2 weeks in Madrid & Andalusia Golden Triangle - what we did and how much we spent

​Nobody asked for it​ and I normally don't track expenses to this level, but AI has made it much easier to pull from my credit card transactions. My travel spreadsheet is much more detailed than this, but I'm just posting the itinerary and total expenses here.

Our travel style

- DINK in late 30s, prefer walking, really love food but don't drink alcohol much (tapped out after the first glass).

- Big planner with a "one main activity a day" mindset. This is more of a vacation than a trip so we didn't try to do much (and we plan to come back).

- Our common orders in Spain include 2-3 plates and 2 drinks (and maybe water).

- We don't eat out all meals since we get tired and/or want vegetables. We ​cooked sometimes, and also ate breakfast at home​.

- Not included: coffee (we tried several highly recommended specialty shops and found them just ok, so we just made coffee at home - also saved time to get ready in the morning), snacks, and discretionary purchases. In Granada we staye​d at a hotel with free late breakfast, so our food budget was lower.

Reminders/tips/thoughts:

- Stay near the attractions so you can come back midday for a rest/siesta.

- Visit attractions on Sunday/Monday, so you can explore neighborhoods on days when stores are open.

- Book Alhambra really early (like a month or two out). Book Alcazar early as well (a week or two) or you'll stand in line for 1.5 hours like us on the day of. Bring your passports.

- April is the ideal time to go. Sunny and hot, but lots of wind to cool you down. Plus the cities (except some parts of Seville where the horses roam) smell so good with all the orange blossoms.

- Seville Fair really is an insider affair, especially for two ​f​oreign-looking kids lol but I'm glad we went. Kind of amazing to see people having fun and dancing. Pretty easy to identify public casetas and the drinks are not crazily marked up. The carnival ​w​as fun too.

- Most places we went took credit cards. All and all we spent 100e in cash.

- Granada restaurants/bars do give out free tapas with a drink, but the details vary place to place. For example, at Avila you can only choose the free tapa on the left side of the menu.

Transportation

- Book popular train/bus routes early to get the times you want, and for cheaper prices.

- Keep refreshing and trying if the Renfe trains you want are not available. The Renfe app is horrible though, doesn't accept my US phone number (or any phone number, really) and wouldn't let me proceed, so use desktop if you can.

- Do the math to see if the train or bus to Segovia works better for you. The train alone is faster, but you have to line up at least 30 minutes to catch the bus from town to the train station, whereas the bus to Madrid stops right in town.

- Renfe stations can be confusing... you can be in front of your gate and the entrance will be on the other floor. If it's 10-15 minutes before departure time and the gate is empty, you're at the wrong place. Ask if you're not sure.

- Bus can be much cheaper but takes longer. We usually opted for the train, except for the Granada -> Seville leg which takes the same amount of time.

Happy to answer questions to my limited knowledge.