Hello everyone,

We are looking to fly into Barcelona and fly out of Madrid for a 12 day trip. We have previously been to Sevilla and Cordoba. Would you recommend sticking to the two major cities with some side trips? Are there any other options we should consider? We will be traveling with 3 children - want to explore a bit, but avoid too much hopping.

Thank you for any suggestions, have really appreciated this forum the last two summers!

When are you doing this?

You can do pretty well with that much time over two cities. Certainly there is easy train travel north to Girona and along the coast with some good beaches that way. While Madrid and the likes of Toledo makes that a great visit.

But it depends on the time of year. Early August would be very very hot and I might spend longer on the coast than 50:50 time split.

Thank you! Late June/early July is our plan.

Maybe ask the moderators to add Spain to your thread's title and add a Spain country tag?? As it is you could be asking about a12 day trip to anywhere . . .

Thank you @janisj! I did not realize that I missed tagging the post. I created a new post.

I'd ask admin to cancel the other post.
Madrid in July will need you to move to Spanish time, so theatre (even open air) late at night and a long siesta. It will be hot, but keep looking for shade and fountains.

We added Spain to your title, tagged it for Spain, and deleted the duplicate thread. In future, it is better to ask us to edit things rather than starting a new, competing topic.

Thank you Moderators, you are awesome!

I would appreciate suggestions on how to break this trip down (12 nights).
a) Barcelona - Is a 2-3 night trip to the tossa de mar area a good idea? Wondering if we should split 6-7 nights between Barcelona and Tossa De Mar or instead make a 2-3 night stop at Zaragoza on the way from Barcelona to Madrid?
b) Madrid - assuming about 5 nights with 2-3 days in the city and 2 day trips (Toledo, Segovia). Is this an appropriate amount of time?

I recommend adding Granada to your itinerary so that you can visit the Alhambra. However, just keep in mind that Andalusia during the summer will be very, very hot. Make sure you book hotels with pools. Also consider, if possible, Malaga on the coast. Malaga is a lovely city with many things to do, and you will appreciate its location on the Mediterranean for some beach time.

Thank you mattcurrall6435 and KarenWoo ! We have previously been to Sevilla and Cordoba. Trying to avoid going South due to the heat even though Granada is tempting (plus the seemingly long-ish travel from Madrid)

I visited Zaragoza for a day , liked it but wouldn’t spend 2-3 nights
Beautiful Salamanca is 1:30 by fast train from Madrid. I spent 2 night there Loved it.
A friend and I took an early train to Valencia (1:40 minutes)..we saw the famous market, admired Calatrava designed buildings and ended the day with dinner by the beach before getting on the last train to Madrid. It was a long day trip, but worth it.
(disclosure : it wasn’t my first time in Valencia )

After looking through the various options, I am leaning towards something like this:
a) Barcelona 3-4 nights
b) Costa Brava 3 nights
c) Madrid 5-6 nights with day trips to Toledo and Segovia

Does this seem like a reasonable split? I am also looking for car rental guidance.

Thinking of renting a car from Barcelona for the Costa Brava trip and return it in Barcelona before catching a train to Madrid. If I keep the car and drive to Madrid, may be complete the Toledo and Segovia road trips before returning it in Madrid. Which is a more reasonable option? We are a family of 5. Probably need to rent a large SUV or a minivan. Still have scars from trying to drive a station wagon in the narrow roads of Sevilla

Bumping this thread for advice

Looking to add 3 more days to our trip.

Barcelona - 3 nights (half day on arrival + 3 full days due to ferry night)
Mallorca - ferry night + 2 nights + ferry night (rent a car)
Costa Brava (exact town TBD) - 3 nights (rent a car)
Madrid - 5 nights (2 day trips to Segovia and Toledo)

Does this seem reasonable? On our departure day is the start of the Pamplona bull run. Is it worth going to it to add 2 more days to our trip?

Dropped the ferry, switching to flights to save time.

Barcelona - 3 nights
Costa Brava - 3 nights, back to Barcelona to catch a flight to Mallorca
Mallorca - 4 nights, flight to Madrid
Madrid - 5 nights

That sounds like a great plan!
In Barcelona you can do one day for the Gaudi sites, one day for the Old Town and one day for either Montjuic and shopping OR a day trip to Montserrat - kids love the cable car and the hikes!
In Costa Brava Begur is great for a quaint and cute town, but you'll need to drive to the beach and parking isn't always easy. Palamos is a larger town with a long sand beach and promenade. Calella de Palafrugell is also fun a for a small village by the sea.
Mallorca for 4 nights might be too much, and you may want to consider 4 nights in Barcelona and 3 in Mallorca, but that depends on what your plans are. Mallorca is small and in one hour you get from one side of the Island to the other, so you can cover a lot in one day.
5 nights in Madrid is fine if you are planning 2 day trips, such as Toledo and Segovia, or the palace of El Escorial.