Two week trip to Spain: Which general area should I spend more time in -- Madrid and it's nearby small towns or Sevilla? I only want to rent a car for one area and am leaning towards Andulsia. Thoughts?

Anne, we spent a delightful2 weeks in Madrid this past fall. Had a great time; didn't have a car. Took the train to Toledo and to Sevilla. We really liked the Sevilla area as well. Madrid is a hyge city..but, oh so much to see and do. The food is incredible; fantastic seafood. The high speed train goes to Sevilla from Madrid; so that, might be an option to do both and use the train to get back to Madrid for the plane. I imagine you will get some <BR>great advice on this site. <BR> <BR>Good luck.

My advice is that you could spend six days in Madrid area and eight in Sevilla area. From Madrid you can make daytrips to Segovia, Toledo, and Salamanca. Depending on the city you will able to go by bus or by train, but they all are great trips. You can take the AVE train to Cordoba, stay there and take the AVE again to Sevilla. Once you are in Sevilla, you can move around without renting a car but finally you will need it to see better Andalucian countryside. Interesting daytrips from there are: Carmona, Jerez-Cadiz, Arcos-Grazalema-Ronda and Granada (overnight?). Then back by AVE to Madrid to take your flight

I too am planning a two week trip to Spain in May and am looking for itinerary suggestions. So far, my itinerary closely resembles Pedro's suggestions; however, I am trying to also squeeze in Barcelona, Nerja and maybe even make it to Lisbon. Instead of overnight trains, I am considering flights between Barcelona, Madrid and/or Lisbon to save time. Am I trying to cram too much in? I would like to keep a decent pace but I don't want to spend my trip rushing around. If I stick to Pedro's suggestions, and don't see Barcelona (I know Lisbon is stretching it a bit), will I kick myself later?

Barcelona is also an interesting , lively and cosmopolitan city. If you don´t want to fix two cities as bases to explore its nearby places, you could fly Madrid-Barcelona and back and spend 3 days there so you would have five days in Madrid area, three in Barcelona city and six days in Sevilla area. I hope this can be helpful.

Thank you so much for the great advice. What we've decided to do is fly into Barcelona, spend three days there, fly to Sevilla, rent a car, stay three nights in Carmona, three nights in Granada, then take the AVE train from Sevilla to Madrid for our last three nights (with a daytrip to Toledo). Any further thoughts or suggestions are welcome! <BR> <BR>Thanks again, <BR>-Anne

Tracy I'm doing the same thing in May that you want to do. We also are there for only 2 weeks. I am working out my itinerary and I have some ideas. If you want me to give you an idea of what i'm doing let me know.

Monica, <BR>I would love to hear your ideas!! I am using Rick Steves' guidebook as a resource. I have used his books in the past but I am finding difficulty with this trip in getting everything to flow. I think I have decided to skip Barcelona and try for Lisbon instead. So far I have: Fly into Madrid, 3-4 nights with day trips by bus/train to El Escorial/Valley of the Fallen, Segovia (if time permits) and Toledo. Then AVE to Seville (stopping in Cordoba on the way) for 2 nights. Pick up a rental car in Sevilla and drive thru Andalucia, staying in Rhonda and possible Nerja. I'm trying to minimize 1 night stays, but I don't think I can avoid it here. We would drop the rental car in Granada and stay at least one night there (two would be better, but running short of time by now). We'll fly back to the states from Lisbon. My problem right now is that I haven't figured out how to get from Granda to Lisbon. To save time, I would prefer to take a flight rather than spend a bumpy night on a train. I'm hoping to get suggestions from expereienced travellers here! In the past I have relied heavily upon Fodorites for help and have never been disappointed with your suggestions!

Connections among Spain and Portugal are not as frequent and good as they should be, because be are neighbours. There is not direct flight between Granada and Lisbon but you could transfer in Madrid.

I too am planning a trip for two weeks in May. I appreciate all the helpful advice on this site. My problem is trying to do this trip as a surprise to my husband for his birthday. I am struggling with the best places to see and the most beneficial method of transportation. In addition to the suggestions here, does anyone have any other tips.

Hello! Last November we spent 2 weeks in Andalucia and took trains and buses everywhere. Our itinerary was: 4 nights in Seville with a daytrip to Cordoba on the AVE, train to Cadiz for 2 nights, bus to Arcos de la Frontera for 2 nights, bus to Ronda for 2 nights, train to Granada for 4 nights. If I could do it again, I would spend less time in Granada and Arcos and more in Cadiz, Seville and Ronda. If you have any questions, just let me know!