Complete Spain: South to North Adventure

Arrival in Madrid

Arrive in Madrid at any time. The city is the central hub for Spain's high-speed rail and a major international flight gateway. Settle into a hotel in the city center, which leaves the afternoon and evening free to get your bearings before the real travel begins.

Exploring the Capital

The day starts with a short orientation walk to get a feel for the city's layout. Afterwards, Madrid is yours to explore. A full day is enough time to tick off one of the major sites, but not all three. Choose between the sprawling Royal Palace, the masterworks of Goya and Velázquez at the Prado Museum, or simply finding a seat at a café in the grand Plaza Mayor. As evening sets in, follow the locals into the tapas bars of La Latina or Las Letras.

DIY Reality Check: Visiting Madrid's premier sites like the Prado Museum and Royal Palace requires significant advance planning. The Prado enforces a strict timed-entry system, and securing a desirable time slot often means booking online weeks in advance, especially during peak season. While the museum offers free evening hours, these attract enormous crowds, with queues forming up to 90 minutes before the free period begins and no guarantee of entry due to capacity limits. Similarly, the Royal Palace limits the number of tickets sold on-site and recommends advance online purchase to ensure access. A DIY traveler must navigate multiple booking platforms and coordinate schedules, all while risking that the Royal Palace—an active state facility—might close unexpectedly for official functions. A trip that secures tickets and manages the day's schedule sidesteps these logistical hurdles entirely.

South to Granada & the Albaicín

A long-haul bus carries you 420km south from the central plains of Madrid into the heart of Andalusia. The destination is Granada, the last stronghold of the Moors in Spain. After checking in, head straight for the Albaicín, the city's old Arab quarter. Its steep, whitewashed lanes are best explored on foot, and the effort is rewarded with clear views of the Alhambra palace, especially as the sun sets over the city.

DIY Reality Check: Seeing the Alhambra from the Albaicín is one thing; getting inside is another. Tickets for the Alhambra are nominative, meaning they are tied to a specific visitor's passport or national ID, which must be presented for entry. Due to extremely high demand and a strict cap on daily visitors, general entry tickets often sell out months in advance. This forces independent travelers into a complex and uncertain process of searching for last-minute options, such as higher-priced guided tours that hold blocks of tickets, or partial-access passes that skip the main Nasrid Palaces. A trip that secures your full-access Alhambra ticket as part of the initial booking removes this significant logistical barrier.