Hi everyone,

So this will be our first trip to Spain (my husband and I). We are in our early 30's, no kids. We have 17 or 20 days to spend (not sure yet the exact amount). We love art, food & wine, but also like some beach time and outdoor activities during our trips.
Having this in mind I think we would fly out to Madrid and return from Barcelona, making trips to Seville/Cordoba/Granada in the middle and to Palma de Mallorca (right before Barcelona) if possible.
I have made a schedule according to what we would like to do and I would appreciate any thoughts/comments about it:
My main question right now is the distribution of days in each city, I have given more time to Barcelona because I've heard is one of the best places to be. However maybe I have too many days in Barcelona and I should add one of those days to Madrid so I can do a daytrip to Toledo (which I left out).
Also: are there direct flights from Seville/Granada to Palma?

Day 1: flight to Madrid
Madrid (days 2,3,4, travel day 5)
Seville (half of day 5, day 6, travel day 7 to Cordoba)
Cordoba (spend day 7, leave day 8 at night)
Granada (spend day 9, leave day 10) flight to Barcelona or Palma?
Palma de Mallorca (half day 10, day 11, day 12, leave day 13 to Barcelona)
Barcelona (half day 13, day 14, day 15, day 16)
Day 17 flight home from Barcelona
(if no flights from Seville or Granada to Palma, then do Barcelona first, then Palma)

Thank you for any answers/comments/thoughts

How are you planning on getting from city to city?

There are several direct flights from GRX to PMI and GRX to BCN.

My only real concern about your itinerary is that you are only allowing one full day each for Granada and Cordoba. I suppose that is fine if all you want to do is hit the major sites but I understand time constraints mean you have to make sacrifices.

Hi, thanks for your reply!

We plan to take the train between cities (maybe rent a car in the Andalusia region, although I think there are trains between the three major cities which is our preference).
I know such a short time for those cities is a crime! However the Alhambra and the Meskquita are both "must see" for me (Islamic art history fan), so I'd rather see a bit of both than none.
What do you think about going to Palma, worth it? Are there any 'beach' towns maybe closer to Andalusia that could offer a similar experience?

I'd say from Granada you can head to Malaga and hit a beach there (full disclosure: I am not a beach person and can't specifically recommend a particular beach). You can then fly from Malaga to Barcelona.

What time of the year are you going?

While I can certainly understand your desire to see all these places, I wonder if you will actually have time to see and experience what you want. For my tastes, you are trying to fit in too much -- but that's me, and what matters here is YOU.

Here's what I recommend: 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, check their opening/closing times on the internet, and mark them on a calendar. Then pencil in your transportation, add some time on either side (for getting to/from your lodging, checking in/out, packing/unpacking, getting oriented, etc.). Then see how things fit together. And BTW, note that many things in Spain are closed on Monday, and often for all or part of Sundays too; and many things in Spain will also be closed daily for a very long mid-day break.

Hope that helps!

Thanks for your suggestions! I will definitely follow them and do a more realistic itinerary.

I hadn't event thought about the 'closed days' and the 'siesta' time! Thanks for mentioning that, which will probably affect my schedule.
I think at this point I will try to push for a solid 20 days so I can fit a couple more days in Andalusia. Maybe I'll also re-think Palma de Mallorca, and try to get in an excursion to a nice beach around Barcelona.
We have done a couple of trips to Europe like this one, but for two weeks only. However, Spain has so many amazing places! It is really hard to decided which ones to prioritize. San Sebastian is another dream location for us (foodie heaven) but its so out of the way I think it will have to be left for another trip

It sounds like you are making some great steps toward a more realistic plan -- good for you!

I think getting a solid 20 days would allow you to see the highlights as long as you skip Palma. There are pretty extensive beaches right in Barcelona if you need beach time.

These are three pretty distinct regions and each could easily fill a couple weeks but you could look at it as an introduction and figure you'll be back. From Madrid I'd suggest at least a day trip to Toledo and/or Segovia. I overnighted for several days in both of them but many people do them as a day trip and are happy.

When is this trip ? More days in Andalucia would be good, if possible, and I'd keep Palma de Mallorca on your itinerary. It is gorgeous.

Here is our 20-day 2015 trip report (with photos). It can give you some ideas.

<B>http://travelswithmaitaitom.com/spain-2015/</B>

The trip will be in early June this year, of course we would love to spend more time in Andalusia and keep Palma, but we have a finite amount of days (and money) and something's gotta give
@maitaitom I've been fascinated looking at your trip report...absolutely love all your descriptions and pictures, they made me even more exited for this trip!!
I have also saved a few recommendations from there. Thank you so much!