soundslikedave

Hello,

I booked a ticket that lands and departs out of Madrid. This is my first time to Spain, and would prefer definitely some beach time wherever I go. I have typically found I am not a fan of very large cities (Bangkok, Paris, Munich I wasn't a fan of) and have found I like smaller cities when traveling in Europe, so I have decided to leave off Madrid completely. Everyone has told me to not miss Barcelona, I was originally not going to include it either. Nothing is set in stone, but below is what I'm looking to book. Any feedback is appreciated. I was considering dropping a day from Mallorca and adding it elsewhere, but I am not sure. I'd like to spend a day in Palma, a 1/2 day driving around and up to Cap De Fomentor, and then the rest in Cala d'Or. I'm aware that this is pretty tight on time and I probably should keep the extra day in Mallorca, but am open to suggestions. Thanks again!

May 10th - Seville (1:30) ½ a day
May 11th Seville
May 12th - Seville
May 13th = Cordoba
May 14th (Seville – Lisbon – land Lisbon at 7:10AM) (Lisbon all day)
May 15th - Lisbon
May 16th - Lisbon
May 17th - (Sintra)
May 18th - Barcelona (Land at 11:30)
May 19th - Barcelona
May 20th - Barcelona
May 21st - Barcelona
May 22nd - (Land at 8AM) Mallorca
May 23rd - Mallorca
May 24th - Mallorca
May 25th - Mallorca
May 26th - Mallorca
May 27th - Madrid/Toledo (land in Madrid at 8:00 - day trip to Toledo)
May 28th - Depart Madrid

annhig

him soundslikedave,

I hate to be the one to break it to you but none of the places you have on your itinerary [apart from such smaller places as you may find while you're on Mallorca] would qualify as smaller cities. Even Seville though not a very big city like Barcelona or Madrid has lots of tourists as does Lisbon.

if you want to find the smaller places you crave, I would suggest hiring a car and driving along the coast till you find somewhere you like. I think that there are still some nice places on the coast near Barcelona and Valencia [which is a really lovely big city, much nicer than Barcelona IMO] as there probably are near Malaga [another underrated city]

Or you could explore the white villages of Andalusia - see this site for some ideas:

http://www.andalusia-web.com/route_1.htm

but your current itinerary seems to be the antithesis of what you say you want to see.

PalenQ

Take trains between Seville and Cordoba and Madrid to Toledo. Book in advance - especially Toledo as trains can be full - www.renfe.com - for lots of info on Spanish trains: www.renfe.com (book your own); lots of stuff on trains: www.seat61.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.ricksteves.com

IMDonehere

Unless you are a beach person or want to relax, I would not go to Mallorca, there is much to see on the mainland. And for a first trip to Spain I would skip Lisbon and Sintra.

danon

annhig makes an excellent point.

quiltingmamma

Toledo, Cordoba, Granada. Segovia, Cuenca, Ronda...the list of small cities/towns all in your considered area which all deserve more than one day. Don't be pressured to visit Barcelona if you don't want to. It can bee added on to any number of future European trips. BTW, it is bigger than Madrid, which I didn't feel felt big at all. I stayed nearnthe museums and enjoyed the Botanical Gardens and Retiro Park as well as the fantastic art. It sure jas a lot more green space than Barcelona.
17 days may feel like a lot, but I would stick to Spain and head to the smaller towns.

soundslikedave

Hi there,

OP here. I suppose I left off a lot of details. The reason I included Barcelona is because I have a friend that will be meeting me the last leg of my trip. We are both late 20s/30 and looking for nightlife for a few nights while we are there. For reference, when I stated large cities that was pretty ambiguous. I like being able to explore older smaller cities and not have to worry about the chaos of large areas and dealing with a lot of transportation (Yet, oddly one of my favorite cities is Istanbul.). From what I've read, Seville is still walkable and it seems to be a city not to miss, and. From what I've gathered 2.5-3 days should be good not including day trips. Mallorca is not a must, but I thought it would be a good way to relax to the end of a trip for the scenery.

Thanks so much!

Robert2016

Since you like smaller cities and some beach time, then consider a few days, up to a week, in Cádiz. It's going to be far less expensive then Mallorca and the weather should be great in May, not too warm.

The spectactacular Feria del Caballo will be held from May 5-12 In Jerez, only a short train ride away from Sevilla. You could then head for Cádiz on the 15th for a little beach time.

kja

Are you sure you can see and do everything you want in these wonderful destinations in the time you have? I wanted 6 full days for Sevilla and Cordoba; 5 full days for a rapid-paced visit to Barcelona, and 6 full days for Madrid and Toledo (not to mention all the places you don’t mention) – but that’s me, and your interests probably differ. 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 lost/oriented, etc.). Then see how things fit together. 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.

As others have noted, your plan includes a lot of cities. Granted, the historic cores of most of small and walkable, but the highlights of Barcelona are spread out.

Good luck!

danon

Another option for a smallish city with a beach is Malaga.

KarenWoo

I agree with Danon about Malaga. We loved it when we were there this past September. I think it's an under-rated city. The city center is beautiful, and there are plenty of sights if you want to sightsee, but you can enjoy down time on its beaches, too.