lovs2travel

I’m starting to plan a very tentative itinerary to Spain. I’ve been reading the questions on this forum, as well as trip reports. I am really interested in history, ancient architecture and the Moorish influence. At this point, we could fly into Madrid and out of Barcelona. Since we can only take two weeks, I have left Madrid out of the trip in favor of Toledo. I appreciate your input and advice.

Two nights in Salamanca
Two nights in Toledo
Four nights in Sevilla with a day trip to Cordoba
Two nights in Granada
Four nights in Barcelona

CathyM

Is this your first trip to Spain? What time of year are you planning for this trip? Is it possible for you to fly home via Sevilla, Granada or Malaga?

lovs2travel

Sorry – I probably should have included that in my original post. I have been to Spain before, but it was via cruise ship. I don’t really count that as a “true” visit. Instead, it was more of a taste. I went on three ship excursions, which were city bus tours of Barcelona, Valencia and Murcia. I would enjoy spending the entire time in Andalusia and fly out of Sevilla, but my husband really wants to go to Barcelona. We are not fans of the heat so summer is not a possibility. If we go, it would probably be September/October.

kja

I love that you are allowing 2 nights for Salamanca and 2 for Toledo! Given your interests, you might want to spend a 2nd night in Cordoba - I thought it had plenty to offer. There is SO much more than can be seen in a day trip!

Personally, I would skip Barcelona on this trip so you can add that day in Cordoba and add a day in Segovia, maybe Avila, maybe Ronda. But I suspect you want to stay married....

Hope that helps!

CathyM

14 days is a little rushed to cover 3 geographies - but it is definately doable and this works. I think you've spaced your days as well as you can with the time frame.

I'd also consider saving Barcelona for another trip when you can see more of Barcelona and Catalunya (and perhaps even Valencia) but if your husband has his heart set on Barcelona then I understand.

You may consider visiting Cordoba en route from Madrid to Cordoba (I assume you'll be taking the train from Madrid to Sevilla). This way you don't have to backtrack to Cordoba as a daytrip from Sevilla.

Is there a reason why you've included Salamanca? It is a beautiful city (UNESCO World Heritage City) but is also an outlyer in your itinerary. If you didn't have to 2 days in Salamanca you could spend more time focusing on the more Moorish Andalucia. A couple of nights overnight in Cordoba, or a couple of nights exploring the white villages by car, or Malaga, etc.... It's all a trade off though - but I thought I'd throw it out. Of course if you were able to talk your husband out of Barcelona then you could add the 4 nights in Andalucia

lovs2travel

Thank you for your responses! I have not been successful in talking him out of Barcelona and since I’d prefer to stay married…. I might (a big might) be able to talk him into adding a couple more days. If I go with this plan, how many extra days do you think I should add?

I included Salamanca because it really looked beautiful and I’ve read such wonderful things about it. I hadn’t planned on Toledo, but based on the small amount of research I have done thus far, I thought we would enjoy it.

Would it be easier to fly into Barcelona and take the AVE train to Madrid and go from there or should I stick with flying from Granada to Barcelona? I really want to see the Alhambra in Granada so that is a definite. Should we then backtrack and fly out of Sevilla if we don’t fly from Granada to Barcelona?

I hadn’t thought about stopping in Cordoba on the way to Sevilla. Do you think it would be better to spend the night there, but take a night away from Sevilla (if I am unable to add days to the itinerary)?

Thank you again. I do appreciate your insight!!

CathyM

If you could add 2 days to your trip I'd probably add an additional night in both Sevilla and Barcelona. If you had 4 additional days then I'd add a couple of days for exploring the white villages between Granada and Sevilla (renting a car).

I like how your current itinerary flows logistically.

Spending 1 night in Cordoba is an option. Personally though I don't like 1-nighters and would prefer to head on to Sevilla and have more nights in one place.

lovs2travel

Thank you! I agree with one night stays. We did that in Ireland and although we saw a lot, it was tiring. If I am successful adding days, I will add them to Sevilla and Barcelona. I may be back for more help!