As usual when planning a trip, I started off with one plan and ended up with another. It's been a complicated few months and we missed (in both senses of the word) our annual leisurely autumn trip to Puglia. So we are now planning a trip to Spain starting in January. Yes, I know the weather may be cold but I live in the Alps and in January maybe get out of the house for a walk a couple of hours a day at the most, so I guess anywhere will be better. I used Weatherspark to compare weather averages, for what they are worth,which was interesting.
So, here's the itinerary - any comments are welcome:
- Fly into Madrid mid January. Flight booked.
7 nights. It'll be our first visit. Booked accommodation in the centre. We are slow so just a lot of time in each of the three big art museums and the usual main sights and wandering around will keep us busy, I think.
- Train to Seville. Booked. 7 nights. Our second visit. Hoping for some sun and warmer weather during the day.
- Train to Cordoba 3 nights. Will be our second visit.
Now the parts I'm less sure about because they are all new places for us:
- Train to Toledo (easy change at Atocha) But how many nights? Is 2 'enough'? An impossible question I know.....2 nights is basically a full day and the previous afternoon...
- Train to Segovia via Madrid. 2 nights? Less to see and wander around in Segovia than Toledo?
I know I could do both as day trips from Madrid but I want the full six days in Madrid and considering the price of accommodation in Madrid it doesn't make sense for our pace of traveling to day trip from there.
- Direct train to Cuenca. 2 nights? I know ekscrunchy has just been. Impressions? Is 2 nights 'enough'? I would like to see Ciudad Encantada but I suppose that depends on the weather. Maybe a one day car rental? In that case 3 nights. Any experiences with going there?

Three short stays means we will be tired now so:
- Train to Alicante. Rent car. 7/10 nights, not sure where to base yet. Elche, Lorca, Murcia, Coast Calblanque and regional park have been on my list for years. Have already visited Alicante itself and didn't fall in love with it so won't base there. Will hope for some sun and warmer weather for walking along the coast and beach. But I've read the thread about Denia, Jávea etc so now curious about that part of the coast too.
- Return car at Alicante. Train to Valencia. 7 days in Valencia. New for us. Fly home from there.

I travel hard and fast and wanted two FULL days in Toledo.
One day was enough for me in Segovia.

The only place that I can comment on that is new to you is Toledo. I highly recommend spending 2 or 3 nights there. We spent one night and that really wasn't enough. We could have used at least one extra night, and that does not mean we would have seen everything. But we don't need to see everything. I would not recommend visiting Toledo as a daytrip. I know that we would not have appreciated Toledo as much if we only visited for a day.

Would it make more sense to visit Toledo and Segovia before Andalusia? It seems like you’re back tracking.

if you have time (which it seems you do) three nights in Toledo would be great.

Thanks to all three of you, that confirmed my thoughts about Toledo. We will spend 3 nights in Toledo.
Yes dreamon, you are right but in any case to get to Alicante by train we have to go back through Madrid. Plus, after a week in Madrid, warmer weather in Andalucía sounds nice. Last point is that cost of accommodation in Seville increases a lot in February compared to January. We have, yes, a lot of time, but because of that need to keep costs down where possible

Glad you have decided on three nights in Toledo. I also move slowly and did not think three nights were too much. If you're interested in a nice, reasonable hotel, I stayed at La Posada de Manolo, literally around the corner from the cathedral. Not big, a 15th C building that has been beautifully updated for today's comfort while keeping all the charm of the building. Good breakfast. Beautiful big shower. I paid only 67 Euro per night. Of course, hotel prices have gone up dramatically since Covid, so not sure what the price is now.

Thanks to all who replied.
Any ideas between Calp, Altea, Denia or Javea in February? I'd like to spend 4 nights in the area to see if I like it enough to return for a longer stay.Initally I was undecided between Denia and Javea, after a lot of research on forums and blogs I am now undecided between Calp, Altea, Denia and Javea!! So I decided it was time to ask for help.....

It will be early February but am happy with a very quiet place; doesn't matter if not much is open as long as there's a Mercadona supermarket (planning on an apartment); a daily food market or just some local stalls for fruit and veg would be a plus (if also local fish that would be fantastic).
- we don't want a car for these days so good public transport to a couple of the others would be good; we'll be then going to Valencia so easy transport tto go there is a plus; we like long walks along the sea front - boardwalk or firm sand or even some easy hikes, nice views, pretty old town a bonus

Seaside places we loved in Spain so far: Tarifa, Sanlucar de Barrameda, Malaga, Salobrena, Cabo de Gata area in general. Also liked Alumnecar despite the highrise, Cambrils, Barbate, Nerja, Aguilas, Peniscola.
Any thoughts or advice would be gratefully received

I will write more ideas tomorrow, but as for Cuenca, I think two days are enough (two nights).
We did not go to Ciudad Encantada. I was interested in the lagoons of different colors but when I read more, I learned that there are only about three (I think) that the public is allowed to visit without some prior arrangements. There are interesting rock formations visible from Cuenca itself and the surrounding landscapes, so not sure its would be worth going there since you would have to rent a car or join a tour without the rental car..

Remember that Denia is on the sea and Javea is a bit further inland. You can see that I liked Denia a lot and it will be easy to visit Javea from there for a day, or even go for lunch...Note that the road connecting the two towns in VERY narrow and winding, uphill and down......but it was easy to drive and the landscape is beautiful. There is a lookout point midway through that I am sorry we did not take the time to visit; it should be pretty special. I never imagined how close the hills/cliffs come to the sea in that area.

In the end, all being well, we decided a week in Madrid, train to Sevilla - a week, train to Cordoba - 3 nights, trains to Toledo - 3 nights, train to Alicante, pick up rental car , 7 nights Torrevieja as a base to visit Murcia, Elche, Cartagena and the coast, 4 nights Denia to visit Denia, Jávea, Altea and Calp. Return car at Valencia airport, 3 nights in Valencia to see if we like it. Flight home.
I've booked all trains, rental car and accommodation all with free cancellation for the time being.
We decided to base in Denia because there was suitable accommodation.
Toledo may not be long enough but I guess we could return at some point....
Thanks to those who replied

I'm confused by your proposed order: Toledo is only about an hour from Madrid, and I suspect you would need to change trains in Madrid to get there. Wouldn't it make more sense just before or after Madrid? (Depending on when your flight arrives, you may be able to go straight to Toledo.)

Have a lovely trip, just_tina. I concentrate on art, but maybe my TR will be helpful:

Madrid and London

Yes, you do need to change trains in Madrid to get to Toledo, so I agree that it might be better to go to Toledo before or after Madrid rather than backtracking to it later.

Wouldn't it be easier to go just before or after Madrid?

You are right of course, kja and Susan, but we decided to start with Madrid, not Toledo due to discounted accommodation prices, and a free taxi from airport to accommodation. Toledo directly afterwards would have meant being there at the weekend, which I wanted to avoid, and again Sevilla accommodation was cheaper a little earlier. Plus after a cold week (probably) in Madrid, heading south attracted. Both Cordoba - Toledo and Toledo - Alicante we just change in Atocha so hopefully not too difficult. I booked all the trains during Renfe's black Friday offers so it also depended on individual train availability and prices which suited us.

Thanks TDudette, El Prado and the Thyssen museum were the main reasons we wanted to spend a week in Madrid, although there will be lots of other things we'll enjoy too

This is my trip report for this trip: Trip report Spain in winter - Madrid, Toledo, Sevilla, Cordoba and
Thanks to all who contributed with their ideas
And here are the answers to my question about which is 'nicest' between Denia, Calp, Altea and Javea:
https://slowtravelitalyspain.blogspo...-or-javea.html