First visit to Spain

Hi, Im Angie from Vancouver, Canada. My husband Frank and I will be visiting Spain for one month starting from the last week this coming October. We want to visit Barcelona, Valencia, Madrid and Seville and/or Granada. We're not sure what order to visit these cities yet. It's all dependant on weather. I'm assuming we will go from North to South because of the time of year. Some advice on that would be great. Do we get rail passes for the different cities beforehand? Any suggestions are welcome as we are on a budget.

If you are over 60 you can get a Tarjeta Dorada at any railway station in Spain for around 6 euros each which will give you substantial discount on your railfares.  If you want more information on railtravel in europe look at this website www.seat61.com which gives you really good information.  For rail prices in Spain you could look at www.renfe.es.  

Hope you have a great time planning and a great holiday.

Also think about using the bus service as it is very good and cheap, i.e. Granada to Madrid €30 , Granada to Seville €20 and buses are all run by National Express , they are comfy, some with wifi and all with air con. I regularly travel between Granada and Malaga as it is only €11 each way so cheaper than taking the car. For up to date info look on www.alsa.es

This is the one time I wish we were older. Thanks for the website info bernipops.

It seems as though the busess will be considerably less expensive than the train. I will look into that. Thanks lorraine 56.

I would certainly try and visit both Granada and Sevilla as it would be a shame to miss out on any one of these beautiful cities. If you decide to do Granada and visit the Alhambra, you would need to book your tickets in advance as there is very high demand for tickets and getting in on the day may not be possible. You could try blablacar for getting about between cities, it's beoming very popular here in Spain and while getting about in Barcelona and Madrid may require using the Metro, Valencia is very compact and walkable, likewise Sevilla and Granada.

We have travelled by coach in Spain and booked our tickets online with Alsa, no problems, the service is reliable. 

Don't miss Granada, we are there several times a year and recommend the Alhambra.  You can book online up to 3 months in advance at www.alhambra-tickets.es/,  Select English at top right of the page, and Alambra General.  However if you can't book that far ahead because you need to be flexible about your travel arrangements, don't be disheartened if you go online and can't find any time slots available.  Only a certain number of tickets are sold online, so it is possible to get tickets on the day or the day before if you are flexible about your visit time.  There is an Alhambra shop on Calle Reyes Católicos, if you look on google maps the shop is marked as Tienda De La Alhambra.  There is a ticket machine in the shop, although it can be busy.  The other alternative is to go up to the Alhambra early in the morning, ignore the long queues at the entrance and turn right by the shop - along there is a bank of ticket machines where you can select from the available visit times and pay by card.  Of course that's only useful if you have a hire car, though you can use the tourist train (road train) - if you buy a 2 day ticket it's a good way of getting around Granada and there is a stop by the Alhambra.  The train goes from Plaza Nueva, just up from the Alhambra shop.

A word about the weather, Granada is just north of the Sierra Nevada and there will be snow on the mountains by November which looks glorious.  However there is always a risk of rain in and around Granada itself at that time of year.  You can expect warm sunny days but it is cooler at night, and occasionally a period of rain sets in so be prepared for all weathers. 

I agree Seville is worth a visit and should be pleasant in October/November, if you can fit it in Córdoba is well worth a day or so and is much smaller and more compact than Granada or Seville.

If you spend any time in Madrid, it's worth taking the train to Toledo.  Segovia is also a great place. 

Have a great time wherever you go!

Iberia airlines are offering combined air and train tickets to international travellers. If you fly in by Iberia, you can book an open high speed train ticket. 

Don't miss Valencia. Marvellous city and The City of Arts and Sciences is worth a whole day.