Spain it is! Mother & daughter need fodor's Spain experts to help us with our last minute trip. We're just a little confused
 

My daughter and I are trying to plan a last minute trip--I leave this Saturday, DD is already in Brussels. After a little waffling between Spain and Italy we've decided on Spain.

We'll be in Paris for 8 - 9 days. Then we have another 13 - 14 days to spend in Spain. Then back in Paris for 2. I think we may be arriving at a crazy itinerary because of course, we want to see it all. We need our fodor friends to save us from ourselves!

February:
4 - night sleeper train to Barcelona (has anyone done this & did you like it?)
5 - Barcelona
6 - Barcelona
7 - Barcelona (Montserrat)
8 - Girona (rent a car)
9 - Tarragona
10 - return car, fly to Grenada
11 - Grenada
12 - (rent car, wander) Ubeda
13 - Sevilla
14 - Sevilla
15 - Sevilla
16 - Madrid
17 - Madrid
18 - fly to Paris
19 - Paris
20 - home

Please rearrange, cut and make suggestions. We had a change of plans - Kenya :( ... so this is unavoidably a last minute trip with little time to do my favorite thing - plan a trip. (But on the plus side, we have a good idea what the weather will be like.) Truly, we will welcome your help. Be as detailed as you like.

Oh - DD is 25, I'm very young ;), we like wandering around, seeing great art, interesting small towns, cathedrals, cafes, walking/hiking a lot. One of us likes night life. Usually we like to rent an apartment and stay a week to get to know a place.

Your advice so far has been terrific - now we need to figure out the details.

I would take a budget flight (Paris Orly to Girona) and start your trip on Girona. From there you can travel to Barcelona ( I think bus is used here). You can train easily to Tarragona from Barcelona. I guess I don't see the point of a car for one day in Girona and one day in Tarragona.

See www.whichbudget.com or www.skyscanner.net for budget flights.

Thanks kybourbon - Very helpful advice. And I see it's just under 50 eu Paris to Girona. Wow.

Not sure when you are dropping off the car after Granada but it is unneeded in Sevilla. Please note Grenada is an island while Granada is in Spain.

try vueling.com for that budget flight cos ryanair will add on their own fees, and then you have to add the transport costs getting from girona-barcelona (20 euro return).

also way2stay.com for Barcelona apartment

Hi all,

Yes, we'd definitely drop the car off at Seville. Do you think we need to rent a car for that portion or would a bus be just fine?

Is this the right number of days in various places?

The budget airlines have strict check-in and luggage policies. Be sure you are in compliance.

What are they strict about?

You definitely do not need a car for Sevilla, it is a great city to walk around and plus I would never, in a million years, want to navigate a car around the narrow, confusing streets. We stayed in Sevilla a few nights and then picked up our car at the train station. Take the AVE to Madrid from Sevilla, nice, relaxing, and only 2-3 hours.

bubblywine,
They're very strict about weight--DD had to pay overcharges that were more than her ticket for her luggage:-<

I would fly Paris - Barcelona on Vueling.
stay in Barcelona at least 4 days
fly to Granada ( Vueling again)
for 2 days , if you wish to rent a car for a drive to Seville ( stop in
Ubeda)
3 days in Seville . AVE train to Madrid
4 days in Madrid ( maybe a day trip to Toledo)

Thanks Danon - that's really helpful. So you'd recommend the 2 days we were thinking about in Tarragona and Girona in favor of Madrid and Andalucia?

I am very excited about the Prado.

hi,
we found so much to see in both Barcelona and Madrid
Prado and other museums in Madrid are great so is the Palace , beatuful park Retiro, elegant district Salamanca etc.
Barcelona , to me, is like a mix of Paris and Nice with a twist .
We stayed 8 days and never left the city.
Granada is small but interesting - reserve tickets for Alhambra ahead of time .
I visited Seville long time ago , so I don't remember much except that I wish to go back ( next year) .
Sorry, I have never visited Tarragona and Girona so I cannot comment, but you may be rushing it a bit. Every time you change cities you lose half a day .(packing, checking out, getting to the airport,traveling, getting to the hotel.... you get the picture)
Some people don't mind moving around a lot and just getting a taste of different places.
It is your choice of course.

Hi Danon - thanks for the tip about the Alhambra. We'll do that.

The 10 day weather forecast looks very good.

Make sure that you do a day trip from Seville to Cordoba, you really do not want to miss the Mesquita ( or the great food there) and it is easy to do from Seville.

Don't miss the flamenco in Seville and Granada.

Another great side trip from Sevilla is Ronda. It has a huge gorge running through the city and is breathtaking. There's no train to the city, but there are buses (http://www.movelia.es). We've always driven. If you're looking for interesting hotels to stay in try a Parador (http://www.parador.es/english/). They are castles, monasteries and historical buildings turned into very nice hotels and restaurants. There's a beautiful one in Ronda. Make sure to check out the incredible discount they offer for people ages 20-30 (http://www.paradores-spain.com/offers/youngpersons.html). Only one guest needs to be under 30 for the discount. They also have a wonderful buffet breakfast included with the discount. Enjoy Spain. We love the country!

There is train to Ronda, but not direct to Seville, you must change trains at Bobadilla. It is incomvenient and a waste of time, better to use the Bus.

The Paradors do look lovely. The one I'd love to stay at - Granada - doesn't offer the young person rate. I'll keep looking - thanks for the information.

WTNow - Thanks. I've been wondering about Cordoba. I've also wanted to tell you how much I like your blog. I think we're going to Spain in part because of your reminders that Anadalucia is really lovely in winter. We traveled a lot when DD was 5 - spent a summer traveling through Mexico for instance - and your daughter reminds me of mine at that age.

Hotel Girona in Barcelona looks very reasonable. They have 'interior' twin rooms and 'exterior' twin rooms. The difference is 12 eu. Does anyone know what that means? Does one have a street view and one an alley or something?