1

With 12 days in total and Madrid and Barcelona already locked in, I'd recommend only one other stop, not two. Each place mentioned is at least a few hours' travel away from the others, and you don't want to spend half the time in transit (especially on your honeymoon).

From my previous posts you can see that I'm a huge fan of Sevilla. Given a choice of anywhere in Spain I'd go back there :) It's a lovely city and there's plenty to keep you occupied for a few days. It'll be less cold than in Madrid or Barcelona in February, too.

Barcelona-->Madrid 3hr on AVE train
Madrid-->Sevilla 2.5hr on AVE train

Don't have any Spanish hostel experience myself, so I'll leave that up to others.

2

Also , is language a big problem in the above mentioned places ?

3

Depends on whether you speak Spanish!

Most people, in service industries especially, have at least some English; many speak it very well. You've got 5 months to pick up a bit of Spanish, which will help a lot (and, in my opinion, make the experience more enjoyable as well).

4

is language a big problem in the above mentioned places ?
Not at all if by "language" you mean Spanish/castellano ;-)
Not very much if you mean English with a few basic phrases (greetings, how to ask for directions etc) in Spanish. English isn't widely spoken outside the tourist industry, however.

2 places to squeeze in depending on the weather, richness of culture in these places and accessibility by train ?
Sevilla with its cathedral and Alcazar and Granada with the Alhambra are the obvious choices among the four places you mention, but Malaga get good reviews too from people who have been there.
Everywhere on your list (though "Costa Brava" is a region, so it depends on where exactly you plan to go to) is easily accessible by train. See http://www.renfe.es for schedules.

Do keep in mind that you need at least 2-3 full days (= 3-4 nights) to scratch the surface of Madrid and Barcelona, without day trips. As #1 pointed out, travel takes time too - keep in mind that times shown in timetables are from departure in city A to arrival in city B; they don't take into account that you need to count in journey time to between your hotels and train stations too (in most of these cities the main railway station isn't exactly close to the areas popular with tourists).

I do have some experience with €30-50 (even cheaper, actually) hotels in Spain and don't recall any safety issues. I also don't remember any of their names, however, but none of the cheapies were worth recommending to honeymooners anyway.

If given the choice - since this is your honeymoon, after all - I'd rather save money by moving around less than by staying at cheaper hotels, but perhaps that's just me.

5

Outide of Barcelona €50 will get you a fairly decent hotel in Spain in the winter. Forget the Costa Brava it is not that appealing in mid winter. What flights are you proposing to use because this to me would have a big bearing on where I would go. I would suggest Barcelona, Madrid and Sevilla but only if you are flying into Barcelona and out of either Seville or Malaga. If you are flying in and out of Madrid I would say either do Madrid and Barcelona and maybe another place closer by Valencia for example. Or Madrid, Seville and Malaga.

6

What's your travel style? How many time do you plan to spend in Madrid and Barcelona? What's the departure airport of your flight home?
If you want to visit two more cities, the choice seems obvious: Sevilla and Granada but it could be rushed (but it'll depend on your travel style, preferences, interests...). It could be better to visit only one. Sevilla is easier to reach by train from Madrid so that could be your choice.

7

Skip Madrid and Barcelona, you won't miss much, I'd rather go to Granada, Seville, Salamanca... You won't regret. February is low season in most of Spain, so you have more chances to get a good deal.

8

Yeah there is nothing to see in Barcelona and Madrid!!!! Maybe you personally do not like them but to make a statement tha "you won't miss much" if you don't see them is pretty stupid.

9

I don't think so, I'm far from being an stupid person. Actually, a stupid attitude is to insult a person you don't know. Of course I meant that for a honeymoon, not a marathon, they wouldn't be missing much if they skip Madrid and Barcelona and conentrate in cities such as Salamanca, Granada or Seville. If you read again the question you'll notice that they don't ask for sun and beach, night discos and shopping, but for richness of culture. This is why I insist on my recommendation.

10

Indeed, you don't miss much in the way of culture if you skip Madrid or Barcelona...

11

@FernandM (#7 and #9): With all due respect, to say/suggest that Madrid and Barcelona don't have richness of culture is a sheer studipity that will make laugh anyone with a minimum of knowledge/culture. And, of course, to provide deliberately wrong/false info will discredit you in this forum... so, please, don't make it.

I'm far from being an stupid person

Dime de qué presumes...

12

What have sun, beaches, shopping and disco's got to do with it, if that is all you think about Madrid and Barcelona you have obviously never visited either. And where did i call you stupid i said your comment was pretty stupid which it was and also misleading

13

The Costa Brava can be cool to cold that time of year. The other places variable. I would go to the Canary islands for virtually guaranteed sunshine.

If you decide this, book early as lots of others go for the same reason.

14

Thank You very much for your amazing responses . Unfortunately we have to go to Barcelona and Madrid . The reasons both of us are big sports enthusiasts and big supporters of F1 and football . Hence we have decided the following iternary :

Flight in to Barcelona
5 days in Barcelona
Travel to Granada
3 days in Granada
Travel to Madrid
3 days in Madrid
Flight out from Madrid

We also plan to visit some villages near Barcelona (for example rupit etc) and places like Castilla La Mancha near Madrid .

so I once again seek your advise on :

1. Language . We speak English and we hope to learn little bit spanish till february
2. Weather in all these places . Rains particularly
3. Any decent budget hotels for couple you recommend in Barcelona (near Las Ramblas) and Madrid (50 - 70 euros)
4. Some travelling tips for us outsiders in these cities (things which we should avoid most definitely)