Madrid & Barca or Madrid & Andalusia or Barca & Andalusia
May 17th, 2007, 09:32 AM
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2007
Posts: 1
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Madrid & Barca or Madrid & Andalusia or Barca & Andalusia
1st Trip to Spain, 10 - 13 days in 28June - 11July.
a. I am torn:
1. Madrid/Toledo/Segovia/Avila/Madrid/Barcelona
2. Madrid/Toledo/Segovia/Avila/Madrid/Granada/Ronda/Cordoba/Seville
3. Barcelona/Granada/Ronda/Cordoba/Seville
Looking for opinions of experienced travelers to Spain. We have flexibility with transport, as we will:
Flying in from: Frankfurt or Düsseldorf
Flying out to: Paris
b. If I were to do route 1.
i. Is it needed to rent car for "Toledo/Segovia/Avila" or its better to take the day trip tour? If so, any recommended sites / company?
ii. Between Madrid to Barcelona is it better to go via Train / Car or Air. Will it be a waste of time on the road if I was to take the Train or Car? & better off spending more time @ Barcelona or?
c. Wish to travel in a even paced schedule. Nothing too Rushed nor Relaxed.
Please Advice & Thanks a million in advance
><
BoNNie
a. I am torn:
1. Madrid/Toledo/Segovia/Avila/Madrid/Barcelona
2. Madrid/Toledo/Segovia/Avila/Madrid/Granada/Ronda/Cordoba/Seville
3. Barcelona/Granada/Ronda/Cordoba/Seville
Looking for opinions of experienced travelers to Spain. We have flexibility with transport, as we will:
Flying in from: Frankfurt or Düsseldorf
Flying out to: Paris
b. If I were to do route 1.
i. Is it needed to rent car for "Toledo/Segovia/Avila" or its better to take the day trip tour? If so, any recommended sites / company?
ii. Between Madrid to Barcelona is it better to go via Train / Car or Air. Will it be a waste of time on the road if I was to take the Train or Car? & better off spending more time @ Barcelona or?
c. Wish to travel in a even paced schedule. Nothing too Rushed nor Relaxed.
Please Advice & Thanks a million in advance
><
BoNNie
May 18th, 2007, 05:32 AM
#2
Join Date: Oct 2003
Posts: 657
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Looks to me like any of your options would work. a few thoughts:
-Toledo, Segovia, Avila, are all easily done by daytrip from Madrid and that eliminates hotels changes.
-I like to fly between Barcelona and Madrid. It's a bit of a hassle no matter how you do it.
-It is tough to fit Barcelona and Granada and Sevilla in the same itinerary unless you willing to spend some money for flights.
-In light of the fact that July is so hot, I'd consider trying the north of Spain where the weather is much cooler.
-I'd consider about 4 days in Madrid with day trips to Toledo and/or Segovia, fly to Barcelona for 3-4 days, then pick up a car and work your way over to San Sebastian/Bilbao and then fly back to Madrid out of Bilbao.
-Toledo, Segovia, Avila, are all easily done by daytrip from Madrid and that eliminates hotels changes.
-I like to fly between Barcelona and Madrid. It's a bit of a hassle no matter how you do it.
-It is tough to fit Barcelona and Granada and Sevilla in the same itinerary unless you willing to spend some money for flights.
-In light of the fact that July is so hot, I'd consider trying the north of Spain where the weather is much cooler.
-I'd consider about 4 days in Madrid with day trips to Toledo and/or Segovia, fly to Barcelona for 3-4 days, then pick up a car and work your way over to San Sebastian/Bilbao and then fly back to Madrid out of Bilbao.
May 18th, 2007, 05:49 AM
#3
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 89
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I have never been to Segovia, Avila or Barcelona, but I do agree with the above poster, it would be difficult to do your 3rd option - too much traveling from place to place. I did thoroughly enjoy Seville, Ronda, Toledo, and Granada (mainly the Alhambra).
Toldeo is easy to reach from Madrid as a daytrip, just purchase your train tickets in advance to avoid long lines at the train station. Also the AVE is wonderful transportation between Madrid, Seville, and Cordoba, but a car would be helpful if going to Ronda. Enjoy Spain!
Toldeo is easy to reach from Madrid as a daytrip, just purchase your train tickets in advance to avoid long lines at the train station. Also the AVE is wonderful transportation between Madrid, Seville, and Cordoba, but a car would be helpful if going to Ronda. Enjoy Spain!
May 18th, 2007, 06:10 AM
#4
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 5,969
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
In order to include Barcelona and Granada and Sevilla, you must fly somewhere. The toughest one is Granada. The only city easy to get to/from Granada is Sevilla. For this reason, I flew Barcelona-Granada. Granada-Sevilla-Cordoba-Madrid can be done fast and easily by Renfe.
I looked up www.iberia.es for 6/28 one way BCN-GRX, for example. You can get €54 web special. But you MUST use the Spanish site -- not English. There are other cheap flight options.
I looked up www.iberia.es for 6/28 one way BCN-GRX, for example. You can get €54 web special. But you MUST use the Spanish site -- not English. There are other cheap flight options.
May 18th, 2007, 07:36 AM
#5
Join Date: Oct 2003
Posts: 395
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I think the south of Spain (Granada, Ronda, Cordoba and Seville) will be unbearably hot in July. We went in
April and it was plenty warm then. Plan 2 looks too busy. I'd drop at least one, probably Avila. I agree with what others have said about flying from Barcelona to Granada. We used the Granada airport on our trip and we were glad we did. Outside of that using the trains for the rest works very well. The AVE trips are especially nice.
April and it was plenty warm then. Plan 2 looks too busy. I'd drop at least one, probably Avila. I agree with what others have said about flying from Barcelona to Granada. We used the Granada airport on our trip and we were glad we did. Outside of that using the trains for the rest works very well. The AVE trips are especially nice.
May 21st, 2007, 05:29 PM
#6
Join Date: Jun 2006
Posts: 183
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
While I love Granada, I agree with the posters who said southern Spain will be too hot in July. I'd stick to Madrid and Barcelona, possibly spend one night in one other smaller city up north. You can easily day trip to Toledo from Madrid.
I had a very disappointing experience with Julia Tours on a day trip to Toledo. They were skimpy on information and obviously far more interested in herding us into a "crafts factory" ( I think it may have been more Chinese than Spanish products) than showing us the sights. In my opinion, you can easily take the train to Toledo and with a decent guidebook, have a much better experience. I'd fly to Barcelona, which is a great city. Be sure to go to Parc Guel.
I had a very disappointing experience with Julia Tours on a day trip to Toledo. They were skimpy on information and obviously far more interested in herding us into a "crafts factory" ( I think it may have been more Chinese than Spanish products) than showing us the sights. In my opinion, you can easily take the train to Toledo and with a decent guidebook, have a much better experience. I'd fly to Barcelona, which is a great city. Be sure to go to Parc Guel.
