Maria

2 weeks in spain- August<BR>Land in Madrid- spend 3 night. 2 days touring Madrid & 3rd day in Toledo.<BR>Day 4-Take train (?) to valencia. see valencia & then take ferry to one of the Baleric Islands(probably Menorca) for 3-4 nights.<BR>After that, take ferry to Barcelona. Spend 2 nights in Barcelona. Then, rent car & go touring the Pyrenees, la Rioja, San Sebastien, Santilla del mar & Santander (not necessarily not in that order)...<BR>Drive back to Madrid & drop off car. Return home. <BR>Any suggestions on hotels or best way to get around would be much appreciated. We are prepared to spend about $50-$100 a night on hotels. <BR>Also- where would you suggest staying as a base in the north country so that we may see all of the places mentioned above without checking in & out of different hotels?<BR>Thanks to anyone who relpies!!!<BR>Maria

jenna

&gt;&gt;We are prepared to spend about $50-$100 a night on hotels. &lt;&lt;<BR><BR>WOW!!!! Good Luck!!!!!<BR>

Maria

Not enough?<BR>What do you think the rates are? There is room to maneuver, but we're trying to keep the costs down as much as possible...<BR>Thanks,<BR>Maria

linda

Maria, It seems to me that you can find hotels in your range. Hostal del Cardinal in Toledo is a Karen Brown recommendation and is recommended in a trip report thread by Paula. Double rooms there are not quite 90 euros. This is just one example.<BR><BR>Have fun,<BR><BR>linda<BR>

Rex

As a fan of the book "Innumeracy", this is an example of (inappropriately?) over-reacting to (slightly inappropriate?) "number speak" - - language which attempts to convey a quantitative point without adequately thinking through the math, and specifically the concept of range.<BR><BR>It IS hard to know what a person means when they say $50-100 per night on lodging. Maria says "we" but otherwise it is impossible to tell if "we" refers to a couple, a family, or a group of friends. Perhaps $50-100 a night means per person (if it's unrelated friends traveling together).<BR><BR>And some people will say $50-100 but mentally mean $50-55, while others will actually be fine with $80-125. In fact, "we" don't know even for sure if she means USD or CAD!<BR><BR>Few of us would go to the car dealership and say we are hoping to look at a car that costs $20,000 to $40,000. But range is misused in everyday speech all the time. People say, "I would like to spend $50-100 or less!" What does that mean? Applicants for a job say they would like to earn "$14 to $15 or more per hour" (does that mean they really want $19?). Employers run ads that say "up to $10-12 an hour, depending on experience" - - what do they mean "up to"?<BR><BR>These are the kinds of soapbox posts that have gained me a reputation as a pedant (at best) - - or a bag of hot air (or other excreted substance) that carries on and on, ad infinitum.<BR><BR>Oh well.<BR><BR>As for your itinerary, I think that it's okay except for the part about "touring the Pyrenees, la Rioja, San Sebastien, Santilla del mar & Santander (not necessarily not in that order)..."<BR><BR>Needs a little more thought, I suspect, and I think that there are interesting place without going that far west - - Lerida [LLeida], Seu d'Urgell, Montserrat and other Catalunya, for example.<BR><BR>Best wishes,<BR><BR>Rex<BR>

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does anybody understand this?<BR>

Chad

Sounds like a nice loop. You might want to consider a night in Valencia. Travelling from Madrid to there then via ferry to the Balearics sounds like quite a long day. There are plenty of reasonable accomodations in Valencia.<BR><BR>For a NE Spain base camp, try Pamplona. It is a reasonably sized city w/ good roads to all of the places you mention. It has lots of reasonably priced lodging and is quite relaxed (as long as you are not there for San Fermin)

Ann Young

Toledo was okay but the best small town every is the opposite direction from Toledo. It is called Cuensa. It is fabulous. We heard about this town hanging in the boulders and went two years ago to see it. We have travelled extensively and I can not get it out of my mind. We are returning to Spain and this town in one month. Go to the old part and stay in one of the posadas. You will thank me belive me. I have names of two posados if you need help. The train to this town is about 1 1/2 hours and a few dollars. You really need to see it at night when the illuminate the boulders. It is quanter and not as touristy. Believe me you will thank me.

Cindy

We were in Spain last year at Easter, which is high season as is summer so hotel prices will be higher. We pretty much did the southern route but this did include Madrid and Toledo--we had FOUR people and we never spent more than $88 per night the entire trip...and that was for 2 doubles! It all depends on what you're willing to stay in--we're happiest with a little pensione, no stars, no frills, but they were all safe, clean, and friendly. Have fun!

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