Abby43

Hi everyone-
I told my brother and future sister-in-law that I wanted to plan their honeymoon. I had no idea how much work that would take! Anyway, they want to go to Spain. This will be from May 24, 2008 for about 2 weeks. They will be flying from JFK. Here is my original thought (no exact plan):

2 days Madrid
2-3 days Seville with side trips to Granada/Cordoba
5 days beach (someone recommended Tarifa??)
3-4 days Barcelona

I have asked around and done a little research but I thought my fodors' friends could help. They would like to see some cities but also spend a few days chilling out at the beach. They would like to travel by train, so one friend suggested Madrid-Seville-Tarifa-Barcelona-Madrid-home. We are very flexible and open to ideas. My brother is in his 30s and sister-in-law in her 20s-they are not party people and want to see interesting sights but not all museums and not a big party crowd. Barcelona is non-negotiable. I would appreciate all help regarding places to visit, day trips, hotels, transportation ideas (train is deal as are cheap inter-Spain flights, and restaurant reservations.

I really appreciate your help. I look forward to hearing your thoughts. Thanks so much.
Abby

eliza3

Personally I would find that far too rushed for a non-honeymoon trip but to each their own I guess. Spain is a large country by European standards and they will spend a lot of time travelling in that schedule. If Barcelona is not negotiable why not consider confining to Northern Spain? 2 - 3 days in Seville with side trips to Granada and Cordoba will allow virtually no time in Seville - which is lovely and deserving of time. Or perhaps omit Madrid? Cannot really comment on beaches but excellent idea to combine cities with a relaxing beach break.

Kate_W

How tight is their schedule? You say about 2 weeks, but does that mean they've only got 2 weeks' holiday to spare (e.g. wedding on a Sat, fly to Europe on Sunday - usually in evening, arrive on Monday which is a write-off; then fly home a little less than 2 weeks later on a Sunday and back at work on Monday?) If so, then you're trying to pack too much into the trip.

They will be absolutely exhausted after the wedding and will need a few easy days to unwind. If they have the option at all of postponing their departure for a few days or even a week, that would be great. (When my husband and I got married in 2005, we didn't leave for our honeymoon until 10 days after the wedding. This was because we were attaching the honeymoon to a business trip I had to make to Amsterdam. The benefit of this was that we didn't have to do the last minute organising for the trip at the same time as the wedding, and we recovered from the wedding at work - and while being paid to work. We had the following weekend to pack and get organised and were re-energised by the time we left for our honeymoon. So, if the couple's schedule is flexible, try to plan so that the earliest they leave for the trip is 48 hours after the wedding - and preferably 96 hours afterward.)

As for the schedule itself, what kind of beach experience do they want? If they're looking for a "lie in the sun" experience, perhaps Tarifa is the right place (or, for that matter, the Canary Islands, which are part of Spain). If, instead, they are interested in simply relaxing by the ocean and spending time in a seaside town, I would recommend Cadaques, which is north of Barcelona near the French border.

On our honeymoon, we flew to Barcelona, stayed overnight and then drove to Cadaques for 3 nights. We loved the Hotel Rocamor (only a 3*, but a good value). Cadaques is a pretty, isolated seaside village, once very popular with artists (e.g. Dali, Picasso) in the early 20th century. It's still a working fishing village, so there is a nice combination of real people and artsy attractions. There are some great walks along the cliffs - but not a lot of beach. We were there about a week earlier than their schedule would be. It was tshirt weather but not lie around in your bathing suit weather.

You might consider sending them to the seaside first to chill out and unwind after the wedding. Fly into Barcelona (either direct or with a connection in Madrid), stay overnight in Barcelona and then drive to Cadaques for at least 3 nights. Then back to Barcelona for 3-4 nights. (That, by the way, was our schedule. From there we flew on a cheap one way fare to Madrid, spent a day there and then went to Morocco for the second half of our trip.)

Barcelona is a fabulous city, my favourite in the world (and that's saying a lot because I've travelled a lot and live in Paris, now). It's lively, stylish, has great architecture, some interesting art and historical museums, good cafe and restaurant scene. Day trips could include a trip to Montserrat and a trip to the beach at Sitges.

As others have mentioned Madrid-Seville-Granada-Cordoba work, but not well in combination with Barcelona. The best way to get between Madrid and Barcelona is to fly, and you can buy one-way tickets fairly cheaply.

If they have their heart set on Barcelona, then I think they should skip Seville-Granada-Cordoba if they only have 2 to 2.5 weeks. They could combine Barcelona with Madrid and then go north to St Sebastien, or west toward Salamanca.

Kate_W

Oops. Hit send too early.

For a honeymoon especially, you don't want to have them moving around so much. With the exception of a proposal to get them from their touchdown city (e.g. Madrid or Barcelona) and then to a seaside village for some R&R (one night in touchdown city then travel to seaside), I would recommend that the itinerary provide for at least 3 nights in each place they plan to visit. They will be exhausted, and travel days usually suck up at least 50% and often more like 75% of the day. So, two possible schedules might be:

- Barcelona: 1 night
- Cadaques: 3 nights
- Barcelona: 3 nights
- Madrid: 3 nights (includes daytrip to Toledo)

Adding, if there's time:

- St Sebastien: 3 nights or
- Seville or Granada: 3 nights
- return to Madrid for a night and fly home

or:

- Madrid: 3 nights
- Seville or Granada: 3 nights
- Tarifa or similar: 3 nights
- If there's time, another town for at least 2 nights (preferably 3)
- Back to Madrid for a night and then fly home

Although the train works well for some routes (eg from Madrid down to Seville and Granada), it doesn't work for others (eg Madrid to Barcelona). It's possible to fly between cities but there are a number of itineraries that don't provide for direct flights. For example, I'm not sure whether it's possible to fly from Seville or Granada direct to Barcelona (it might be necessary to connect in Madrid). That's what could make it difficult to combine the Seville/Granada/Cordoba aspect of the trip with Barcelona.

Abby43

Thanks so much! Please keep the responses coming!

Oh and the wedding is May 17 so they are waiting a week after the wedding to take the honeymoon so hopefully they will not be totally exhausted and ready to travel a bit.

Viajero2

You have a good breakdown of cities, but the order and time allocated need a bit of work. Is there a chance they can fly to BCN and return from MAD? This way you will save one inter-Spain trip. You will also work your way back west, instead of backtracking once there. Allow at least 3 days for Barcelona. Then fly out to Malaga Airport for some beach rest; 4-5 days with possible day trips to Granada, Ronda (very romantic white village in the mountains!), and other beautiful white villages. Recommend staying in Puerto Banus or Marbella, Tarifa has some nice hotels, but it is not the prettiest area in Andalucia.... From there, train on to Seville for a couple of days and then train to Madrid for a couple of days and departure.

These cities will allow your brother and bride to get a good feel for Spain at a relaxed pace.

As far as hotels, what is the upper limit? Without knowing your range, suggesting hotels might be an exercise in futility.

By the way, when you say >>We are very flexible and open to ideas<<, as this refers to your brother's honeymoon, it does sound a bit creepy....

greg

I did a similar trip without beach. What I found is that Granada is a cul-de-sac type of location: it is hard to get in and out except to Sevilla or other hill towns. So rather than spending time getting in and out of Granada, I killed two birds with one stone by flying Granada-Barcelona: solved both Granada and Barcelona access problems. I booked directly using www.iberia.es - €60 per person. If I added this one way segment to my US-Spain flight, it would have added more than €200 per person. Since I had 4 days between my US flight and Granada flight, there was negligible risk in booking this segment separately.

dncdave

I agree that it is way too much running around, even for a non-honeymoon.

We spent over a week in the Barcelona area alone, and two weeks in the Andalusia area.

Personally, I would skip Madrid. It has far less personality that Seville. Add the time to Barcelona or Seville. Also, 2-3 days in Seville WITH side trips to Granada/Cordoba is not a good idea since each of those are a day by themselves. (We spent two days in Granada. Also, Cordoba is nice to spend the night in on your way to Granada. The town gets a lot of tourists during the day, but empties out in the late afternoon, in time for the day trippers to get back to whereever. Then you have the town to yourself.

Abby43

Thank you again everyone! As for hotels I believe they will want funky boutique type hotels, 4 star. If there is somewhere very special and it's expensive they may want to swing it.

When I say "we" I mean all 3 of us-too bad if that sounds creepy-but we are also collaborating on this once I get some sample itineraries together as I'm not going to just send them over there without them approving of their honeymoon trip first! I really just need suggestions, not to be criticized for what I write at 12:30 in the morning. Thank you.

For those else of you who replied and those who will thanks again and great suggestions.

danzar1972

I would not skip Madrid, it is a very nice city that you should not missed. From Madrid to Seville take the high speed train. To go from Seville or Madrid to Barcelona I would recommend to take the airplane. Take a look to this site to find the best airfares - http://www.trabber.co.uk