LCPDFP

Hubby and I are spending our 26th anniversary in Andalucia (10 full days towards the end of September). We like to drive so I'm planning to get a car (although I'm happy to park it while we are in cities). Since we have the car, my first plan includes one and two-night stays. Love to get feedback on this. Are we moving around too much? Here is the plan:

1. Land in Malaga; drive to Grenada and stay the night in Grenada.
2. See the Alahambra and other Grenada sights, stay the night in Grenada.
3. Drive to Cordoba ... see some sights along the way, stay the night in Cordoba
4. See the Mezquita and other Cordoba sights, stay the night in Cordoba
5. Drive to Sevilla ... see some sights along the way, stay the night in Sevilla
6. See sights in Sevilla ... stay the night in Sevilla
7. finish Sevilla and drive to Arcos de la Frontera, stay one night.
8. do some driving and end up in Ronda, stay tne night
9. More Ronda sight seeing, stay the night
10. Drive to Malaga, spend the night in Malaga before flying home on Day 11.

Thanks so much for your thoughts!

danon

even if you like moving around ( six hotels in 10 days) you might consider the time you will lose checking in and
out, parking, finding your way around etc.
2 nights in Seville is way to short , maybe one night in Cordoba and 3 in Seville.

kimhe

Málaga city is highly underrated. Genuine Andalusian atmosphere, laid-back people and fabulous sights. In hot September (inland would often be 100F+), go just east of the city center to Pedregalejo for fine beaches and excellent and affordable seafront restaurants very popular with locals. http://www.andalucia.com/cities/malaga/home.htm

And Sevilla is the undisputable queen among the cities in this part of Spain. http://www.exploreseville.com/

mamcalice

I would add at least one day to Sevilla and perhaps, to reduce hotels moves, add two or three and do a day trip to Cordoba.

I'm not sure about this but possibly you could stay in Ronda an extra day and day trip to Arcos.

It is so much more relaxing to avoid hotel moves to the extent possible.

danon

I agree abbot Malaga. It is lovely and a nice change from inland cities.

bardo1

Are plane tiix locked in? Fly into Seville and out of Malaga. Stay 4 nights in Seville (do day trip to Cordoba from there). Stay 2 nights in Ronda. Stay your remaining 3 nights in Malaga (and day trip to Granada from there).

Or rearrange everything but don't stay in more than 3 towns for your 9 nights.

LCPDFP

Excellent suggestion Bardo1 - into Seville and out of Malaga.

This would allow us to take advantage of Mamcalice's suggestion to spend more time in Seville.

Danon and Kimhe - I'll look further into staying in Malaga so as to limit the number of hotel stays.

Kimhe - do you really think that inland will be close to 100 degrees F during the last 2 weeks of September? I did Greece once in August and roasted in the 100 degree heat. Then, we were stuck with August because of school vacations. Now I have the freedom to avoid the heat!

I may have more questions after I do some more research. Thanks everyone!

Egbert

I would take a night off Cordoba too. It's always best to spend two or three (or more nights in this part of Spain) and get to absorb the great culture. Seville deserves 3-4 nights, Granada, 2. I've never spent the night in Ronda it's kind of quiet for me. If you like that sort of thing 2 nights there and a night in Arcos sounds great. Malaga is also nice for a night or two. I basically just repeated what everyone else said.

kimhe

Two last weeks of September would normally not be that hot. Average highs in Córdoba/Sevilla between 80 and 92F based on 14 past years statistics. Excellent time of year to go inland in Andalucía, you should definitely not avoid it, but an extra day in cooler Málaga city on the coast might be very welcome.
http://www.wetteronline.de/Spanien/Cordoba.htm

LCPDFP

I still struggling with this ... maybe I'm trying to see too much? I'm still in 5 hotels in 10 nights.

1 night in Malaga + 2 nights in Ronda + 2 nights in Grenada + 1 night in Cordoba + 4 nights in Seville

The white villages sound appealing, but maybe I should skip them and/or see them as day trips from Malaga? Which is more important to see on our 1st and maybe only trip to the area - some of the White Villages or Malaga and some of the Costa del Sol. Also, should I do Cordoba as a day trip from Seville? If I didn't sleep in Ronda or Cordoba then I'd be in 3 hotels ( 3 nights in Malaga + 2 nights in Grenada + 5 nights in Seville)

What do you think? Thanks so much for all of the help!

P.S. More detailed plan follows.



Day 1 (Saturday) Land in Malaga … sleep in Malaga
Day 2 (Sunday) Drive to Ronda via the A376 and San Pedro de Alcantara (Michelin p. 344)… sleep in Ronda
Day 3 (Monday) Visit Arcos de la Frontera … sleep in Ronda
Day 4 (Tuesday) drive to Grenada …. sleep in Grenada
Day 5 (Wednesday) Visit Alhambra … sleep in Grenada
Day 6 (Thursday) Drive to Cordoba …. visit Mesquita … sleep in Cordoba
Day 7 (Friday) Sleep in Seville
Day 8 (Saturday) Sleep in Seville
Day 9 (Sunday) Sleep in Seville
Day 10 (Monday) Sleep in Seville
Day 11 (Tuesday) Fly home from Seville

Amalfibound

I would only spend 1 night in Cordoba. We were in Spain two years ago and visited Cordoba. We arrived around noon time and departed the next day aroud 3 pm. It was plenty of time. Spend your time in Sevilla!

NanBug

Instead of driving to Arcos, you could spend time instead in Grazalema and Zahara if you wanted to see beautiful white villages that are quite close to Ronda.

We loved our 2 nights in Ronda -- it was quite lively at night (tons of restaurants and shops open) and it's just a stunning town.

I also agree about cutting Cordoba to 1 night (looks like you're already decided that), or just do it as a daytrip from Seville.

Happy trails!