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Planning first trip to Spain

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Old Sep 8th, 2022 | 08:02 AM
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Planning first trip to Spain

Looking for a recommended tour in October to both Madrid and Barcelona and some stops in between without changing hotels almost every night. .We have up to two weeks, including travel to and from Spain. I do not want to rent a car, and appreciate pre booked hotels and transport between cities, .I do not need most meals included. Several tours seem not to allot time to visit e.g, both La Sagrada Familia and Park Guell, or both the Prado and the Royal Palace. A friend in Europe sent a link to a perhaps too-independent-for-me site called Spain Trails..Any suggestions appreciated!
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Old Sep 8th, 2022 | 08:08 AM
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Easy enough to plan yourself. Are you set on a tour?
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Old Sep 8th, 2022 | 10:15 AM
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Tour

Have a lot going on and after rushed over-researching - yes its a thing- found arranging everything myself, overwhelming.
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Old Sep 8th, 2022 | 12:11 PM
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Okay, fair enough.

We're headed to Spain in October, a do-over for a short-circuited trip in 2020, thanks to COVID. We've got five nights Barcelona, four Seville, three Granada and five Madrid. All planned and booked ourselves...and fingers crossed we pull off the entire trip this time.

Can't help with tours, but I'm sure someone here can.

Good luck with your planning.
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Old Sep 8th, 2022 | 12:59 PM
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Are you thinking this October? Next month?
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Old Sep 8th, 2022 | 02:42 PM
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Looked at a few web sites and tours for fun. Some I thought were good are wait listed for this October. Many are rushed, new places and stops every day. You know you do not want that. Many combine Spain and Portugal or even other countries. That makes them busy.

Of course, there are wonderful places to visit all over Spain, but many places you might want to visit are not “between” Madrid and Barcelona, but more south or better as day trips from Madrid. There is a fast train between Barcelona and Madrid, would be great if you could take advantage of that, depending on flight arrangements to Spain. Can you fly into or out of Malaga or Seville? Barcelona seems important to you. Correct?

I wish, with almost two weeks, you would let people here on Fodors help with an itinerary and plan for booking. Spain is such a well traveled country, it is not difficult. With an itinerary, people can recommend hotels. You could then book local tour guides for sightseeing.

OTOH, finding the right tour may not be that easy and may also require a good bit of research.
You want a leisurely tour with more free time in each place or places as a base, with day trips.

When exactly do you plan to go?

There are some local experts in Spain. They may know of reliable locals who arrange tours.
Meantime, for ideas, check out Travelzoo for suggestions and TourVacationstogo, a consolidator who sell tours by many companies.
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Old Sep 9th, 2022 | 06:27 AM
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Thanks - Good travels to all
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Old Sep 10th, 2022 | 11:31 PM
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Can't help you with tours, sorry, as mentioned above, DIYing is far more rewarding and that's what most visitors do for these destinations but, out of curiosity... when were you planning to visit?
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