España 2008

[bs1313]

Hi,

I was going to do a trip of Europe for next summer but I was doing some thinking and I decided that I think it would be cheaper and less stressful to go to just Spain and Portugal because I know spanish pretty well...anyhow I was thinking about doing cities like Lisbon, Madrid, Barcelona, Malaga, Seville, Cadiz...pretty much travel the entire country in like 3 to 4 weeks. Any suggestions on what cities and what kind of order? I was thinking starting in lisbon and going from there to southern spain and then around. Or start in Madrid (might be a cheaper flight) and going north and all the way around and ending in Lisbon. Any suggestions???

One other thing is I will be 17 but my girlfriend will be 18, we shouldn't have any problems right? I went to Spain this past summer and I was 16 and got around find, the thing I was worried about was Youth Hostels, but I dont think it will be a big deal...lemme know...THANKS

Bret

[herrbert]

Hola Bret,

I don't think the hostels would care that much, but for travel and for customs, you might want to consider taking along a letter from your parents, in which they state that it is okay for you to travel on your own. You might not need it, but just in case.

3-4 weeks is a good timeframe to see something of España and Portugal. I presume you need to fly into either Barcelona, Madrid or Lisbon. But I would take the one that is the cheapest.

From the cities you listed I would drop Malaga. This is a place that a lot of people fly into, but always get out of, just as fast, and make their way to one of the beachresorts in the region.

The other one are all good cities to visit. You only want to shedule this trip in a period that it is not too hot in places like Madrid and Seville. This would mean to avoid July and August, if that is possible.

To give you a good advice on where I would recommend you to go. I would need to know, what it is that you want to do. Do you want beaches, art, music, historical places etc ...

In 3-4 weeks I would at least visit Madrid (daytrips to Toledo and Segovia), Barcelona (maybe a daytrip to Gerona), Sevilla, Cordoba and Granada. I also would make it Lisbon. For these 6 cities, I think you would at least need 2 weeks. You also mentioned Cadiz, but other places/cities could be Lagos, Porto and Coimbra in Portugal. And San Sebastian, Pamplona, Santiago de Compostela in the North/North West of Spain. Salamanca and Avila located not too far from Madrid. More off the beaten track you can also find nice places in the region of Extremadura. Caceres, Truijlo and Merida are places worth a visit, but often overlooked. Also Cuenca (although some people do it as a daytrip from Madrid!) and Valencia are worth considering.

If you like mountains, and you already made it to Granada, you could also spend a couple of days in the Sierra Nevada. The southside of the mountains, has some beautiful valleys, and some of the highest pueblos in Spain. In the same region, but more to the west, and on the coast, you can find the Capo de Gato.

[bs1313]

I was thinking I could fly into Madrid then take some day trips to like Salamanca and Toledo. Then take the super fast train to Seville. Then do the few major cities in that area. Then go to Valencia. Then to Barcelona. Then to San sebastian and take a day trip to France. Then head south back to Madrid. Could I do this in 3 weeks? maybe a little bit longer? if I did Hostels and stayed pretty cheap this shouldn't cost TOO much right???

Lemme know

[herrbert]

Just to have a little overview, of your plan:

day 1 - 5 Madrid (Toledo - Salamanca)
day 6 Cordoba
day 7 - 8 Sevilla
day 9 - 10 Granada
day 11 - 12 Valencia
day 13 - 16 Barcelona
day 17 - 19 San Sebastian (daytrip France)
day 20 - 21 Madrid.

So Yes, it can be done.but know that the trainride to Salamanca is a long one for a daytrip, and you need to go pretty early to see something there. I would rather plan a few days here in favour of Valencia. And fly directly from Granada to Barcelona.

From San Sebastian I would rather take a daytrip to Pamplona, or go hiking for a day in the Picos de Europa. Your plan would be to visit Biarritz? I think that could work but I have no idea about the connections.

[bs1313]

Okay I was looking at a map and this is what I was thinking...

1 - 4 Madrid
High Speed Train to Sevilla
5 - 7 Sevilla
8 - 10 Cadiz
11 - 13 Granada
Fly to Barcelona
14 - 17 Barcelona
18 - 19 Pamplona
20 - 24 San Sebastian
25 - 27 Madrid

Should I cut some of these cities down? When is the running of the bulls in Pamplona? That would be interesting to see. Am I missing a big city that I should see? I don't want to spend a lot of time in Madrid because 1) I have been there before 2) I am going back at the end of my trip. I was calculating and it is probably going to be more than I was thinking, all the Hostels I was finding it was in Euros and when it is converted it is much more expensive. so it is going to average at about 40 a night probably. Then I did about 40 dollars a day in food...once converted to euros it is much less

how expensive is transportation? When I was there the costs were relatively low for going places that weren't too far but going from city to city could be expensive. On average how much will this trip probably cost, based on other trips similar? I need to know how much to save.

[me]

Córdoba

[herrbert]

Cordoba can be done as a stop between Madrid and Sevilla. Or even as a daytrip from Sevilla.

I think you can lose a day in Cadiz, three days seems too long in my opinion. Also if you travel by train, it is not that far from Sevilla, so you could also do it as a daytrip, but that might be too rushed. I presume you need to go back to Sevilla to take the train to Granada, and you could make a stop in Jerez if you want. It has a nice little Alcazar (well like if you compare it to the Castles in Sevilla/Granada) but it has a working Camera Obscura. If you plan ahead you can also visit one of the 'bodegas' (vineyards) where the famous Sherry is made.

Checking with the Oasis Hostels, it would cost you about 40 euros for a double room, but the accomodation is perfect, with a free breakfast, free internet, and some free trips. For Sevilla and Granada I would recommend those. Also you can make you own dinner (for sure in Sevilla), so it could save you money you would spend for going out to dinner.

In Madrid there are some great places to go for a cheap meal, just stay away from the touristic restaurants. e.g. in the Calle de Lavapies, you can have a great Indian meal for 2 persons for 20 euro, incl a drink.

Compared to other countries travel is pretty cheap in Spain. If you plan to take trains, then you need to know that there is a difference in prices possible, because some trains get to the destination faster, than others. The faster ones are more expensive. If you take a look at the website of Renfe (www.renfe.es), you will see different names operating on the same route.

Traveling by plane can be really cheap in Spain, as there are a couple of budgetairlines competing to gain a piece of the market. Check: Vueling, Clickair, Spanair, AirEuropa, but also check on Iberia, as on most national routes they have good prices too. (See if you can fly Barcelona - San Sebastian (or Bilbao or even Pamplona).

You mention to take the AVE to Sevilla. A cheaper option is to take a flight from Madrid to Jerez (Vueling 20 euro), and then the bus to the busstation in Jerez (2 euros). From there you could go to Cadiz by either buss or train. After Cadiz on to Sevilla. This would mean reversing Sevilla and Cadiz.

There also is a good network of intercity bustravel. All cities have a busstation, where you can find information on busses going almost everywhere. (and almost always cheaper than taking a train).