Originally Posted By Lisann22 I joined a Spanish travel blog to ask for assistance and advice. They are telling me we are trying to do to much. So I'm back to the drawing board to think things over. Wonderful people. Giving me lots of great tidbits and help. Funny stuff, I have offers to meet up in restaurants and bars. Social people for sure.
Originally Posted By smedley Hmm the Smedley's could possibly make a visit to Madrid too if there's going to be some notice to organise flights
Originally Posted By Lisann22 Nope, smedley, I'm sneaking into town at midnight. LOL - Of course I'd have dates. I actually plan to nail down my itinerary and dates of where I'll be around May/June of this year. I have to have definite dates for planning with my job. I'll be sure to post. ;>
Originally Posted By smedley Lol Lisann! Some of the flight companies here increase their prices the nearer you get to the date. I guess I meant that so long as I have enough notice to get a good price on flights
Originally Posted By Lisann22 Bumping for tiki tiki tiki tiki to read. Don't believe everything I've written for my itinerary, I've changed it about 100 times since I last posted on here. I have a million questions to ask. LOL! Main objectives. I want to see as much as I can in about 15 to 20 days. I need to spend time in Avila (we have family there). I'm not super interested in Barcelona as much as Madrid and Southern Spain. Must sees Avila, Segovia, Toledo, Granada and Sevilla.
Originally Posted By Lisann22 I've ready 8 books, watch 3 DVD's, studied the train schedules and maps of the regionas, have gotten some family advice and have some rememberances from when I was 18. LOL! Annnnnd I'm still not sure what I want to do. Travel on my own? Travel with a tour guide (Rick Steves)? Travel part on my own and then hook up with tour guide? What hotels? Schedule? How much can I cram in without killing all of us? Time of year? Car or Trains?
Originally Posted By tiki tiki tiki tiki Here I am! I was just checking in one last time before turning in for the night (it´s 1:40a.m. in Sevilla) and I must get to my bed quickly before I fall on the floor exhausted. It´s been a loooong day. But, I´ve read the thread and I think your trip sounds wonderful, you´ll be visiting some gre3at towns and cities. I found your itinerary on post 15 to be a little jam packed which may lead you to not remembering where you saw what when you get back home, it was a good idea to be open to cutting destinations if need be. I don´t know what I´m sayign, sorry, I must.... continue this topic... tomorrow.... zzzzzzzzz
Originally Posted By tiki tiki tiki tiki I´m back and completely rested. Well, as I said last night, you have a great selection of cities with a lot of beautiful places to visit in each one. I, personally, would´ve left out Barcelona too but for the reason that it´s a cosmopolitan city, modern, busy, lots of people and I basically moved to Sevilla from L.A. to get away from that whole scene. I´ve concentrated more on seeing old Spain and have stayed away from big cities, although I´m sure Barcelona has loads to offer to out of towners also. (different strokes...) Whenever DH and I travel around, we never do it with a tour guide. We feel freer doing things on our own and literally "getting lost" in a town, that´s when you really get to know a place! We read up on our destination and then decide if it´s worth a tour guide or not. But that´s just our opinion. It really mostly depends on where you´re going. We love to jump in a car and take in all the scenery from one place to another which means you see more than just your destinations. There´s alot of beautiful countryside to see inbetween on the roads here. But if you do decide on renting a car, you must be ready for Spain´s roads, we do tend to go faster here but if you enjoy driving, you should be ok. Maybe while moving around from Avila, Segovia and Toledo you could commute via bus or train since they´re so close to each other and while actually visiting each one, you could easily see each town by just walking. I don´t think there´s any need for a car in these towns. Now, going to Sevilla you could catch the AVE train which is the high speed train from Madrid, costs a little more and is less travel time than the regular line, RENFE. I´ll get back to you on the prices but I know that the AVE takes 2 1/2 hrs. while RENFE takes about 5. Is Madrid a sightseeing option for you or is it only a quick layover to Avila? Madrid is a large city but has alot of very important historical sites to see: el Escorial, Museo del Prado, monuments galore, etc. and being the capital, it tends to be more expensive. If you ask me, I would change my visit to Madrid for a couple of days in Salamanca, one of my favorite cities. I´ve been 3 times and I fall in love with it on every visit. If you like the idea of walking around a medieval town where the buildings are just about the same as they were in 1300, than Salamanca just might be for you. You probably want to spend more days in Avila than any other place seeing that you have family there, right? I´m assuming out of about 18 days total trip time you could be there about 4-5? You could easily do Segovia in about a day and 1/2 and Toledo another day and 1/2. Since Sevilla and Granada are larger and have more to see, I recommend about 2-3 days in each city. That adds up to about 18 days? The time of year has a lot to do with the trip but I must end this post for now, my little boy wants food!! :O (Have I made any sense?! Sorry about jumping around from one topic to another, there´s just so much to know before going on a long trip and I´d like to help as much as I can!)
Originally Posted By tiki tiki tiki tiki If you let me know what you kind of hotel you´re looking for I can give you some ball park rates and some ideas for each destination. Again, the rates depend on when you want to make the trip. I think the best time of the year to visit is in springtime. Holy week is a BIG thing out here and is celebrated all over Spain, each town in its own way. And after Easter Sunday, spring begins and brings along with it loads of festivals, fairs and celebrations and of course the lovely weather. Autumn is also a good time since the summer heat is slowly disappearing and you can still take walks out in nice weather. I don´t recommend Avila, Toledo and Segovia in winter unless you like to be snowed in.(but I´m sure you already knew that!) And summer´s out of the question, you just may be unlucky and have to stay indoors most of your trip because of the heat.
Originally Posted By tiki tiki tiki tiki Oooops! I just read that you´re interested in visiting Madrid, sorry. And I was trying to sell you Salamanca!
Originally Posted By tiki tiki tiki tiki Oh, and while you´re visiting in Sevilla, I´d be happy to meet up with you and show you around. Tour guide tiki!
Originally Posted By utahjosh I lived in Spain for two years...but didn't get to travel much! I'm dying to get back and to get to know the rest of the country. I lived mostly near Barcelona and Valencia.
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo All very good advice. I personally do not like organised tours as I prefer to take things at my own pace. But I obsessively read and plan before going. Others perfer not to think too much about it and go on tours. Either way I am sure you will have a blast. Tiki Tiki Tiki - I may well be picking your brains sometime as we have just bought in to the Marriott Vacation club and may be coming to Marbella in the not too distant future. Visits are sure to include Seville, Granada, Gibralter and many more places. However, I understand Lisann discounting Barcelona, but no way would I compare it to LA, more San Francisco. The medieval Bario Gotic, the Art Nuveau feel of Gaudi's buildings, the National Maritime Museum, Mon Serrat, and so many other sites of historical significance are wonderful. Add in the beach location, I love it. It's my favorite city in Europe!!!!
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo I also concur with Tiki Tiki Tiki that Spanish public transport is very good and relatively inexpensive. Many of the towns can be covered well on foot, and where there is a large city - Madrid, Barcelona etc., the inner city public transport is excellent as well. Better than the US or UK in my experience.
Originally Posted By LuLu Lisann, in your case I think you'd be better on your own. Not only do you have the practical aspects under control (research, language) but maybe even more importantly, you know exactly where you want to go. I doubt you'll find a tour itinerary that will match that. (In my case, I had a few places I "needed" to see, but otherwise just wanted to "see France," and was happy to let someone else pick the highlights.) In general tho, I think there's one tradeoff. It relates to the comments "get lost in the city" and "set your own pace." My experience was, we didn't accomplish nearly as much on the days on our own. I wouldn't want to go 100% tour, and enjoyed those experiences, but you don't see as much, or use your time as efficiently, if you will. I was very frustrated in Versailles, b/c even with an audiotour, I missed so much b/c the signage was terrible and I didn't know which way to go or which recording to cue in which room. Also, there was stuff we wouldn't have chosen to do on our own that ended up being fabulous. And we didn't push to get up early on non-tour days, which meant we were in the thick of crowds most of the time. However, if a tour is going to take you to towns you're not interested in, you'll recoup time by going on your own and skipping them!
Originally Posted By Lisann22 My responses and thought, boy this is going to be long. Let me say first THANK YOU THANK YOU to all that are contributing in this thread. I'm an obsessive planner and organizer. I've been reading, blogging and participating on Spain travel discussion boards this whole year now. I know I'm freaking out and can't make up my mind because we have so much we want to see and I'm struggling on what to cut. I know I have to do it. <sigh> I'll be honest in saying I'm adventuresome and if I was alone or with my T&L partner I'd go tour-less with no problems. I am a bit worried about having my goddaughter and mom with me. I'm worried as LuLu stated that if I'm not on a tour we might blow our time wandering around aimlessly and I'll wear out my goddaughter. Actually the Rick Steves tour visits 80% of what I want to do, I'm not that thrilled with the Portugal part BUT we are part Portaguese so it's not like I won't enough the history and such. His tour is 15 days. It ends in Lisbon SO I thought about taking the overnight train back up to Madrid and then doing Avila, Segovia and Salamanca for the additional 5 days. ---------------------------------------- Well, as I said last night, you have a great selection of cities with a lot of beautiful places to visit in each one. I, personally, would´ve left out Barcelona too but for the reason that it´s a cosmopolitan city, modern, busy, lots of people and I basically moved to Sevilla from L.A. to get away from that whole scene. I´ve concentrated more on seeing old Spain and have stayed away from big cities, although I´m sure Barcelona has loads to offer to out of towners also. (different strokes...) **** On the Steves tour I would end up doing 3 days in Barcelona. I want to see Barcelona but I had resigned myself to the fact that I couldn't. Of all the cities in Spain it doesn't make my top 10. Whenever DH and I travel around, we never do it with a tour guide. We feel freer doing things on our own and literally "getting lost" in a town, that´s when you really get to know a place! We read up on our destination and then decide if it´s worth a tour guide or not. But that´s just our opinion. It really mostly depends on where you´re going. **** I'd rather be free, I'm just trying to figure out the best form of transportation to do it all if we went solo. We love to jump in a car and take in all the scenery from one place to another which means you see more than just your destinations. There´s alot of beautiful countryside to see inbetween on the roads here. But if you do decide on renting a car, you must be ready for Spain´s roads, we do tend to go faster here but if you enjoy driving, you should be ok. **** I think I can handle it I use HWY 5 like the autobaun here. LOL! I love to drive. Maybe while moving around from Avila, Segovia and Toledo you could commute via bus or train since they´re so close to each other and while actually visiting each one, you could easily see each town by just walking. I don´t think there´s any need for a car in these towns. **** That's what I thought about doing. We actually are not going to spend a lot of time in Avila. I have family there that I want to visit but it will only be a day or two. I'm trying to decide whether to make Madrid home base and go to each city for the day via train. Or go city to city spending the night in their hotels. Now, going to Sevilla you could catch the AVE train which is the high speed train from Madrid, costs a little more and is less travel time than the regular line, RENFE. I´ll get back to you on the prices but I know that the AVE takes 2 1/2 hrs. while RENFE takes about 5. **** That has been my plan all along to catch the AVE to Sevilla. I've priced it all out. I have thought about taking it to Cordoba - staying the night to sightsee, then doing a bus to Granada, stay a night or two to sightsee, then bus to Sevilla from there - taking it back straight to Madrid. Is Madrid a sightseeing option for you or is it only a quick layover to Avila? Madrid is a large city but has alot of very important historical sites to see: el Escorial, Museo del Prado, monuments galore, etc. and being the capital, it tends to be more expensive. **** I'd definitely like to spend a couple days in Madrid. Hitting the major spots. If you ask me, I would change my visit to Madrid for a couple of days in Salamanca, one of my favorite cities. I´ve been 3 times and I fall in love with it on every visit. If you like the idea of walking around a medieval town where the buildings are just about the same as they were in 1300, than Salamanca just might be for you. **** Ughhhhh!!! I keep taking Salamanca on and off my itinerary. LOL! You're killing me. You probably want to spend more days in Avila than any other place seeing that you have family there, right? I´m assuming out of about 18 days total trip time you could be there about 4-5? You could easily do Segovia in about a day and 1/2 and Toledo another day and 1/2. Since Sevilla and Granada are larger and have more to see, I recommend about 2-3 days in each city. That adds up to about 18 days? *** I need to spend 2.5 to 3 days in Sevilla because I have Indian work to do there at the Museum of the Americas. I will need about 4 to 6 hours working with the curators there. I already have that lined up. ;> They are waiting for me to give them dates. I'll be back with my latest itinerary thoughts. I'm swamped at work today. Thank you all for your insights. I hope I'm not driving you all crazy. What is hard is Avila & Sevilla I have a purpose for going there. I personally have my must sees: Toledo, Granada & Segovia. Everything else is whether it can fit in.
