September Spain Trip - Recommendations

You are planning to cover over 2.000 Km. (1.500 miles) and touring 5 cities in 5 days . That's impossible. You'd spend 2-3 days just travelling. Spain is smaller than USA but not THAT small.

From that list I'd skip Córdoba and Alicante. Alicante is too far from the rest of destinations and Córdoba is nice but not as interesting as the others. You could have a quick look at the 'mezquita' though (as explained later).

My suggestion would go like this:

1. Madrid-Seville.

By High Speed Train (AVE). 72 € (2 h. 30 min. trip) If you are crazy enough you could consider stopping in Córdoba, visiting the 'mezquita' and resuming your trip to Seville. I would not do it but maybe you are crazier than I am.

Renfe

Two days in Seville is tight but enough to see the Barrio de Santa Cruz, Cathedral&Giralda&Columbus tomb, Plaza de España and the river and its surroundings.


2. Seville-Tarifa-Seville

Rent a car for one day and drive south along the coast of Cádiz, stop at any of the beaches on the way: Conil, Bolonia, Vejer (nice village), Zahara or at Valdecaballeros Beach near Tarifa. A bit further you can reach the best view of Africa and Gibraltar.

Here you can decide wether driving back to Seville (use the Jerez-Los Barrios Highway instead the coastal road) to return the car or drive all the way to Granada and return the car there. It's a 4-5 hours drive through Marbella and Málaga. Nice landscape.

There are lots of renting companies (Herz, Avis, Europcar,...). Book it online or at Seville Santa Justa Train Station. You can probably get one for 50€-90€/day. Vueling has also some good car renting options.


3. Seville-Granada

By train (R-598). 20 € (3 h.). It's not high speed but trains are new and work really fine.

Two days in Granada. You'll need at least 1 day to see the Alhambra (buy tickets in advance)
and Albaycin neighborhood and another day for the rest of the city (and to rest a bit, sit down somewhere and eat some tapas)


4. Granada-Barcelona

By plane. Try Vueling Airlines, Spanair or Iberia. Right now I've found flights for 45 € taxes incl. (1 h.) prices vary from 40 €-140 €

Vueling
Spanair
Iberia

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Good luck. Use google maps to locate places:

Google Maps Spain





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Hi Sarah
I'm going by myself to Spain too! I leave the 4th coming back to SF on the 25th. I am starting in Mardrid 2 days, I think I will take a train to Barcelona, 3 nights, then, 4 nights in Mallorca! There are really cheap flights right now and cheap hotels in Palma Mallorca that I have been seeing on the web, luckily I cashed in some Marriott points and am staying there. Anyhow, Mallorca is fun party island, with tons of beaches, mountain hiking and a real diversity of activities. I am very excited to see this infamous place. There is also an overnight ferry from Barcelona to La Palma but the flight was 40Euros and 45 minutes. I would google Mallorca, and then make your decision, can't hurt to say you spent a few days on an island in the Mediterranean!? I will be there Sept 10-14th...Unfortunately due to time constraints, I would say rent a car from Barcelona and drive down to Gibraltor that's what I will come back next year and do I think. But since you are on a time contstraint I would fly to the island and back, it's easiest! Good Luck Have fun!

aireuropa is who I bought my ticket from for BCN to LPI Reply to this

Hi Sarah,

I am a single female trying to plan a trip to Barcelona myself. You have done much more research about what to see while you are there than I have yet. I am just getting started. I am not tied to specific dates. I was thinking sometime between May and September. Did you narrow it down to September for any reason other than the festival? Also, have you ever been to Italy? That is another consideration.

I am tired of local U.S. travel and just feeling like I need to do more exploration and adventure. My trips scheduled w/ friends have fallen through since one person's schedule keeps getting screwed up, so I just decided to go by myself anyway. I'm leaning toward Spain because I desparately want to dine at El Bulli and I have Spanish heritage, but I was considering Italy for the scenary and wine:) Reply to this

Try to avoid July & first 15 days of August. It gets suffocating hot. Or at least keep close to the beach. Reply to this

singskiviking -

I wish I was going to be there at the same time - I think I will be coming about a week later than when you leave. I am right with you as far as staying out of tourist areas...I love to explore and see the true culture of a place. Some of the best food and greatest bars/nightlife tends to be more underground. I did the same in Italy - could have waited in a 2 hour long line to see a museum, but to me it was much more fun walking around the side streets and finding a local bar (which was on a side street) and watching the world cup with a bunch of locals...much more fun.

If by chance my dates change I will let you know. And thanks for the link for hotels/hostals. I will check it out.

Cheers,

Sarah Reply to this

Yeah I'm happy I found this site too. So apparently there is a huge festival in Barcelona on Sept 11th(irony) that is in recognition of when Barcelona became ..oh I don't know, I have to go dig into my Frommer's Guide, but it's a big party apparently..I will bein Mallorca so I unfortunaltey will miss it. Mallorca is an island party palace in and of it own though, so I can't complain! But from what people are telling me of Barcelona (that their friends came home and had to go to AA) I think that we will all have a blast! So anyhow, ideas and suggestions for your "virgin" Europe trip..well, I love Europe personally, it's not the US, most stores close around 6ish and Sundays are usually dead. European vacations are working trips, get up early and go go go...also, just like the way you hop into the subway in NYC, you can do that on the metro in every major city. And it is MUCH cheaper to hop around to the big cities in Europe by plane than it is for us to go to Vegas or Miami or Chicago for a few days...I suggest Kayak.com to find cheap flights. But the point of that is 5 days inbetween Barcelona and Munich is a good chunk to either wander up the coast from Barcelona through the south of France and maybe even into Italy, and then perhaps from Venice or wherever, find a cheap flight to Munchen or go to Ibiza for a few days or Mallorca, or Athens, I mean with the cheap flights you could go anywhere!....I bet you're going to Oktoberfest huh? I wish I remembered that and could extend my trip to see the festivities but alas, I am already over my allotted vacation days. What else can I tell you about Europe? Don't wear baggy jeans and Nikes that screams "American," and hide your money in one of those dorky looking hidden fanny pack thingy's because pick pocketers in Spain are huge...umm what else, you will meet other Americans and they will be much friendlier to you in Europe than if you met them on the streets of NYC. It think that when we are away from home, and on vacation we are in better moods, and it is fun to meet other Americans who can relate to your travel experiences in that exact moment. So talk to others, see where they are coming from and maybe just wing it those 5 days. It's never too difficult to find a hostel or cheap hotel room. I mean me and 5 girls found a cheap Best Western in Paris during World Cup 98 the day we arrived in the city, so I'm sure you can find last minute rooms. Now because I am a bit older I like to have my reservation in hand, so I have already booked most of my nights. In Madrid I will be staying at www.perlaastruiana.com , it is cheap and has a bed and my own bathroom and in a great location...I can't wait.... Reply to this

So are you going to be in Barcelona the 7-10th then? I will... Reply to this

I fly into Madrid the 5th...and am taking the train on the 7th to Barcelona... Reply to this