gah…lag

I’lll be in Spain for 10 days this summer so I thought I’d weight in. I want get an overall tour of the country, so I am doing two days in San Sebastian to the North, 3 days in Madrid with a day trip to Toledo or Segovia, then another 2 in Granada for Southern Spain, then lastly 3 in Barcelona.

You could exchange Seville for Granada, but the party scene and Alhambra made it an easy choice for me. Could easily take a day from Madrid and stick it elsewhere too.

Depending on how much you like to party you may want to consider Ibiza, a (in)famous island off Spain’s south eastern coast.

Have fun!

Here’s some sample itinerares I suiggested to someone in this thread:
 
http://www.eurotrip.com/forum/tm.aspx?m=113176
 
You can pretty much tweak any of these to fit your time constraints, simply by dropping Ibiza.

Thank you for your help!
If anyone else has an opinion please share it with me.

I’d definetly squeeze in Granada if you’re up to it. I found Granada far superior to Seville – even though Seville was supposed to be the highlight of my time in Spain. Both cities are very closely aligned culturely speaking, they were the last two holdouts of the moorish kingdoms. HOWEVER, Seville is a very large city and it definitely feels that way, whereas the smaller Granada is built in the valley of two hills and has a nice “villiage” feel to it. I went to Granada before Seville and loved it, which may have taken a bit away from Seville since it didn’t live up to expectations. The other way around may be better.

 Madrid-Seville-Granada-Barcelona is surely possible if you budget your time accordingly. I would say two nights for Madrid is fine as you can see both the Prado and Reina Sofia museums in one day, two nights in Seville is sufficient as well. For castles – Seville has the Alcazar though the Alhambra in Granada is far superior. Both cities have fine cathedrals, and in Granada you can see the tombs of [=”-1”]Ferdinand and Isabella in the Capilla Real which is great for any history buff. In granada there’s a little white churce up on the hill opposite of the Alhambra near the moorish section which has a nice little court yard out front right to the edge of the hill. It has great views of the Alhambra and people flock there so it’s great for people watching – also there’s people selling crafts there and you can eat some paella which somebody will be cooking in a huge wok on the sidewalk while groups of musicians walk around playing by the cafes. Nice way to spend the afternoon.  [/]

DO NOT get suckered into the river boat tour of Seville. It’s an hour and a half of absolutely nothing, while the guide talks about every little 20yr old bridge you pass by. It sucks. Book your room ahead for Seville. Stay at the Oasis hostel in Granada, it’s fantastic. Get to the Alhambra before 8am to get tickets, the line gets HUGE after that.  Stay Cat’s hostel in Madrid which is very good or hotel “Horizontal” if you want a cheap private room which is right around the corner on the main road. Both are near plaza Santa de Ana and only a short walk from Plaza del Sol. 

One can get lost in Granada.  I planned a two week tour of Spain, but Granada captivated my girlfriend and I so much we cut the rest of the trip short.  Granada should not be missed. 

Thank you everyone. I am definitely going to squeeze Granada into the itenerary.
Nadrazi, I really appreciate the details of your experience and the hostel recommendations.

You will love Spain. The place that I would suggest is San Sebastion in the noth west. It is on the coast, and you could easily spend a few days there. It is not overcrowded and the tapas bars are to die for!!!! We will be there again in November….

I haven’t travelled much in Spain, but I did spend about five months in the wonderful city of Salamanca about seven years ago. I was learning Spanish at a language school there. I absolutely loved the place – its about two hours from Madrid so it might be a little out of your way but it’s well worth it. It’s a beautiful city and easily manageable too, home to a very famous university and the biggest Plaza Mejor in Spain. Check it out on Wikipedia for more info.

I think that your plan to cover Spain in 10 days is not real. Better if you can decide for a more restricted region. If you want cities, traveling with train or plane from one point to another, OK: you have madrid, barcelona, Sevilla, Granada, Cordoba…… but, if you want also to enjoy places and landscapes you must restrict to one or two regions. As example, we were in Spain at 2004, we came to Bilbao only to visit the Guggenheim Museum and we rented a car and gone to San Sebastian. From there to the surrondings and crossing to France to nice villages near the spanish border.( two nights in San Sebastian ). From here to Aragon region and the Ordesa Reserve, the Anisco canion, Aguaistortes, Sort, the St. Maurice lake, Solsona, Cardona, until Barcelona.
8 days!!! …but worth !. Also in the surroundings of Barcelona you can visit many interesting places as Figueres ( Dali ), Girona, etc. You must to decide what sort of tour do you want but of sure……………..in Spain you will enjoy anywhere!!!

You can’t do all spain in 10 days, but you can do a good chunk of it.

3 days in Madrid (which includes a day trip to Segovia)

1 day Toledo

2 days Seville

1 day Granada ( all you want to see is the Alhambra – make sure you buy tickets in advance online before you go there)

3 days Barcelona

I like Seville but it is a bit out of the way. You could easily cut it and add places like Cordoba, Avila, , etc. which make your route a little more compact and cut down on travel time or fly from Granada to Barcelona

I agree with finnegan’s itinerary. I’ve liked Seville, but also liked Cordoba and Avila (amazing small town), so if it reduces travel time, the suggestion of cutting Seville and going to Cordoba and/or Avila, makes sense. Also, 2 days for Madrid (as TheComish suggests) is also something to consider.

You could cut down Madrid 2 days quite easily and add more time to Segovia or Avila (if you go to either, make sure you go to a resturant that serves suckling pig…a regional specialty). Aslo,. if staying in Avila do not get a hotel room that overlooks the cathedral…unlike a lot of european towns, they don’t shut down the bells on the clock tower at night…which means loud “bongs” on the quarter hour, half hour and hour all night long!

Hey everyone,
If you are responding to my original request for help, it is almost 2 years now since I went to Spain.
Thanks anyways.

So where’d you end up going? How’d you like it?

finnegan,
I was traveling alone and really enjoyed myself, here is the order I did things and what I remember as highlights.
Madrid 2 nights at RC Miguel Angel a nice, clean, non-party hostel close to Porta del sol.
Prado Museum, Palacio Real, Retiro Park, and many tapas bars.
Took a bus from Madrid to Granada, lots of olive groves along the way.
Granada 3 nights at Hostal Costa Azul, a small well run hotel on a very narrow street. Lots of restaurants and tapas bars in the area.
Alhambra and Generalife, Sacromonte – went to a Zambra dancing show in a gypsy cave / house dug into the hillside, walking around the Albaicin area, the cathedral Real Capilla, had a wonderful time visiting with a lady that owned a restaurant / bar just down the street from my hotel. I actually helped her close the place one night and carried the tables and chairs in off the street for her.
Took the train from Granada to Sevilla, more olive groves.
Sevilla 2 nights at Pension Javier in Santa Cruz, well located, but my room here was quite musty smelling I would not choose this hotel again.
The Alcazar, climbing to the top of the Giralda bell tower and the Cathedral itself, Plaza de Toros wish there would have been a bullfight while I was there.
Flew from Sevilla to Barcelona.
Barcelona 3 nights at Hostal Goya, really clean hotel, not to expensive, great location close to Placa Catalunya.
Joking with the guy at the El Corte Ingle’s deli counter when I went in to get sandwich fixings 2 days in a row, La Rambla, Sagrada Familia, La Pedrera, the port, and the beach.
In Granada and Sevilla I really liked all the narrow streets that would eventually come to a little plaza with a fountain or a statue in the center.
Thanks for asking, you made me think about this trip. It was fun to remember the little details.

i thought it appropriate to post here as i will be following a itinerary similar to that which finnegan recommended…

7 days, flying into girona on 25/09 and returning to the uk via madrid on the 01/10. really appreciate the advice on these boards, as i’ve planned to trip to see spain with my brother, an opportunity to see the country as well as bond.

any further recommendation as to how to travel from each city, is train the best idea?

also can anyone recommend how to buy tickets in advance for alhambra, is it worth getting the ‘bono turistico’ (tourist pass). are there any other attractions in the above mentioned itinerary which is advisable to get tickets in advance?

realise i have limited time and so i’m looking to maximise that by buying tickets in advance etc, so as not to have waste times in queues but rather enjoy more of the country.

many thanks in advance.

http://granadainfo.c…

There’s lots of places that sell tickets (usually with a mark up). Better to go right to the source. Have fun and bring some treats to feed the palace cats