iris1745

CathyM is right. It's possible there is too much time traveling in between stops.

Can you tell us the sequence of your stops.

SimplyRachel

Oh, you misunderstood my post! It's not 7 places in 10 nights. I meant I have booked ten nights out of my total of 14 nights in Spain. Seven of those ten are in hotels instead of hostels.

I'm staying in Madrid for 4 nights, then to Sevilla for 3, Barcelona for 3, then Tossa de Mar for two, back to Barcelona for another day and night, then back to Madrid for the night before we fly out the next day.

I really don't think it's THAT much travelling, honestly.

CathyM

It's a little too many overnight check-in/out's for my taste especially with 2 1-nighters in a row at the end. Believe me - I learned the hard way with several trips I now wish I'd slowed down just a little.

Is there a reason why you can't do 4 nights in Barcelona at the same time instead of breaking out into 3 nights and 1 night?

If you are super ambitious with time I'd stop en route in Cordoba between Madrid and Sevilla especially since you're not visiting Granada. You'll need separate train tickets for each leg and you can store your luggage at the bus station across from the train station.

joannyc

Just a suggestion to minimize backtracking and a couple of unnecessary hotel moves:

Fly to Madrid and immediately fly/train to Seville
Fly from Seville to Barcelona and immediately bus/train to Tossa de Mar
From Tossa de Mar, go to Barcelona for your allotted nights
Train to Madrid for your remaining nights

iris1745

You will have a great trip.

I expect you will fly Seville to Barcelona.

If at all possible, consider getting to Tossa del Mar for your two nights from the Barcelona airport and then Barcelona for four nights.

It will save you one move.

You are onto a special trip--enjoy.

SimplyRachel

We may skip the one nighter in Barcelona on the way back and just train from Figueres (a day trip to the Dali museum after leaving Tossa de Mar) to Madrid. I'm leaving the tail end of the trip un-booked for right now. This is in the thought that if after getting to know the area, exploring, and discovering a bit, if i desire more time in Barcelona I can have it, or if I would rather do two days in Madrid again at the end I can do that as well.

A lot of it I want to play by ear, so that I can tailor the trip to what my boyfriend and I find to be more fun for us, be it Madrid, Barcelona, or both. We're both very active and like to move around and explore. So even as it seems like it is a lot of moving around and double stepping, I think it's just right for us at the moment.

Of course, as I said before, I would definitely fly in to Madrid and out Barcelona next time, or vice-versa if we did this kind of trip again.

SimplyRachel

Oh and I do realize Tossa de Mar seems to throw quite the loop for backtracking in there, but there is a reason for the madness.

The ONE thing my boyfriend has put his input in for this trip is that he insisted we stay at a specific hotel in Tossa de Mar on a specific date. Hence why that has been set in stone, it's for our anniversary and he thought it would be romantic to have a 2 night stay at this sea view hotel.

So yes, I do see how a lot of running around could be avoided, but we're locked in at this one location at a specific time. So the route I created around it kinda was the one that made the most sense to me at the time, and still got me where I wanted to go. =)

iris1745

It's OK. You both will enjoy this trip.

Every trip we take is a learning experience.

Spain in August/September will be our 33rd trip to Europe and we are still learning.

You will have a great time.

SimplyRachel

Flying from Seville to Barcelona, do you suggest this instead of the high speed train?
Do you know where I could get the info about how much this would cost?

iris1745

Many sites. Try www.kayak.com Flight is 1 1/2 hours non-stop on Veiling. Then perhaps fours hours getting to the airpost, security and then at the BCN airport, getting into Barcelona. So, perhaps six hours total.

Measure that against the train time.

I saw a flight in April for $41 US, but there may be other charges.

CathyM

I'd definately take a flight from Sevilla to Barcelona versus the train especially with your limited time.

As far as winging it - just be careful during Semana Santa the last week of March. You may find accomodations limited as most of Spain is on holiday. And don't even try to wing it in Sevilla during this time.

SimplyRachel

Oh don't work Cathy! I have booked a hotel for Sevilla. After all the forewarning I received from you all that was the FIRST thing I did.

I will probably book our accommodations for Barcelona this week or next. Thus leaving just those last two days between Barcelona and Madrid to see what we want to do. It will be March 31st and April 1st that are up in the air currently. Either we will do one night in Barcelona and one in Madrid, or both nights in Madrid. I just don't know for sure yet. I feel almost guilty spending more time in Madrid and not really giving Barcelona an equal share. However, I guess that means I'll just have to visit again

SimplyRachel

Also the flight from Sevilla to Barcelona is MUCH cheaper than a train ride. I don't know why, but it never crossed my mind to even look at inter-country flights. I have also discovered that it is cheaper to fly from Barcelona back to Madrid. So I will be doing that as well.

joannyc

Just watch the baggage allotment and weight restrictions on the inter-country flights! But, yep, they can be a great deal!

kja

I'll try saying this again: Get a good guide book or two. Seriously! You will avoid MANY mistakes, and gain MANY advantages, and will do so without inadvertently stumbling into questions or issues you didn't even know to consider. If this really is your dream trip, then it makes sense for you to at the very least invest in the most basic of travel tools.

SimplyRachel

As I stated above, I've already purchased two guide books. I have started to read the first, and will be on to the second one shortly.

I purchased Let's Go Madrid, and Rough Guide Spain.

CathyM

Will you be in Sevilla on Friday through Palm Sunday? If so then you'll experience one day of the Semana Santa processionals on Sunday and also on Friday night they have some smaller processionals leading up to Holy Week. I think you'd really enjoy the cultural significance.

I have a sneaking suspicion this will be your first of many trips to Spain

kja

> I've already purchased two guide books. I have started to read the first...

Great! These should prove good choices as a starting point for your planning.

SimplyRachel

We should be in Sevilla from Saturday March 23 and leaving Tuesday March 26th. As I'm Jewish, I think it will be a really interesting experience for me, one that I'm looking forward to greatly.

lincasanova

Instead of going with the cheapest flight, as mentioned, check baggage limitations and prices as it may influence you which ticket you buy. Cheapest is not always so in the end when you consider other factors.

If flying Ryanair, do not forget to get your pre-printed boarding pass stamped at their ticket window. Otherwise you will be denied boarding.

One sees many tears at the gate with foreign non-EU students who did not read the fine print.