Hi all,

I have hired a car for 12 days picking up in San Sebastian and dropping off in Barcelona. The plan is to head south via some small Spanish towns and spend about six - 8 nights in Seville / Granada and Ronda. After that I hope to head up to Barcelona along the coast stopping a couple of times. First of all, does this sound possible? Any ideas regarding stop off's days / nights at each location? I will be traveling with my wife and 6 month old boy.

Thanks in advance for your comments.

Brad from Australia.

Hi Brad, my sister and I did a month in Spain in May this year...such a fab trip. We did the whole thing by train, it was fantastic!! I have driven in French rural areas and the US so therefore on the 'wrong' side of the road, but would never bother to do this in Spain!! The trains are just tooo good and comfortable. Big hassle to park anywhere...stayed 4 nights in Madrid with day trips to Avila/Segovia and Toledo. Fast train to Seville (3 hours) gorgeous, 3 nts in an appartment right on a leafy square full of orange trees, fabulous city...train to Cordoba to see the Mesquita, awesome, city not as charasmatic as Seville, 2 nts on your tight time frame will be enough. Train to Granada to see the Allumbra, a must see, buy tickets before you leave home....2 nts. Train to Rhonda, arrived for the 'Ronda Romantica' festival in May, can't describe how amazing that was...spent one night in the Parador on the gorge, wish we had stayed 2 nts....then trained it to Malaga and connected with a bus for Nerja. It was ok, we had the time but I wouldnt suggest it on a tight itinerary.. back to Malaga and flew to Valencia to stay with friend. Really enjoyed that and the city was nice. Train to Peniscola on the beach, gorgeous historical seaside town. Train to Barcelona. (4 hrs) Big sprawling city, and the sights you will want to see are spread out...suggest stay in the Gothic area. We hired a 2 br appartment with 'Housetrip' in the L'Example area, more upmarket, fab place to stay. 5 nts there was one to long but we also took day trip to Monserrat. Train to St Sebastian. 5.5hrs 3 nts Icing on the cake, loved it loved it loved it. Expensive accomodation but so lovely to have the beach view. Make sure you stay at the end of the strip near the old town...we stayed at Hotel Niza, check it out. That is the location you will want to be in....train back to Madrid to fly home 5.5hrs. have an amazing time...I will never forget the stunning food..

Hi Brad,
You have tagged this thread as a Trip Report, which it is not. A Trip Report is something you write once you return from your trip, in order to share the details of your trip with others on the Forum. You might want to start another topic and just tag it Spain. This way you have a better chance to get your questions answered. Michele

A car can be a bigger nuisance than a help in many Spanish cities. I would not drive from San Sebastian/Donostia to the south and then northeast to Barcelona, especially when considering the time constraints. Either you concentrate on selected smaller towns or visit the larger cities.

We have doe several road trips in Spain and the roads are not an issue and parking is available everywhere - but in city centers you need to count on parking garages, which can be expensive (we pick hotels with parking).

BUT, you just don;t have hte time to make a cricuit of the entire country in such a limited time. (We have done Andalusia twice - once 10 days and one 12 and still have akot to see) - and you woud need a couple of more weeks to see the rest of Spain.

Esp since you are traveling with an infant - which means everything will take longer.

Also you don;t mention type of year. Summer is the south is VERY hot (high of 100 common and 120 not unknown) and I wouldn;t subject an infant to that. We went April and temps were already in the 80s.

It's an impractical dream, and a nightmare with a 6 month old. Take Supermums advice and take the train, or cut back on your plans considering you only have 12 days. 12 weeks would make more sense.

"does this sound possible?"

Not to me!

I recommend that you get some good guidebooks (or spend some time with a few in your local library), identify the things you most want to see in each location, note their opening/closing times, and mark them on a calendar. Then pencil in your transportation, add some time on either side (for checking in/out, packing/unpacking, getting oriented, etc.). Then see how things fit together. I think you'll realize that you need to seriously rethink your plan.

Good luck!

Hey Brad when are you going on this trip?? Do not consider summer down south!! It's blazing and would make our Australian inferno look tame....no fun with the bubs!

Hi everyone thanks for the advice. We arrive in San seb early June so summer heat. I'll take a look at train timetables. I have been to Spain once before and have done the major cities. Was keen to check out some smaller quaint ones. I have 18 nights all up. Arrive and stay in San seb before heading off and fly out of barca which we would also spend a few nights giving approx 12 elsewhere. Cheers again for the comments.

Brad.