suggestions request : Spain Itinerary
 

Friends
Request your advice on our itinerary for Spain in August - 13 days
This is our first time to Spain - we are active and looking forward to travelling by public transportation.
Our flight is to and from Barcelona, so we need to come back to Barcelona.

Here we go
Day 1 : Arrival into Barcelona at 5pm. Train to Madrid, reaching Madrid-Atocha station at 11:30pm
==> I have booked Hotel Santo Domingo : Plaza de Santo Domingo, 13 Madrid City Center 28013 Madrid
==> REQUEST : Please suggest other hotel If there is a better option in Central location with better access to trains.

A) MADRID & SURROUNDINGS :
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Day 2 : Monday : Madrid
Day 3 : Tuesday : Madrid
Day 4 : Wednesday : Madrid
Day 5 : Thursday : Madrid

We get 4 Full days in Madrid - would like to see Madrid, and take day trips to nearby places

B) SEVILLE REGION
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Day 6 : Friday : Morning Train to Seville
==> This will give us half-day in Seville
==> Hoping to visit Seville, Cordoba and Granada

REQUEST : Please suggest hotel in central location

Day 7 : Saturday : Seville
Day 8 : Sunday : Seville

So hoping to cover Seville, Cordoba, and Granada in 2.5 days
Cordoba and Granada as day trips

C) BARCELONA
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Day 9 : Monday : Seville to Barcelona morning train (This is a long journey so will take pretty much the whole day) - reaching Barcelona after 4pm

==> We have booked Hotel HLG CityPark Pelayo : Calle Pelayo, 1 Eixample 08001 Barcelona
==> REQUEST : Please suggest other hotel If there is a better option in Central location with better access to trains.

Day 10 : Tuesday : Barcelona
Day 11 : Wednesday : Barcelona
Day 12 : Thursday : Barcelona
Day 13 : Friday : Barcelona

We get 4 Full days in Barcelona and surroundings

Day 13 : Fly back home from Barcelona (afternoon flight)

REQUEST : suggestions on the itinerary, day trip suggestions from Madrid and Barcelona.

Thx for your help.

2.5 days to see Seville, Cordoba and Granada sound grueling to me. Yes, you can visit Cordoba as a day trip on your way from Madrid to Seville. You cannot visit Granada as a daytrip from Seville. According to my research, it's almost a 3-hour train ride from Seville to Granada. You will barely see anything in Seville.

Do you love art? I really, really like Madrid and we did spend 3 full days in Madrid, and could have used an extra day. But if you aren't art museum lovers, I would suggest 3 days (4 nights) in Madrid with a daytrip to Toledo. Use that extra night/day for Seville, for example. This will give you 3.5 days in Seville, and you can stop in Cordoba on your way to Seville.

OR take that day from Madrid and stay overnight in Granada.

I agree with poster above; you need more time in Andalusia. Granada is not a day trip. We always group Andalusia with Madrid not Barcelona.

Thank you Karenwoo, HappyTrvlr - appreciate your feedback.

Just to let you know, Seville and Cordoba in August will be like walking on the sun. Accordingly, things will close down in the afternoon heat and reopen later. It's a fine time to visit, but this might impact day trips..

Shelemm makes a good point about the heat. Make sure your hotel has a pool. I remember when I was planning my trip, there were trip reports from people who were in Andalusia during the summer months. They talked about being drenched in sweat after 10 minutes outdoors. People would sightsee in the morning, return to their hotel in the afternoon and either nap/rest or swim in the pool. Then more sightseeing in the evening. Our trip was from mid-September to very early October.