Spain in Nov.

Hi All,

I just bought my ticket to London at 3am in the morning. The plan is to fly into london hop on a plane/train to Spain and then back to London and fly home. We will be in Europe from 11/9-11/19. We will be visiting with family in the UK and the rest of the time to explore. We won't have a car and will be staying in Essex and London.

What is the most affordable mode of transportation to Spain from the UK? We definitely want to go to Barcelona and I hear Seville is beautiful. Where else can we go in our time frame and with a limited budget?

In Barcelona are there any affordable/practical lodging suggestions?

Thanks

Hi,

What great places you have chosen to go, im from north London, near Essex and Barcelona is one of my favourite places! There are some cheap flight options available as both budget airlines, Ryanair and Easyjet, come into Barcelona. Ryanair has some from as little as 12 pounds from Stansted to Bcn Girona airport. If you do decide to come into Girona, you should know that it is quite a way outside the city and you will need to get a transfer bus. This takes just over an hour i think and is not particularly cheap.

Easyjey go from Stansted too and come into Barcelona El Prat, much closer to the city centre. Their flights are a little more expensive- between20 and 30 pounds, but i would say it is a better option. Both airlines fly from other london airports but if you are going from Essex Stansted might be easiest.

It depends what you want accommodation wise- there are some good deals available on rental apartments in the city at this time of year, they often work out cheaper than hotels and give you much more flexibility and your own space. More like being in with the locals too!I dont know if you can add links here but barcelonaflats.co.uk is a good one to try. They are english speaking and you can negociate prices depending on how long you are staying etc.

There are some good little bandb's around and plenty of different hotels. Don't worry too much about location- so many people think they have to be right next to the over priced Las Ramblas, but there is so much more to the city than that and you can get around easily using the cheap public transport. (A 'T 10' ticket is probably your best option..it allows you 10 rides on the bus, metro and tram and is good value.)

I have been to Seville too and it is great...try and see a flamenco show if you can. Look for the ones that look like locals are there and you shouldn't need to pay more than about €10 to see a good one...some are very touristy and overpriced! Also climb up the cathedral bell tower for an excellent 360 degree view of the city. Again the budget airlines fly here too.

From Seville it's easy, fast and cheap to get to Cordoba and/or Granada. Either is interesting and worthwhile, just for the day or for a couple of days. Seville is a great choice, a fascinating city, and you even stand the chance of some warm weather in November!

Hi You have to remember when booking with Ryanair that (1) the allowence for luggage going on the plane is only15kgs (2) you will pay £12 each way for putting your luggage in the hold, (3) you will get charged £8 for using your credit card, this is without the airport tax that you will have to pay. All in all it still can be a cheap way to get to Spain, but having used Ryanair a couple of weeks ago and had a flight to Girona cancelled after we had checked in at the airport for fog, and at the time the fog had lifted, they are not very high in the league of airlines i will flying with again!!!!!!!! I booked three people plus bikes to Girona (£300) and now two weeks later still not heard anything back from Ryanair, not holding my breath. Back to Girona the bus to Barcelona is 12 euros single, but think you can get return for 20 euros, takes just an hour, you should have a good time in Barcelona cheers

Quoting realdowner

Hi All,

I just bought my ticket to London at 3am in the morning. The plan is to fly into london hop on a plane/train to Spain and then back to London and fly home. We will be in Europe from 11/9-11/19. We will be visiting with family in the UK and the rest of the time to explore. We won't have a car and will be staying in Essex and London.

What is the most affordable mode of transportation to Spain from the UK? We definitely want to go to Barcelona and I hear Seville is beautiful. Where else can we go in our time frame and with a limited budget?

In Barcelona are there any affordable/practical lodging suggestions?

Thanks

I can help you to find affordable accommodation in Barcelona if you want.

Thanks all,

You all have been incredibly helpful and nice to take time out of your day to help me. We've decided to go to Spain for 7 or 8 days, 11/11-11/18. Our cousin is meeting us in Spain 11/16-11/18 and I'd like to end with Barcelona. How many days would you say would be good to stay in Barcelona? So here are my thoughts and if I'm dreaming big please feel free to burst the bubble. I know I won't be able to visit all. Can you help me with an itinerary that will allow me to visit as many places without killing myself? If you think there are more interesting places I am open to suggestions.

[u]Places I'd love to Visit
Barcelona
Madrid
Seville
a balearic island or costa blanca
Granada
segovia
cordoba

In 7 or 8 days, you would have enough to visit 2 of the bigger cities. I would suggest to get to Barcelona (from London), and add Madrid in the mix, (Segovia and Toledo, are possible daytrips from here.), from Madrid it should be pretty easy to get on a flight to London. (even Ryanair is not bad from Madrid and Stansted is just as good as Luton or Gatwick.)

Save places like Cordoba, Sevilla and Granada for a future trip in Andalusia.

Advice says I should not go to Andalusia this trip. How I would have loved to make it work I will take the advice of the wise. With that being said, If I left Barcelona for the last stop and flew into Madrid what Itinerary would you recommend for 8 days in Spain? I'm looking for culture, great food, people and adventure. I know it's a tall order.

Instead of Home basing in a big city like Madrid and taking day trips would I cover more ground and save more time if I moved forward?

What route should I take from Madrid to Barcelona?

Thanks

Ok so I've got 1 week to make up my mind.

fly into
11/11 Madrid
11/12 Madrid
11/13 Toledo
11/14 Segovia
11/15 Barcelona
11/16 Barcelona
11/17 Montserrat
11/18 Cadaques

Does it make sense to day trip Toledo and Segovia or should I spend the night in those cities?
Is 2 days in Barcelona with a side trip to Montserrat and cadaques sufficient?

What is the best in time and money transportation to do this itinerary?

Thanks