Preliminary Itinerary

Ok, I've finally settled on a rough but solid schedule of how the week of this trip is going to turn out:

Spring Break, First Week of April
Friday, 2nd ~ Fly to Madrid from ATL; land in Madrid on the 3rd, drive* to Toledo
Saturday, 3rd-Monday, 5th ~ Stay in Toledo, drive to Segovia on the 5th
Monday, 5th-Wednesday, 7th ~ Stay in Segovia, drive to Madrid on the 7th
Wednesday, 7th-Saturday, 10th ~ Stay in Madrid
Saturday, 10th ~ Fly to ATL

*We (me and the elders of the family who are allowed to drive rental cars :) ) decided that a car would be the cheapest and most convenient method of transportation. Happily, two of my closest friends are coming with me on this trip; however, our party now requires at least a six-seater, which translates to a seven-seater = a van.

If you read the previous blog you would have noticed that renting a van was the most expensive means of travel listed. Luckily, after more research, we have found some better prices:

RentSpain - Standard Premium 7s A/C: $680.92
EasyCar - People Carrier 7s A/C: $1,079.70
Europcar - Seat Alambra 7s: $1,253
Hertz - Full Size Passenger Van: $957.35
Sixt - $795.21




Click on the pictures to see an enlarged view



Obviously we went with the $680 van from RentSpain, which converts to about 500 Euros. Now I've been sent (again, by the chauffeurs - though I'm grateful for their service) to search for the price and amount of petrol we will consume... the next post will be when I find the aforesaid info.

Transportation

I researched train travel vs. car rental last night. I'm excited over the fact that because I know a decent amount of Spanish, I can get my train tickets on Spain's RENFE website 20 bucks cheaper than if I bought them through Rail Europe (which caters to English-exclusive Americans and Canadians). Here's what I discovered:

Rail Europe: Madrid-Salamanca-Madrid-Toledo-Madrid = $99
RENFE: Madrid-Salamanca-Madrid-Toledo-Madrid = $79.72
Car (4-Door, 5 seats) = around $400 (but divided by five people = $80; though this excludes gas)
Minivan (7 seats) = around $1200/6 people = $200 (but my parents are sweet enough to absorb some of the extra costs for this one)


There is also the idea of traveling to Segovia instead of Salamanca, as well as going further out into the country to explore the natural landscape, or spend more time in just Madrid and Toledo. These would alter the transportation plan, so keep in mind the above is not yet concrete - stay posted...

Official Business

Registered the trip OFFICIALLY with the U.S. Department of State's website today. In return, they were very eager to send me daily updated travel warnings for the Middle East... because Spain is so nearby? Anyway, so far I've listed Julie, Robert, and Nathan as my traveling companions - hopefully I can get Ella in there too!

The Plane Ticket

Round-trip, nonstop flight from Atlanta to Madrid and back: $930.50 on Delta
Saved $58 and a lot of time by flying in on a Friday rather than a Saturday!

The plan, so far, is to fly into Madrid, Spain on Friday, April 2nd and visit Toledo and Salamanca during the week (as well as sight-see in Madrid a bit). If I don't give in and end up riding in the car my parents are likely to rent, I'll take a train to get from place to place for the long trips (Madrid to Salamanca to Toledo to Madrid again). I'm getting so excited!