Travel to Spain

[Intoxicated]

We are planning a ~17 day family vacation this summer (starting Mid June) to visit various parts of Spain. I was hoping to get some tips and pointers from those of you who are familiar with the country and its tourist attractions. I’ve done some homework and based on the suggested touristy areas and weather conditions, I’ve come up with a rough travel plan. Keep in mind this is a family vacation and we are mostly going for cultural, scenic aspect of it. Most importantly we are trying to not rush ourselves and have a well-paced vacation.

Here is what I was thinking:
Start>>> Andalusia : Seville, Cordoba, Ronda, Grenada – 6 nights
Mediterranean coast: Alicante, Valencia, Gandia, Benidorm, Javea – 4 nights
Mallorca: 2 nights
Barcelona: 4 nights <<<The End

Are any of the above places underated/overrated that I need to add/reduce the number of days we are staying at?

Any place interesting on the path we are taking?
since there is 4 of us are we better of getting a rental or should we hop on the train?

Any tips/pointers is much appreciated…

 

[Mahdi]

yes....Alicante, Benidorm, etc. you don't really wanna do that. Hit instead the north, visit Gijon, Santander, San Sebastian and Bilbao maybe. Then go to Barcelona and make a day trip to Valencia. Mallorca is a nice touristy isle but not exactly the place for sight seeing or getting a feeling of real Spain. Mallorca is more Germany, specially in Summer and you will get ripped off.

So my sugestion is you spend 4-5 days in AL -ANDALUS, then you go Madrid for 3 days, then make it to Santander, San Sebastian and Bilbao for 3-4 days, then go to Barcelona for 5 and visit also Valencia on a day trip(around 2 hours drive I believe). Except if you're craving to see drunk German and English tourists. Then be my guest to visit Alicante, Benidorm and Mallorca.

 

[Bache Tehroon]

Mahdi, I have the same question about car vs. train thing. With the schedule you suggested, which would you pick?

 

[Mahdi]

Mahdi, I have the same question about car vs. train thing. With the schedule you suggested, which would you pick?

overall airplane and then train or car depending on what deal you get..

I mean, there are lots of cheap airlines in Spain. You can get very cheap tickets through Vueling or Air Europa I believe they are called but Vueling is really good for all 1 hour flights.
Sevilla-Madrid is 5 hours by car but 1 hour flight. Madrid-Santander is 4 hours by car but 1 hour flight etc. You can however also lookup for possible AVE train (high speed train) connections. Madrid-Barcelona has one.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AVE

remember that one major benefit of trains is always that you get in and get out in the city.


I would suggest take flights whenever you change region (Andalucia-Madrid-Cantabria/Basque Country/Catalonia) and do everything else by either car or train, whatever you like more, it's the same. So Santander-San Sebastian-Bilbao all by car but then Bilbao-Barcelona by plane etc.
I have never rented a carsin Spain but I know from my uncle that it's not the same as renting a car in the US in terms of quality but still, you go with the brand names(Hertz, Sixt etc.), you can't go that wrong.

 

[Intoxicated]

yes....Alicante, Benidorm, etc. you don't really wanna do that. Hit instead the north, visit Gijon, Santander, San Sebastian and Bilbao maybe. Then go to Barcelona and make a day trip to Valencia. Mallorca is a nice touristy isle but not exactly the place for sight seeing or getting a feeling of real Spain. Mallorca is more Germany, specially in Summer and you will get ripped off.

So my sugestion is you spend 4-5 days in AL -ANDALUS, then you go Madrid for 3 days, then make it to Santander, San Sebastian and Bilbao for 3-4 days, then go to Barcelona for 5 and visit also Valencia on a day trip(around 2 hours drive I believe). Except if you're craving to see drunk German and English tourists. Then be my guest to visit Alicante, Benidorm and Mallorca.

thanks a bunch. the more i see the med. sea area the more i feel like im heading to an all inclusive resort in cancun !! seems very beach/resort oriented and therefore a good place to rip off tourists. i guess it's a fun place for single folks.

it's funny 'cause I had Gijon, Santander, San Sebastian and Bilbao as part of the trip by i figured it would be way too rushed so i scratched the whole northern region. as part of the trip as sas as part of the li sadfsafsfas

 

[Niloufar]

I'd listen to Mahdi's suggestion. Specially that ur planning a family trip!
Ive been to Mallorca, it had few beautiful sightseeing but not as much as Barcelona-Seville. but magaluf, the beach side of Mallorca had such wild funny German-British tourists!!
If ur staying in Barcelona, pay a visit to costa brava too. It has amazing beach and lively touristic city. Its only 100km away from Barcelona(1hr wt train).

As mahdi said, Vueling and Air Europe have cheap fares and are fast.specially if u reserve in advance.

and of course u prob know it already, but u can get the best deals for large number of guests to stay at rental cottage houses(they offer u mansions there and when u split thw cost bn families its very affordable) or rental apartments.

Hope u enjoy ur trip!

 

[Intoxicated]

I'd listen to Mahdi's suggestion. Specially that ur planning a family trip!
Ive been to Mallorca, it had few beautiful sightseeing but not as much as Barcelona-Seville. but magaluf, the beach side of Mallorca had such wild funny German-British tourists!!
If ur staying in Barcelona, pay a visit to costa brava too. It has amazing beach and lively touristic city. Its only 100km away from Barcelona(1hr wt train).

As mahdi said, Vueling and Air Europe have cheap fares and are fast.specially if u reserve in advance.

and of course u prob know it already, but u can get the best deals for large number of guests to stay at rental cottage houses(they offer u mansions there and when u split thw cost bn families its very affordable) or rental apartments.

Hope u enjoy ur trip!

ok thanks. we are trying to minimize flights...do you know any popular shuttle/bus services (aside from the fast train)?

 

[Mahdi]

thanks a bunch. the more i see the med. sea area the more i feel like im heading to an all inclusive resort in cancun !! seems very beach/resort oriented and therefore a good place to rip off tourists. i guess it's a fun place for single folks.

it's funny 'cause I had Gijon, Santander, San Sebastian and Bilbao as part of the trip by i figured it would be way too rushed so i scratched the whole northern region. as part of the trip as sas as part of the li sadfsafsfas

whole costa brava, costa blanca and balearic isles are one huge tourist rip off. I mean, if you wanna stay on the beach all day, ok..but you can get that anywhere else too and probably better anywhere in the US. I would prefer to go to Virginia Beach over some of these places. But Santander, San Sebastian etc. are just beautiful...you got the ocean there too and you will eat great food, people are cool etc.

 

[Niloufar]

ok thanks. we are trying to minimize flights...do you know any popular shuttle/bus services (aside from the fast train)?

no sorry, never took shuttle bus bn cities in Spain. have taken trains and flights only in Spain, so I dont really know. Trains are pretty accessible too, but from what Ive compared they'd be more expensive than domestic flights. but ur choice.

 

[Mahdi]

ok thanks. we are trying to minimize flights...do you know any popular shuttle/bus services (aside from the fast train)?

hmmm...dude..riding bus in Europe is not the same as in US with megabus, greyhound and boltbus and whatever else. No Wifi, no nothing. Plus I mean, it's like 5 hour ride by car from Sevilla to Madrid. Make it 6 by bus. I mean, whatever route you take, you gotta fly. And my trip suggestion has like 3 flights that save you 3 days.

 

[BehzadB]

I would rent a car and drive the whole way. You get to see the country side, stop when ever and where ever you want to and do it at your own pace.

 

[Iranpaak]

I have never rented a carsin Spain but I know from my uncle that it's not the same as renting a car in the US in terms of quality but still, you go with the brand names(Hertz, Sixt etc.), you can't go that wrong.

Mahdi JAn, I did rent a car in Malaga for 12 days. The rental company was local, I did a little research and the result was very satisfactory, the car I rented was comfortable for 4, stick shift and relatively new for about $300 including all insurance and unlimited miles. I would make sure to get insurance coverage including tires and windshield. Their office was not as nice as Hertz, Avis and so on but I did not care. It looked like the brand name companies would charge 50% to 80% more. Anyway I would recommend this company if you pick up a car in Malaga http://www.malagaairportcarhire.com/. I also would make sure that I have an international driving permit before going.

 

[Intoxicated]

Mahdi JAn, I did rent a car in Malaga for 12 days. The rental company was local, I did a little research and the result was very satisfactory, the car I rented was comfortable for 4, stick shift and relatively new for about $300 including all insurance and unlimited miles. I would make sure to get insurance coverage including tires and windshield. Their office was not as nice as Hertz, Avis and so on but I did not care. It looked like the brand name companies would charge 50% to 80% more. Anyway I would recommend this company if you pick up a car in Malaga http://www.malagaairportcarhire.com/. I also would make sure that I have an international driving permit before going.

wow. that's an amazing deal. unfortunately my mom is terrified of flights in general and that's why i want to minimize them. i figured once we get there we can rent a car to go around the country.

 

[Mahdi]

Mahdi JAn, I did rent a car in Malaga for 12 days. The rental company was local, I did a little research and the result was very satisfactory, the car I rented was comfortable for 4, stick shift and relatively new for about $300 including all insurance and unlimited miles. I would make sure to get insurance coverage including tires and windshield. Their office was not as nice as Hertz, Avis and so on but I did not care. It looked like the brand name companies would charge 50% to 80% more. Anyway I would recommend this company if you pick up a car in Malaga http://www.malagaairportcarhire.com/. I also would make sure that I have an international driving permit before going.

hmm..ok...good to know! as said, I have hardly ever rented a car in Europe so I can't really tell. My uncle however had not so good experiences.

wow. that's an amazing deal. unfortunately my mom is terrified of flights in general and that's why i want to minimize them. i figured once we get there we can rent a car to go around the country.

Ok, that makes sense. Then I would suggest that you hit the AVE, otherwise look if there's a bus service.

 

[Finally]

Rent a car and make sure you have your own GPS with European maps or else you have to pay extra for GPS per day. It is cheaper if you buy the GPS than renting in Europe.
Nice thing about have a car to drive is that you tend to find much better deals on accommodation because you have more freedom with a car.
Having a car allows you to stay in nice bed and breakfast places right outside of town and pay a lot less.

Best way to travel in Europe is driving IMO. You can see so much more and can freely move around.

 

[Finally]

Rent a car and make sure you have your own GPS with European maps or else you have to pay extra for GPS per day. It is cheaper if you buy the GPS than renting in Europe.
Nice thing about having a car to drive is that you tend to find much better deals on accommodation because you have more freedom with a car.
Having a car allows you to stay in nice bed and breakfast places right outside of town and pay a lot less.

Best way to travel in Europe is driving IMO. You can see so much more and can freely move around.

Do get an International Drivers License.

 

[oghabealborz]

Northern Spain is simply beautiful ,sansebastian ,Santander and Asturia is a must see . I have rented cars in Spain quite often and normally no problems at all ,just make sure you check the car for any dents and damage before you take over and mention any problems before hand and get them to acknowlege any defects ,pay for extra insurance cover and enjoy your trip .

 

[dariush-44]

I think the key words here are "with the family".

I just got back from Spain and (8 other countries) 2 years ago and I had the easiest planning/trip of my life even though it was during the World Cup. That's because:
1. I was single
2. I was backpacking with a friend with little regard for discomfort and other "family" necessities
3. I used the trains/Ryan Air for most efficiency

Now with family! I would recommend renting a car for the freedom it offers.

 

[Iranpaak]

wow. that's an amazing deal. unfortunately my mom is terrified of flights in general and that's why i want to minimize them. i figured once we get there we can rent a car to go around the country.

One piece of advise, do not get intoxicated and drive there .