Someone please check my Spain itinerary...
 

Hi fam,

I will be traveling to Spain in May for a total of 13 nights (5/28-6/11).

It will be my first time in Spain (yay) and I can't pin down my itinerary (this is my 3rd rough draft).

Current itinerary:
Morning arrival at Madrid(stay 1 night), drive/train early to Seville(1 night), drive rental car in the evening to Ronda(2 nights), drive around noon to Granada(2 nights), return rental car and fly to Barcelona(4 nights including day-trips to girona/figueres), take midday train to Valencia (2 nights) and then take train back to Madrid(1 night) before flying out.

Am I trying to see too much? I am willing to eliminate either Seville or Valencia...

Is 2 nights in Ronda necessary? I guess I can make a day-trip to Setenil de las Bodegas...

Also, I would like to know if it's worth driving/taking train to one of the bordering cities in France from Figueres. If so, please do recommend me.

Things I look for are authenticity, amazing food, and art/architecture.

Any advise will be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance!

The 13 night iitinerary looks okay, if you are in a hurry. If you are traveling internationally, then you should expect to take a couple of days to adjust to the differences ( jet lag, dining times, etc.). Forget France for now.

@Robert2533
Thanks for the advice! I am flying nonstop from San Francisco to Madrid. I will definitely take those differences into consideration...

This trip sounds very rushed to me. With only 13 nights, you might want to consider focusing on either Andalusia (and May would, I think, be PERFECT for that part of Spain) or parts to the north.

Some specific remarks: 1 night is VERY little for Sevilla, no car is needed to get to Ronda (there is a bus from Sevilla), no car is needed to get to Granada (you can take a train), you are not leaving any time for Cordoba (one of Spain's highlights IMO).

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 getting to/from the train/bus station or whatever, checking in/out, packing/unpacking, getting oriented, etc.). Then see how things fit together.

Hope that helps!

A personal peeve. Life in a large city is as genuine as in small town. Too much time in Ronda. If you are interested in art/architecture than Madrid has three world class museums and is central to visiting a number of a smaller places with a mixture of Roman (Segovia) and Gothic (Toledo). In the south is the Mudéjar style and Barcelona is the heart of Modernisme.

Ronda is tiny...more interesting things to see in Seville and Madrid.

@kja
Thanks for your advice! I have decided not to visit Valencia. So I will have more time in Seville. Maybe I should drive down from Madrid to Seville to see Cordoba. What do you think? I want to drive as it could save me money. I will be with 5 other people and we would like to have the option to stop by places in between big cities (for instance, pueblos blancos, etc.).

@IMDonehere
That is what I thought! Thanks! I rather stay a night at a big city as well. I will be in Madrid all day from 9am on my first day in Spain. And since I decided to cut out Valencia, I will be staying an extra night in Madrid so that I have a full day in Madrid before the day I leave Spain!

@danon
That is the word on the street. Thanks danon!
Here is my new itinerary... Please check it out:

5/29 madrid (arrive at 9am)
5/30 madrid to seville (morning train)
5/31 seville
6/01 seville to ronda (leave morning in rental car)
6/02 ronda to malaga (via point to see picasso) to granada
6/03 granada
6/04 granada to barcelona (night flight)
6/05 barcelona
6/06 barcelona - day trip: girona/figueres(dali)
6/07 barcelona
6/08 barcelona
6/09 barcelona to madrid (evening train)
6/10 madrid
6/11 madrid-nyc (morning flight)

Cordoba can be seen as a day trip from Sevilla, although I thought Cordoba itself worth 2 full days. YMMV.

As for driving, you might want to price things out for costs in both money and time. Spain's high speed trains can be real time-savers! For my money, sitting in a car for hours on end isn't necessarily the best way to spend my time on vacation -- it really depends on what my goals and options are.

Even if you skip Valencia, your trip is SO rushed that I don't see how you will have time to stop anywhere en route, but again, you need to block your plan out on a calendar. If you want to see Pueblos Blancos OTHER THAN Ronda, then yes, you will need a car. But it isn't immediately obvious to me how you would fit that in....

I wonder if you have checked how much time you will be spending on the road if you pursue your current plan. It is a sizeable chunk of time relative to the time you will have to actually SEE anything....

@kja
Thanks for keep helping me!

I really want to fit in Cordoba somehow... That's why I want to drive from Madrid to Seville but it's 5+ hours! Train is only 2.5 hours. And a day-trip will leave me with less time in Seville... I'm clueless...

Now I am thinking of driving from Seville -> Setenil de las Bodegas -> Ronda(1 night) -> Malaga (via point to see Picasso and Picasso only) -> Granada. Around 5 hours altogether. So two days of driving 2.5 hours each day. Doesn't sound too bad...

I am also thinking of renting a car in Barcelona to make a day-trip to girona/figueres. I could end up spending a night there... Not sure yet. I really want to step on French soil for no reason too... Whew!

Instead of spending your first night in Madrid, you could fly to Seville after landing in Madrid. Or take the train from Atocha to Seville that day. No sense in doing a one-nighter on your first day in Madrid, put all your Madrid time at the end

Or, better yet, fly open jaw into Madrid and out of Barcelona putting all your Madrid time up front.

Córdoba can be seen between Madrid and Seville if you travel by train or car. Check your luggage at the train station before seeing the mesquita if going by train. Don't leave your luggage visible in the car if driving (and that applies anywhere).

6 people plus luggage in a car is going to require a pretty large car/van. Are you all adults, a mix of adults and small children, adults and teens, etc?

You will be with five other people, so six. Are these little kids or adults? If six adults, plus luggage, you might need a pretty large car or van. Check that out.

Because the train is so fast, you would not lose time by taking the train from Madrid to Seville afnd doing the day trip to Cordoba.

Do you already have tickets purchased? If not, you would save time and money by flying into Madrid or Barcelona and out of the other. If tickets are purchased already and you must fly out of Madrid, then when you land, consider going straight away to Seville, and put all your time together in Madrid at the end.

Good you are skipping Valencia on this trip. Add Toledo from Madrid.

@joannyc
Thanks for helping joannyc!

Wish I could do go straight to Seville! But I have to stay a night in Madrid because 2 of the 6 members are flying in the next day and we plan on going to Seville together. But I have all day from 10-11am so I will see a lot before moving on to Seville. Bernabeu, Prado, and maybe even the palacio real. And hit up rest of the places when I get back in the end of my trip.

Unfortunately, we already bought our flight tickets.

I guess I could squeeze in Cordoba on my way to Seville via the AVE train if I can check my luggage. But that would still take up a whole day.

Thanks for the luggage tip! I didn't know it was that bad... I will need to be careful in Andalusia while driving from Seville to ronda to malaga to granada...

We are all adults so we were thinking about renting a minivan. Hope our luggages fit!

@Sassafrass
Thanks for the advice!

We are all adults and we already bought our flight tickets. (They were cheaper than 3-destination trips)

I will be taking AVE to Seville from Madrid. But I will rent a van for Seville -> Setenil de las Bodegas -> Ronda(1 night) -> Malaga (via point to see Picasso and Picasso only) -> Granada.

Going to Cordoba sounds good but my question is: Is Cordoba worth it? I will lose a day in Seville.

I am thinking about skipping Toledo since it's so close to Madrid. I will go to Madrid again soon or later so I will check it out then.

Yes, Cordoba is "worth it". Ronda and Sentenil aren't with the amount of time you have for the whole trip. You need more time in Seville and Madrid. Less in Barcelona. If you have to set foot in France, go over the border to Collioure which is about 15 mi. in.

@Bedar
Thanks Bedar.

I will see if I can add a day in Seville (for day-trip to Cordoba) and subtract a day in Barcelona. I can't really do anything about Madrid. Wish I could...

Checked out Collioure and it is beautiful. Only a 50-minute drive from Figueres. I will definitely check it out if I end up spending a night in Figueres!