I am planning on travelling (alone) through Spain during the month of July. I'd like to ask for suggestions on when to travel and where to travel among the different cities. I plan on staying about 4 weeks altogether. More so than time, I'm constrained by money. I'm looking to spend no more than $5000, hopefully closer to $4000 or $4500. Since I'm travelling cheaply, I've decided to stay in hostels the whole time (or most of it).
I visited Barcelona a few years back in high school and loved it so much I definitely want to return. I speak decent Spanish, enough to get by, but I'll probably brush up before my trip.
Here are the places I plan to visit roughly in order. I'll likely be taking trains in between cities.
1) fly into Barcelona 2) Valencia 3) Granada 4) Cordoba 5) Sevilla (maybe make a day trip to Gibraltar) 6) Santiago de Compostela 7) San Sebastien 8) Madrid, then fly home
I plan on staying 4-5 days in Barcelona, Madrid, then 2 or 3 days in the other cities, depending.
I plan to start travel in early July and finish in late July / early August. My friend in Spain tells me that the country goes on holiday the month of August and that the seaside towns are especially crowded at this time. Becuase of this, I'm thinking of possibly rearranging my schedule to go through the northern cities of Santiago de Compostela, San Sebastien first and then go through the southern cities where it'll hopefully be less crowded. What do you all think?
From reading about hostels in Spain on a previous thread, it sounds like it'd be a good idea to make reservations but not absolutely necessary. I'm thinking to make reservations for Madrid, Barcelona, but maybe I can get by without reservations in the other cities?
Does anyone have any suggestions on places I should see instead of the ones I mentioned? Or should I go through these cities in a different order? Also, I'm a little worried about my safety. As a minority (Asian) are there any places I shouldn't visit?
Also, how much do you think travelling cheaply in Spain like this will cost? By my rough calculations, I'll be spending about $4500 total for about 4 weeks including all costs (train, flight, hostel, food). Do you think this is reasonable?
Thanks for any advice you can give. Also, please feel free to add anything I missed.
This may be the last time I can do something like this so I'd like to make it memorable.
wow you throw in a lot of info. July not as bad as August everybody goes on holiday in Spain and then everybody else from northern Europe and else. So on these times you need reservation. Hostels are a great place to be you can see them here http://www.guiacampsa.com/gcampsa/es_es/home/home.aspx?codidioma=1 this is like the michelin guide of spain run by the gas company repsolypf. it is loaded with info to look at ,then if you have some specifics come back here. it is my suggestion as I do go to Spain every year and are Spanish . you will have no problem in Spain; cheaper if staying in smaller town outside cities like in Madrid stay at torrejon de Ardoz o alcobendas and the cheap train brings you to the center in minutes;buses too. line 254 takes you from Madrid center to Torrejon in 35 mins and there is huge shopping areas there. Parque del Corredor with a huge Alcampo hypermarket(better known in France as Auchan). the cities you have picked are wonderful.
Hi I'm not Spanish and I can't come near to matching Pedmar's knowledge but here are a few particular points. Of course everything is a matter of personal taste. 1. The train is a bad way of getting from Granada to Cordoba. You will be better off by coach [http://www.alsinagraells.es/cgi-bin/agsur/media.pl?ref=in-00] 2. I don't like Granada much except for the Alhambra, which is certainly a must-see. On the other hand I love Cordoba and you should be able to get a tour bus at 11.00 to see Medina Azahara [various spellings - http://www.andalucia.com/magazine/english/ed4/madinat.htm] 3. I don't like Santiago de Compostela much - a minority view I know - but I was delighted with Pontevedra. 4. I don't think seeing Gibraltar is worth the money it would cost. Cheers David
Making a reservation in Valencia is a must - hostels are not many and they get very busy, plus America's Cup will be on (dont avoid it 0 it could actually be quite a spectacle)
Your budget looks fine, just dont go too crazy, keep it modest and you should make it even in less than that.
Spain is generally a safe country, normal precautions apply
I agree with the advice to take the bus rather than the train to Granada.
Also, consider making Cordoba a day trip from Sevilla (instead of Girbraltar). It's quite easily done that way and saves you some unpacking.
I think you also need a reservation in San Sebastian. It is a small place.
I wouldn't worry about your physical safety or encountering bias, but pickpocketing and scams are a big problem in Spain. If you are not staying where you can use a safe, you are well advised to keep your passport and credit cards close to your person rather than in a bag or pack. To walk around, I use a wrist purse in Spain for my hotel key, credit card and a small amount a money. And you should be wary of strangers trying to offer you unsolicited help or engage your attention.
All that said, Spain is a fantastic country with a very dynamic culture, outstanding monuments and art (the Prado gets my vote for best art museum in Europe, hands down, and Catalonia art, old and new, in Barcelonia is phenomenal) and San Sebastian has the best food in the world. No exaggeration. The Alhalmbra and the mosque at Cordoba are some of the most moving sights one can see in Europe -- and well, I could go on and on. Have a great trip.
Hi, I have noticed you only have cities on your itinerary. Spain has also very beautiful white villages in Andalucia. Arcos, Ronda and other typical places like Jerez which have fiestas and horse shows. I remember there were buses to these places and a train from Granada to Ronda. I would also skip Gibraltar, not much there and will be packed with tourists. It could be also interesting spending more time in Madrid or arround. Places like Segovia and Toledo, San Lorenzo del Escorial are nice to visit. Madrid itself has important museums, parks. The beaches can be busy in July but still possible to get there, they are numerous and large, usually sandy. Just avoid weekends, when beaches can be really packed.
I'm planning a similar trip in July (only three weeks, though, so we're not going to Cordoba/Granada or Seville). Definitely book a place in San Sebastian, and be prepared to spend some more money there. We finally found a very average hostel there and its still going to cost about 66 Euros per night. Looking forward to it regardless... looks like a great place! Happy travels... perhaps we'll see you along the way!
Thank you Anastasia for your suggestion on Ronda. Many other people seem to like this city a lot. I originally wasn't planning on visiting but I think I can squeeze 2 nights there. My current plan is as follows:
1) fly into Barcelona (3N) 2) Valencia (3N) 3) Granada (3N) 4) Cordoba (3N) 5) Rhonda(2N) 6) Sevilla (3N) 7) Madrid (4N) 8) Santiago de Compostela (4 N) 9) San Sebastien (3 N) 10) Madrid (1N), then fly home next day
I tried not to stay fewer than 3 days at any one place but I thought since Rhonda was a small town it should be OK. What do you think of this schedule? I'll book accomodations in the next couple days.
Yes, be careful in Spain; just be aware and if someone squirts mustard on you or someone on the street asks if you speak English, then watch out. Check out this link - I read it before I went to Spain for the first time, and it has a lot of good information.
Hi, Your trip looks not bad, it is not real slow travel, but should be fine.Not sure why do you split your stay in Madrid? Why not push it all to the end and enjoy this day without taking transportation and for visits or relaxing?
I love Cordoba, but am not sure what are your plans for it. It is relatively small and the Mezquita and the small but beautiful Alcazar can be visited on same day, so 2 nights would be enough there. Visit Alcazar the evening of your arrival and Mesquita next morning or vice-versa, then still an afternoon to enjoy Cordoba. Unless you have planned a side trip from there?
i agree with Anastacia, squeeze Madrid at the end and spent the 4 days there; my Madrid to heaven city . Your trip looks very good, you will enjoy Spain.You will have time to feel the locals in each city, just walk the streets as much as you can. if you like try to buy this book A Load of Bull by tim Parfitt; englishman sent to Madrid to start Vogue/GQ magazine way back. Love it, great book on Madrid for everyone; just hit all the highlights for me. He stays now in spain and I correspond with him once in a while,in spanish!
I basically screwed up and didn't realize I could fly out of Bilbao or San Sebastien. It probably would be easier to leave Madrid to the end, but I've already made some plane reservations and booked some hostels already...I guess my next trip, I'll keep that in mind.
I have a question about transportation from Valencia to Granada. When I checked the schedules at RENFE, the only train available on the day I want leaves at about 1 AM from Valencia to Granada (it's the Trenhotel). I think this would be OK, but I'm wondering how safe it is to stay that late in a train station with all my stuff. Hopefully I can leave my stuff at the hostel the day before and then pick it up to go to the train station that evening.
The alternative would be to take the bus during the day.
Do you think it'd be safe for me to take the trenhotel at that hour?
Also, I was planning on making all my train reservations once I arrive in Barcelona. Do you think this is reasonable? My only concern again is the Valencia train since if I can't book it, I'd have to find accomodation really quickly for that night.
as other might said cautious is the norm when traveling in unknown areas; Europe ,Spain in general have a safer record than many other places on Earth. having said that and having relatives in Valencia, you wont have a problem at the time or any time. The bus alternative is less comfortable than the train but is doable too,if you decide.
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