Madrid – Central Spain (7N/8D in March 2017)

This was a post-cruise trip in March 2017, after a Royal Caribbean Legend of the Seas cruise from Dubai to Barcelona through the  Suez Canal. The total lodging cost was about $500, and the rental car and the gas were about $220. There were plenty of cheap meal deals all over Spain. 12 Euro “2-course meal + a glass of wine” deals were our favorites.

Day 1: Took a cab from the cruise terminal to a Thrifty Rental Car office in town & rented a manual compact car for a week($120). Drove 4 hours to Madrid. Checked into an Airbnb studio($80/night) for 2 nights in the center of town, specifically chosen for parking lot availability.

Day 2: Museo Thyssen-Bornemisze was free on Mondays, and we took advantage of that. The line was long, but it moved quickly once the door opened. We walked around the city.

Day 3: Drove less than an hour south to Toledo. Stopped on the way for photo ops in Consuegra for Don Quixote windmills. Checked into our Airbnb room in a family apartment($45). The host secured a street parking spot for us. Explored the city on foot.

Day 4: Drove south 3 hours to Cordoba. Airbnb studio just west of downtown($75) where street parking was possible. Explored the city on foot.

Day 5: Drove 1.5 hours to Seville. Our Airbnb room($85) in a dormitory-style apartment was about 20-minute walk north from the Cathedral. Miraculously, we found a free parking spot. Walked and walked.

Day 6: Drove 3 hours north to Caceres, a UNESCO World Heritage site nobody ever heard of. Checked into our Airbnb room($55) in a funky apartment, a 10-minute walk from the Old City Wall. Explored the city on foot.

Day 7: Drove 3 hours NE to Madrid. We stayed at an Airbnb studio($85) west of downtown where onsite parking was included. Took the city bus & went around the city just to see more of Madrid.

Day 8: flew out to Boston on TAP Air($289pp)