Spain Itinerary - Help
 

My husband and I are going to Spain for the 1 st time in April. We'll be flying into Madrid (staying 4 nites), taking the ave into Seville (4 nites, flying to Barcelona (staying 4 nites). We'll be in Seville during the Feria. Do you recommend going at this time? I've sent a couple of emails to hotels and they're either booked or very expensive. Should I stay outside of Seville and bus in? Recommendations? thanks

Feria is a very busy time in Sevilla. You can check, but you'll find that most of the hotels further out will also be booked and expensive, if available. I'd suggest you look at other options for those four nights.

Check out for the Hotel Alcora. It's a little aways from the Feria but there's a shuttle bus during the Feria-free.

I've stayed there often for business but I've stayed there many times during the Feria. The shuttle bus will take a ride into Seville and drops you off in the center of town. Of course the bus will give you a ride back too.

If you can't find a way to get into a hotel in Seville, see if you could find something in Jerez and take the train back and forth.

Seville will be great during the Feria but if you're not allowed into many of the casetas, you might not enjoy too much. Again, four nites in Seville during the Feria might be a little too much. Most of the casetas are private, so this will reduce your pleasure.

Still, Seville is still lovely, whether the Feria is open or not. Maybe you could swap your intinerary and arrive in Seville before or after the Feria. Then you can find hotels and everything else to do without a crowd of people.

Good fun in Spain.

Blackduff

Hotel Amadeus (rate #2 by tripadvisor) emailed me back and informed me that they have a room available for 150 Euros per nite. Should I split my So. Spain itinerary into two cities (eg Granada or Cordoba)

150 euro a night for double occupancy during Seville Feria is very reasonable; many hotels charge around 250 euro, more than double their normal rates. And Amadeus is a very pleasant hotel, a favourite for many Fodorites.

eurogirl2006,
what are the dates of feria in Seville? i keep finding conflicting dates online.

April 24 - April 29 2007.

I have to agree with blackduff:
"Seville will be great during the Feria but if you're not allowed into many of the casetas, you might not enjoy too much. "
In fact, I met many Spanish people from Andalusia complaining about the private casetas.

But it's up to You really. If You go there just for Feria, than You will have a good time. But if You want to explore the city itself, it's the worst time, aside from La Semana Santa (Easter).
If You get a chance, go to Cordoba!It's
only 45 minutes on a train. Lovely town with amazing Great Mosque.

Feria in Seville is a mixture of things. The fair (with the usual stalls, rides for kids) is really big and it's open to public, the bullfights if you are on the mood to pay big money for the tickets are also open..but the "casetas" for which the Feria is known are mostly private. They belong to associations, clubs or even groups of friends so you have to have an invitation to join in most of them . The Seville Town Hall has the biggest of them and this one if free entrance but as you can imagine is as crowded as it can be :)

I am also planning a trip to Spain and trying to arrange transport between Sevilla and Barcelona.
Which airline did you find had the best flights/prices?

Lesleejd,

Check Spanair

Spanair or Vueling...Iberia also has good prices to Sevilla.