Please please critique this itenary for March!!!!
 

Hi,
Thanks to all the feedback we received,can you help us with the following itenary. I know we have to do more research but how and where do we fit in Granada for Alhambra by night/day and Cordoba?? And travel time via bus/train/plane would totally help!

march 18 - leave US
march 19 - land in madrid in the morning. spend whole day/night in madrid
march 20 - madrid.
march 21 - early morning flight to barcelona.
march 22 - Barcelona
march 23 - barcelona.
march 24 - morning. we take a bus/train to Cordoba?? How long is the bus and train ride?
spend day in cordoba
evening take a bus or train to Granada. Catch Alhambra by night.
march 25 - morning catch alhambra by morning
march 25 afternnon leave for seville by bus/train - how long?
march 26 -seville
march 27 - seville (day trip to arcos?)
how long - bus or train?
march 28 - early morning flight to madrid and afternoon flight to USA.

Thanks a ton!!!!!!!

Don't have time for a lengthy reply but it is easy to go from Madrid to Cordoba and on to Seville - a high speed train connects the three. IMO it makes sense to start the trip with those cities and then add on Grenada and up/out Barcelona. SueC1

That's right - what's what I missed. Easier to get to SEville from Cordoba soooooo...:

march 18 - leave US
march 19 - land in madrid in the morning. spend whole day/night in madrid
march 20 - madrid.
march 21 - early morning flight to barcelona.
march 22 - Barcelona
march 23 - barcelona.
march 24 - morning. We found a 11:05 flight to Granada reaching in 1 hour. So sightsee Alhambra by day/night. Stay overnight at Granada.
march 25 - Morning Granada to Cordoba by???? THe shortest will be by bus/train?
sightsee Cordoba. Take night train to Seville? Or march 26 morning train to Seville. AVE - how long I wonder??
march 26 - Seville
march 27 - seville (day trip to arcos?)
how long - bus or train?
march 28 - early morning flight to madrid and afternoon flight to USA.

With only 10 days, I'd probably leave out Barcelona and spend more time in Sevilla. You could even drive between Granada and Sevilla taking time to visit some of the white villages like Ronda or Arcos and perhaps sherry tasting in Jerez along the way. I'd go from Madrid and take the AVE to Sevilla, stopping in Cordoba for a nice day trip. Sevilla is a wonderful city that you could easily spend 3 days visiting. From there I'd drive to Granada, stopping for one night along the way in Arcos or Ronda. I'd allow at least 2 nights in Granada, enough to enjoy the Alhambra by day and night and also visit the Albacyn (sp?) and the cathedral. As much as I like Barcelona and the surrounding area, it's a totally different part of Spain and I'd save it for another trip. Andalucia is a place to savor, slow down, and enjoy the experience.

I'd just like to add that I wouldn't count on that 1 hr flight taking only 1 hr. I did that same trip from Barcelona to Granada. An hour & 1/2 early at the airport, 1 hr delay waiting for flight (common, from what I hear), and then you have to wait for the luggage and get from the airport outside of Granada to wherever you are staying. You may not get to your hotel until 2 or 3 in the afternoon.

I think you need to look at an open jaw ticket. I would do this--19th & 20th in Madrid. 21-23 in Seville, with a day trip to Cordoba. Train to Granada on the 24th for an overnight. 25th evening flight to Barcelona. 26 & 27 in Barcelona and fly out on the 28th.

Personally, I think you are stretching yourself thin in all areas, trying to cover all corners of Spain in about a week. If it were me, I would give 4 days to Barcelona, 19 - 22. Fly to Granada for 1 nt, 23rd. Train to Seville for 3 nts (side trip to Cordoba). Arrive in Madrid early AM on the 27th and spend only one day there. Fly out on 28th. It is only my opinion, but I love Barcelona and didn't care for Madrid nearly as much.

thx for the feedback - unfortunately we have already rt tickets to and from madrid. ;(

So given that and ur feedbacks another revised itenary - we are SO CONFUSED as to whether we should skip Segovia as a day trip from Madrid - and just spend an extra day in Seville touring Rhonda....or...keep the 2nd day in Madrid to visit Segovia to see the famed Alcazar.

March 18 - Leave US
March 19 morning - Madrid. whole day/night.
March 20 - Day trip to Segovia or skip Madrid??
March 21 - morning AVE to cordoba
March 21 - evening AVE to seville
March 22 - Seville
March 23 - Seville
March 24 - morning Bus to granada - fast bus is 3 hours. spend day/night at Granada viewing alhambra.
March 25 morning - fly out on flight to barcelona.
March 26 - Barcelona
March 27 - Barcelona
March 28 - early morning flight to Madrid. Afternoon flight to USA.

If we skip second day in Madrid and hence skip Segovia we stay a third day in Seville and tour rhonda - which is better?!!!!!

Appam
I will miss the Segovia day trip and stay in Madrid. And I will not try to fit Ronda as a daytrip either.
This is considering you want to keep Barcelona and Andalusia in the same trip.
Vacation03
Your Granada-Cordoba-Sevilla will need an early start, to have some time to visit Cordoba.Again Andalusia and Barcelona in the same week make it tight.

Personally, I'd take a day out of Madrid and instead of heading from Sevilla to Granada I would go from Sevilla to Ronda (I believe there is a bus), spend 1 night in Ronda and then head to Granada from Ronda. I'm not a big fan of Madrid but I do love Segovia. I'd prefer to visit Segovia and spend the night versus a day trip but your itinerary is just too short for this luxery! I'd save Segovia (and Toledo) for your next trip to Spain. Ronda is a beautiful city and one of the most famous white villages of Andalucia. I usually don't like 1 night stops but logistically Ronda isn't too far from Sevilla or Granada so you should be able to enjoy yourself without it being too much travel. It will also probably be nicer weather than the Madrid area in April. Just my 2 cents.

By the way, if you have any time at all when you're in the Barcelona area, I'd consider a day trip to Girona. It's only an hour away by frequent train and is a beautiful city. It has one of the best preserved Jewish quarters in Spain and the old quarter is a maze of old streets. I visited there in the fall of 2002 for what was supposed to be one night but had to change my plans and stay 2!

Go to Toledo instead of Segovia. Segovia main tourist attraction is a roman aqueduct.
The whole city of Toledo is wonderful. 3 civilizations at the same place (christian, jewish and muslim) with monuments of the three of them. The view from the Parador at sunset is incredible. You can either sleep there or just take a taxi from the city center and have a meal at the restaurant, or coffee or drink at the bar. Toledo is only 45 minutes from Madrid by bus (ask at your hotel)

You can very well see Cordoba in one day if you take an early AVE ( say 8 am)from Madrid and you manage to be there by 10.30 am. The AVE from Cordoba to Sevilla takes around 40 min. Most tourist places in Cordoba (mainly the muslim mezquita and streets and patios around it) are very close each other.

The most famous restaurant in Cordoba is El Caballo Rojo. In Seville, La Posada del Alabardero is very good and very elegant, IMO an excellent deal.
You can eat with tapas in any bar, very cheap and very good. The same applies to Seville : two or three tapas make a full meal (depends on your hunger), and each tapa costs between 1,2 and 2 euros. Beer, montilla (in Cordoba), fino o manzanilla (my favourite sherry like wine produced in Sanlucar de Barrameda) will cost you around 1 euro.
Be very, very careful in Seville with your bag and the change/bill at bars. I think in Cordoba there is less problem with change/bills at bars.
In Madrid go for a meal to Cava Baja Street or Don Pedro Street (metro La Latina or go down Calle Toledo from Plaza Mayor (very pretty in itself). Many places there, go early and you will be able to get a table. My favourite is El Tempranillo (bar with very good food and wines, excellent prices) but there are many others.
For hotels, check bancotel.es and you could be able to book good or very good double rooms for 50 euros (breakfast and taxes not included)in every spanish city. Buy the 5 coupons books in any travel agency at your place of arrival (open from 10 to 13.30 and 17-20 in the evening, El Corte Inglés Travel agency in almost every El Corte Ingles department store opens from 10 am to 9.30 pm).
You can have continental breakfast at any bar (sometimes even at the hotel cafeteria) around your hotel at 1,5 euros approximately.
Enjoy your trip

Hi,

It looks like your itinerary is shaping up well. Taking the AVE from Madrid to Cordoba and Seville (then bus to Granada & flight to Barcelona) is definitely the way to go. While both Segovia and Toledo are amazing, with only two days in Madrid, I'd skip both. You'll probably be pretty jet lagged when you arrive, so give those first two days to Madrid.

The same goes for Seville and Ronda. Ronda is great, but not worth missing one of your two full days in Seville. Particularly as a daytrip, roundtrip travel time will consume the bulk of your day.

-- Chad

I agree with the idea of leaving out Barcelona and concentrating on Seville, maybe Toledo (wonderful), Granada, Cordoba and maybe Ronda and Mijas if time permits. You could travel easily between these places with a car and see things along the way. If interested in a similar trip, check out my website. We were there 3 weeks and so did more but you can get a real sense of doing the above areas in 10 days--also, good pictures. Hope it helps you. http://www.janeandken.com/Spain2003/...andToledo.html

Have to get in my 2cents worth. Please, please don't miss Barcelona. I have been to both Seville and Barcelona. While Seville is beautiful, Barcelona is much more exciting. Especially Gaudi buildings, parks, etc.

oh thank you , you wonderful people!!! Janelp thank you for the trip report link - found it helpful/and the pics are very beautiful!

Thanks to all your feedback, yes we are leaving out Rhonda etc.

This is where we are at now:
March 18 - leave madrid
19 - Madrid
20 - Madrid - Day trip to SEgovia/Toledo
21 - early morning AVE to cordoba
night AVE to Seville
22 - Seville
23 - Seville
24 - early morning bus or train to Granada. Not sure which is more convenient. Read both are 3 hours.
overnight at Granada.
25 - early morning flight to Barcelona -
cost us 30 E on Iberia
26 - Barcelona
27 - Barcelona
28 - morning flight to Madrid
afternoon flight to USA.

I too agree perhaps 2.5 days in Barcelona might not be enough for what I hear is a beautiful city....alas given just 9 total days excluding travel to and from US, I will definitely re-visit Spain selectively second time round.....

Question I have - is it alright to book the AVE train tickets now itself? I think I read it's okay to book it in advance - but what about delayed trains/cancellations etc? How do they account for it?

And another question - for just 9 total days excluding travel - my friend I want to pack light and travel light - any ideas on what to take? I know March is volatile and some here have suggested layers..true...do we need jackets? I guess for the rain we'll be fine with a hooded jacket...saves carrying an umbrella around....

I think you are still keeping a hectic trip , with just 9 days I will concentrate more in Madrid , Sevilla, Barcelona. Leaving Segovia,Toledo, Granada for another trip.
You will still be visiting three very different areas, with lots of things to do and sights to visit.