted by yellowrose477
(Post 16971881)
we were wondering if maybe taking a high speed train from Seville back to Madrid might be a way to get back to the airport. I guess the other option would be flying out of Seville.
If you can fly out of Seville, and you insist on fitting Seville into this trip, then why not fly from there? You might or might not end up being routed through Madrid, but whatever the routing, it will be up to the airline through which you book to get you to your next destination if anything goes wrong with the initial leg of your journey -- assuming you book it all at once. And it will save you time, which would seem to be your most precious commodity on this trip. |
I agree you should be in or very near Madrid the night before your flight.
I understand the allure of having a car because you "love going out into the countryside to small villages," but IME (and admittedly it's been quite a few years), the area between Madrid and Sevilla does not begin to yield the sort of "small village" appeal that, say, almost any area of France or Italy does. On either coast of Spain, and just inland from them, yes, there are myriad small villages to enjoy, but in the center we didn't find many. Would you keep the car in Sevilla or dump it once you get there? Having a car in Sevilla would IMO, be a liability and expensive. |
You might want to train to Seville and rent the car there to meander around the white villages for a day. Parking can be a challenge but they are quite scenic.
|
Given your time frame you might want to look into renting two cars-for instance, rent once from a train station in Madrid and see the sites you want to see around there, then return it to the train station and get on the train to Seville and rent a second car from there for a few days. I agree with St. Cirq that most of the drive between Madrid and Seville isn't that scenic (except if you detour a bit off route to see Toledo in that stretch).
I also agree that I would not try to get to a transatlantic flight (I am making the assumption you are coming from the US or Canada?) without being nearby Madrid the night before-it would be too stressful for me. But if can route your transatlantic flights in a way you can fly back to somewhere from Sevilla to wherever you can catch your flight back home it will make the trip easier. And I would probably just fly back the night before from Seville to Madrid or Heathrow or wherever you decide to fly home from and just stay at the airport that night.. If you do end up having a car in Seville, I can recommend this hotel-we always have to have a car there because we lease a car on the Peugeot Open Europe plan for 3-6 months. So if we are basing in a larger city we always stay in a place with a paid garage and then just leave the car parked and take public transport within the city. Like many European cities, much of the historic center in Seville is basically pedestrian only. So the hotel is just off the road that circles the city so very easiy to drive into the area. It is the Hotel Eurostars Regina, Calle San Vicente, 97, 41002 Sevilla. It is a pretty nice property and is a short walking distance from our favorite tapas restaurant called Eslava. Also just FYI, we found hotels pricier in Seville than other cities in Spain including Madrid, but again we wanted a place with garage parking etc. https://www.eurostarshotels.com/euro...paign=googlemb Restaurante en Sevilla | Espacio Eslava · Sevilla |
Originally Posted by jpie
(Post 16972034)
But if can route your transatlantic flights in a way you can fly back to somewhere from Sevilla to wherever you can catch your flight back home it will make the trip easier. And I would probably just fly back the night before from Seville to Madrid or Heathrow or wherever you decide to fly home from and just stay at the airport that night.
|
I wasn't really trying to "force" a routing but many people sort of assume they will fly into and out of the same city and sometimes not having to return to the same city cuts the mileage substantially on a driving trip particularly. And I am just guessing that they are traveling from North America. If that is the case, I was only trying to emphasize that a city like Seville that doesn't have any direct flight to the US for example may have great flights to London where they could then make their transatlantic and just look at some other options if they haven't purchased tickets yet.
And yes, I agree that many folks prefer to spend their night before departure in the city rather than the airport. For me it all depends on the city, the flight time and how much luggage I have-if I have a lot of luggage (and sometimes do since we stay many months at a stretch) then sometimes I prefer to stay at the airport and use the car to get to the airport. But depending on the flight time etc. sometimes I stay in the city center instead. |
Let me suggest a different approach to identifying flights: Using the multi-city option on flight search engines, simply enter Sevilla as the starting point for the flight(s) home and the airport one wants to reach nearest home. Let the search engine identify the change-over airport. Look at the identified options, which might not require an overnight either before or during the flight, and choose the one that suits overall needs best.
|
Yellowrose477, When you say you have 12 days, is that days or nights? For planning purposes, it is better to count nights. So, do you have 12 nights on the ground in Spain? If you have 12 nights on the ground, and because you say this will be your only trip to Spain, this is how I would allocate my nights: La Mancha area - 4 nights Madrid - 2 nights Seville - 3 nights Granada - 2 nights Cordoba - 1 night OR you could spend 4 nights in Seville and visit Córdoba as a day trip from Seville. You state that you like history. Andalusia is a very important region of Spain, historically and culturally. You will see lots of beautiful Moorish architecture and eat delicious food! The Alhambra in Granada, the Mesquita in Córdoba, and the Alcazar in Seville are all historically very important, and absolutely gorgeous visually, as are the 3 cities they are located in. And all 3 cities look very different from each other. And I agree with other posters who recommend flying into Madrid and out of Seville to save time. Where are you flying from? We are from Massachusetts, and we fly out of Boston. TAP flies from Seville to Lisbon to Boston. Not sure about other U.S. cities. But it’s definitely worth looking into. When you check online sites, look for open-jaw or multi-city routes. |
I forgot to add my 2 cents about guidebooks:) While I sometimes use RS guidebooks, and find some information very helpful, I agree with Kja about not relying solely on RS. I highly recommend Michelin Green Guide, Rough Guides, Lonely Planet, and Fodor’s. Rick doesn’t include some interesting places in his books, such as Zadar in his Croatia book, and Malaga in his Andalusia book. |
RS guidebooks are most useful for the list of restaurants to avoid. The ones recommended by Rick and occupied by his acolytes. :-)
|
| All times are GMT -8. The time now is 02:00 PM. |