Heather

I am planning to surprise my husband with a trip to Spain in May. We will have two weeks with an open itinerary. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Pedro

I live in Sevilla but if you go in May, this month my vote is for Cordoba ( They have several events and the city is beautiful, specially if you like to experience local life. Besides, some romantic cities: Salamanca, Toledo, Segovia, Leon, Granada, Sevilla, Santiago, Barcelona and Cuenca.

Maira

May is a great month to visit Spain; the earlier the better. I agree with Pedro; the cities he highlighted are absolute gems. In early May (around the 12th?), Madrid celebrates the Festivities of San Isidro with great events and public concerts at Plaza Mayor every night. Great fun. If you have never been to Spain, start with 3-4 days in Andalucia, train on to Seville, rent a car for day trips. Then on to Cordova and Granada. On your way back, spend 3-4 days in Madrid to include day trips to Toledo, Avila, and Segovia.

Heather

Thanks for the feedback. If we fly into Madrid, what itinerary do you suggest. Is it better to stay in two-three general locations with side trips? Is a trip to Portugal out of the question due to time constraints? I am also unsure about train vs bus vs rental car. Does anyone have any recommendations?

Kris

We flew into Madrid, spent a couple of days there, one on a day trip to Toledo. Then we hopped on the high speed AVE train to Cordoba, then to Seville and then to the Costa del Sol. <BR> <BR>I think if I had to plan it again, I would spend a few days in Madrid, still day tripping to Toledo and maybe Segovia or Salamanca which we didn't get to see (by bus to Toledo is the quickest and cheapest). I would take the AVE train to Seville which takes about 2 1/2 hours and stay there for several days and take a day trip to Cordoba which is only about a 1/2 hour by AVE. <BR> <BR>The Costa del Sol part is what I would change. We took a bus trip out to Granada and felt like we were rushed through. I'm not sure if I would drive/train from Seville and spend the night, maybe someone else has better advice on this. The reason we chose the bus trip was because we had heard that the tickets to the Alhambra sell out and we didn't want to miss it. We also took a day trip out to Tangier (waste of time), Ronda by car (fabulous drive) and Gibraltar (fun but not a must). <BR> <BR>Instead of trying to get Portugal into this trip, you might see if you can find a cheap airfare up to Barcelona and spend a few days there. On the other hand, you could easily spend the whole time in southern Spain, we easily spent 12 days there.