STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

ladysi78250 · Dooney & Bourke

Where to start on planning trip to Spain

cc · Marc Jacobs

Have you decided where in Spain you want to go? I've only been to Seville and Barcelona and they were both amazing. My dream is to go to Madrid!

I love the Eyewitness travel series for initial trip planning. They are heavier than other guide books and I'm not crazy about the hotel and sightseeing information but having so many pictures has always helped me figure out where I want to go and what I want to see. Then I do online research on Frommers.com and in the Fodors.com travel forums and print out lots of info. I find both to be good resources for hotels. For my trip I bring whichever guidebook is the lightest and has the best maps.

If you want to go to multiple cities Frommer has this suggested 1-week itinerary.

In terms of booking...
For airfare I always check Kayak, Travelocity, Expedia and Orbitz. I think Kayak searches the "big 3" as well but I just like to be thorough. I double-check the best option(s) on those sites with whatever is offered through the airline's website.
My go-to site for European hotels is Venere.com. I've never had a problem with them and found the information that they provide (location maps, pictures, visitor reviews) to be helpful and accurate.

ladysi78250 · Dooney & Bourke

Thanks so much!

wicked · Coach

For lodging, I wanted to recommend Hostelworld.com

penguininaboat · BCBG

I also recommend the Eyewitness book of Spain, it has great maps. I would also recommend Frommer's, but they have no pictures so you may want to stick with Eyewitness. I would highly recommend a day in Granada Spain but I am highly biased having studied abroad there. I would also recommend Barcelona if you like architecture and Madrid if you like musuems (though obviously each has alot to offer).

gingembre1 · Kate Spade

Rick Steve's guidebooks are also a good resource for planning. He gives ideas of things to do based on the number of days you have to travel, and he also includes some good off the beaten track options.

Personally, if I did Spain again, I would avoid Madrid and spend most of my time in southern Spain.

pollyjean23 · Marc Jacobs

Tripadvisor.com is very useful for U.S. hotels, and I imagine it's fine for overseas too. Good reviews.

My husband loved Barcelona and wants to go back.

Hermes

I have planned a lot of trips, and my two most used resources are Fodors and Frommers on-line and in book form.

Fodors on-line is good for getting a general idea of what you want to do when you're there so you can plot out your course.

Frommers is my go-to for lodging -- they have lists with prices, reviews, and links to hotels (if you can't link to it there, you can usually find the hotel's web site with a little googling.)

Another tactic I use is taking a look at package tours to see how they plan the trip and replicate portions on my own. It helps give you an idea of timing and sight-seeing opportunities that you may not be aware of otherwise.

I have been to Seville, Cadiz, Gibraltar (UK), Malaga, Granada, Cordoba, Ronda, Toledo, and Madrid. We rented a car and drove from the Portugal border to Madrid (we drove the length of Portugal before we got to Spain, but couldn't take the car cross-border.) We stayed in paradors whenever we could (historic buildings turned into b&b's and run by the government.) http://www.parador.es

We also took a boat trip to Tangier, Morocco from Gibraltar. That's a really wild place to visit, but a very cool experience.

If you have any questions, let me know!

Spain is gorgeous and filled with tons of history. Highlights for me were driving though the olive orchards and seeing full rainbows everywhere (it was wild!), the Alhambra, the museums of Madrid, and the food (tapas are wonderful.)

I do have to mention that pickpockets are rampant in the major cities of Spain, and if you drive, people want money to "watch" your car on the street (or they'll break into it themselves.) As long as you carry items in the front of your body, don't leave anything just lying next to you (they'll grab it and run), and don't let a stranger take your picture (they'll run with the camera, however an American tourist is probably safest), you'll be fine. My husband and I thwarted several attempts by pickpockets, and had a fine view of their techniques when we overlooked Plaza de Santa Ana in Madrid and watched them work over many people. This is not intended to scare you, but just to help you avoid the hassle of having something stolen.

-- Edited by D at 11:28, 2008-09-25