Spain Master Thread

[SamKey]

Are you planning on flying from country to country or doing a train? My wife and I flew between each country. We did 1 day BCN, 1 day LHR, 5 days CDG and 3 days VCE. Wouldn't change a thing. 1 day in Barcelona was just enough time to see the beautiful architecture and hit up the beach plus La Rambla IMO. I would skip Park Guell in hindsight. Great city, and perfect way to start off a Europe trip!

I loved Park Guell and the W there is just WOW

[@Yehuda]

Are you planning on flying from country to country or doing a train? My wife and I flew between each country. We did 1 day BCN, 1 day LHR, 5 days CDG and 3 days VCE. Wouldn't change a thing. 1 day in Barcelona was just enough time to see the beautiful architecture and hit up the beach plus La Rambla IMO. I would skip Park Guell in hindsight. Great city, and perfect way to start off a Europe trip!

Thanks! Flying. Train hopefully only within Italy. Been working here (http://forums.dansdeals.com/index.php?topic=37776.0). So I've actually been working on my dates and looks like we might actually have enough time for a decent 4-5 day stay in Spain. Reconsidering this now.

[smart brit]

Thanks! Flying. Train hopefully only within Italy. Been working here (http://forums.dansdeals.com/index.php?topic=37776.0). So I've actually been working on my dates and looks like we might actually have enough time for a decent 4-5 day stay in Spain. Reconsidering this now.

I don't know what you are looking for but in Spain you have malga and mallorca both stunning beaches and lively cities

[SLP]

Spain trip report:
We spent 8 days in Spain in January. We took food along and got kosher food in GIB and Barcelona. We used public transportation, but renting a car would have been much easier and is definitely doable in southern Spain.  Although Spain is full of Jewish history, very little remains to actually visit and see today. I highly recommend Rick Steve’s guide books. He gives tons of great information and recommendations, and we used his self guided walking tours in every city we visited. Beware: Theft and pick pocketing is widespread in many areas in Spain, particularly in Barcelona.
We arrived in Madrid Sunday afternoon and stayed until Tuesday morning. We stayed in the Hotel Regina, which I HIGHLY RECOMMEND- great location and price.
Madrid  - Royal Palace, walked around the old city, the Prado and Reina Sofia (art museums)– both had free entry in the evening. Unfortunately, we were unable to go to Toledo, which is only a short train ride from Madrid.
We took the train from Madrid to Cordoba on Tuesday morning. We spent the day there and then continued on the train to Seville in the evening. The regional train is only a slightly longer ride than the express and was significantly cheaper.
Cordoba – old shul, Jewish museum, the old palace/fort was not very impressive and could be skipped IMO, we did not go inside the Mezquita
Seville – We stayed in the Hotel Derby: pretty could location, clean, cheap. It was outside of the old city center. We walked around the old Jewish quarter, visited the Alcazar (palace) – it was magnificent! We also went to see a flamenco show in a bar – the show was free, we just needed to pay for a drink which was not too difficult! Seville is a beautiful city to just walk around, explore, and visit the shops selling authentic goods.
Granada – We took a long bus ride to Granada on Thursday morning. We visited the Alhambra palace. We booked our tickets online in advance, which is recommended; entry is timed so plan accordingly. We also went to a relatively new Jewish museum in the city that was quite interesting and watched sunset from a hill overlooking the palace and city. We took another long bus ride to Algeciras and from there a taxi to the border of Gibralatar (about 20 min).
Gibraltar – It was quite hard to get to GIB by public transportation but was well worth it! We stayed in the Elliott. Although it's not really worth the money you'll pay, it's very close to the shuls and kosher places. We booked on their website and got a decent rate with wifi included. On Friday, we took the cable car to the top of the rock and hiked down. The views were spectacular and the monkeys were crazy! We did not get proper directions for hiking down and ended up on the restricted path – we had to climb over a fence at one point and walked past an area that looked like it was prone to falling rocks, so just beware. We were hosted by locals for both Shabbos meals. We checked out 3 shuls over Shabbos, all very beautiful and old. All in all, GIB was an incredible experience.
Barcelona – We hired someone to drive us from GIB to Malaga on Sunday morning, where we took a Vueling flight to Barcelona. We stayed in the Hotel Flor Parks – the room was tiny and smelled from smoke, but the location was right on the Ramblas and it was quite cheap. Barcelona is a really cool, interesting city. There are some Kosher restaurants there, 2 on the same block of the Ramblas.
Sites: The Ramblas, Gothic Quarter (Old Jewish quarter), Picasso Museum, old shul, waterfront/harbor, Gaudi sites, Park Guell, Sagrada Familia (we just checked out the exterior)

[HP58]

Nice TR. planning a trip in the summer this should come in handy!

[SLP]

If I'm in GIB for Shabbos and want to leave Sunday and get to Madrid to catch my next flight to Italy, how do I best go GIB-MAD?

Probably take a flight from Malaga, which would be quickest. I'm not sure of the train/bus options.

[Ergel]

Nice TR. Wasn't worth it to rent a car between all the trains/buses/driver that you took?

[SamKey]

Thanks for the ideas guys, I'm getting more and more into Spain.

If I'm in GIB for Shabbos and want to leave Sunday and get to Madrid to catch my next flight to Italy, how do I best go GIB-MAD?

We did RT rental from Malaga you can book a flight Malaga-MAD 4.5k Avios but we took a train

[@Yehuda]

I know it's tempting to try to fit in as many places as possible when you have the chance but I did a similar trip several years back and it was exhausting.  There were many things that we did not get to see and I feel we sacrificed some of the experience just so we could check off more places on the list.
Then again, it's all personal preference.

I definitely hear you.

We did RT rental from Malaga you can book a flight Malaga-MAD 4.5k Avios but we took a train

Good idea! Do BA Avios work on IB flights?

[Dan]

Do BA Avios work on IB flights?

Why wouldn't they 

[@Yehuda]

Why wouldn't they 

Obviously DROPR, but they once told me BA Avios don't equal IB Avios. Although, I guess both statements can be true. They're not the same currency, but BA could still work to book IB.

I was just curious, but either way, I would go AGP-MAD as part of my OWE. Problem is my recent AA rep was having problems ticketing the OWE, saying her supervisor told her they don't do those awards anymore, but I should call back tomorrow. Either that's bad news for my trip or we're back to DROPR...

[@Yehuda]

Have my dates booked for Spain!
Read through the thread once again and want to run a basic itinerary by you guys. All advice welcome

I'm in:
MAD for 1 day
BCN for 2 days
SVQ for 1/2 day
Friday split between SVQ and driving to GIB
Shabbos in GIB

So, here are my plans and some questions...

In MAD, I want to go to Toledo. Seems like I can either pay 200-400€ for a tour or 10€ pax for the train ride and go find the 2 Shuls myself. Feeling a pull towards the latter. Now, my Q is, if I'm waking up in MAD (I already have a hotel) and have to catch an 8PM flight, (1) can I see Toledo and also get to see something in MAD like the Royal Palace? If yes, (2) will the Palace be open in the afternoon/evening or should I do it first in the morning and then go to Toledo? (I also can take a 9:45PM flight instead, but it's not ideal as it will get me to my next stop pretty late.)

For BCN, seems like La Rambla (+nearby restaurants), Park Guell, and Casa Milla are popular things to do, and they all seem to be in the same category or attraction. (3) Can they all be done in 1 day? I'd also like to do the walking tour of the old Jewish quarter. Perhaps that can be day 2, but I doubt it would fill up the day. Summarizing everyone's TRs the other interesting things to do are: beaches, Gothic quarter, Montjuic, Sagrada Familia (seeing, not entering). (4) Do any of those things make sense to do with the Jewish quarter/does this 2-day breakdown make sense? (5) Where do I want to stay location-wise? Forget the type of hotel, where do I want to be located? Near the airport, La Ramblas, Jewish quarter, etc.?

I arrive in SVQ in the early afternoon. Seems like the things to do there are the Alcazar, maybe a river cruise. (6) Can I get to Alcazar in the afternoon? I plan on renting a car the next morning (Friday) and driving to GIB. If you suggest doing something in Seville I may be missing, I can do it in the morning and then go to GIB in the late morning. (7) Where do I want to stay? Near airport, Alcazar?

In GIB, I want to see The Rock and perhaps the dolphin boat tour or the caves, depending on how much time there is till Shabbos. On Shabbos, I would visit the different Shuls. I should hopefully have a place to stay by someone I know who lives there. Motzai Shabbos, I'd drive back to SVQ, find a hotel near the airport to catch my ex-Spain flight out in the morning.

Feel free to answer the specific Q's or just give your thoughts in general. That would rock! Thanks.

[SamKey]

In bcn if you have the points if stay at the w simply fantastic or on the ramblas rent mopeds/scooters best and easiest way to get around and everyone is driving them. What about picaso museum?

[@Yehuda]

In bcn if you have the points if stay at the w simply fantastic or on the ramblas rent mopeds/scooters best and easiest way to get around and everyone is driving them. What about picaso museum?

Don't have the points. I decided to split up my SPG to get more nights out of them rather than use em up a fancy place. Is it easy to pick up how to drive a scooter? Neither of us are really artsy. I took a look at some pics of it on Google and I don't think we would enjoy it much.

[Ergel]

Don't know the answer to any of your questions but your itinerary seems very rushed to me. Sit back and relax a little bit

[sky121]

Don't know the answer to any of your questions but your itinerary seems very rushed to me. Sit back and relax a little bit

+1

[@Yehuda]

Don't know the answer to any of your questions but your itinerary seems very rushed to me. Sit back and relax a little bit

I'll admit I've never booked a trip before, but you really think it's rushed?

1 day in MAD - see the Palace in the morning and then visit Toledo (a 1/2 hour train ride) and catch the late evening flight out.
2 days in BCN - La Rambla, Casa Mila, and Park Guell are all within 20 minutes of each other. 2-3 hours per each and it's still not 5 o'clock. Day 2, Tour the Jewish city and do 1 other attraction doesn't seem like a lot either.
1/2 day in SVQ - Alcazar is just 1 attraction.
1/2 day in GIB - The Rock and if there's time, do 1 more attraction.

Really doesn't seem like a lot here.

[sky121]

Everyone travels differently. I love getting to spend time in cities and really getting a feel for the place. Don't you want time to just be? Get lost? Find places that weren't on your itinerary?

[@Yehuda]

Everyone travels differently. I love getting to spend time in cities and really getting a feel for the place. Don't you want time to just be? Get lost? Find places that weren't on your itinerary?

I can tell we're different lol. I'm kinda an OCD guy and need a plan. I would be afraid that if I just showed up in BCN for 2 days, we would slouch at the hotel till noon and then walk outside and perhaps not get to see any of the "touristy" things. People may not always be fans of touristy things, but that's kinda what I want to see. Sure I can walk around and watch the culture, but if I was visiting NYC for the first and probably only time, I think I would want to ensure seeing the Empire State Building and Lady Liberty. I'll catch the crazy atmosphere just travelling to my stops.

[sky121]

I can tell we're different lol. I'm kinda an OCD guy and need a plan. I would be afraid that if I just showed up in BCN for 2 days, we would slouch at the hotel till noon and then walk outside and perhaps not get to see any of the "touristy" things. People may not always be fans of touristy things, but that's kinda what I want to see. Sure I can walk around and watch the culture, but if I was visiting NYC for the first and probably only time, I think I would want to ensure seeing the Empire State Building and Lady Liberty. I'll catch the crazy atmosphere just travelling to my stops.

That's fine. Def makes sense.  But it still doesn't seem to be giving you much time. Especially when you're going on a long adventure. It seems like you'll just be running from one place to the next.  And I am generally a planner as well. Nothing wrong with planning but doesn't mean you have to rush.