8 Days in Andalucia - Any ideas?

Old Mar 21st, 2014, 12:13 AM
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8 Days in Andalucia - Any ideas?

I am planning a trip to Andalucia in September for 8 days, flying into Gibraltar and out of Malaga. The rough itinerary so far is Gibraltar - Tarifa - Cadiz - Jerez - Seville - Malaga, with day trips to Ronda and Tangier from Tarifa. We want to rent a car for the first few days, drop it off before Cadiz and then use trains for the last few legs of the trip back to Malaga.

We are not sure how many days to spend in each place, whether we are missing any places or generally if we will have enough time. Any thoughts would be much appreciated!
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Old Mar 21st, 2014, 12:41 AM
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The route seems fine although a bit rushed for eight days. I would have cut down time in Gibraltar to a minimum, and perhaps visited Ronda on the way from Sevilla to Málaga. Spend at least two-three days in Sevilla, the unisputed queen of the cities in the South. http://www.andalucia.com/cities/sevilla.htm
http://www.exploreseville.com/

The Bienal de Flamenco de Sevilla goes on from Sept 12 to Oct 8. The best flamenco artists in the world in theaters around town every night. Mostly a local and knowledgeable crowd. A night at the Bienal could easily be a highlight of the trip: http://www.labienal.com/en/

Cádiz, three thousand year old Phoenician Gadir and home of the liberal 1812 constitution "La Pepa". And excellent beaches: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33JUrGwZQLY

Málaga, three thousand year old Phoenician Gadir and "Picasso's city of hidden treasures": http://www.theguardian.com/travel/20...-breaks-travel
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Old Mar 21st, 2014, 01:02 AM
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So, just to be clear, you are intentionally skipping Cordoba and Granada?
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Old Mar 21st, 2014, 04:17 AM
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Tangier is IMO not worth the time you'll spend on it. Morocco it isn't. Tarifa isn't an attractive place either and I wouldn't choose to stay there.

You can do your Ronda trip from the nearest other location and put in Granada (unless you've previously been there) instead.Bear in mind that the whole area that you want to visit is not very far apart and you may want to take another look at your map, choose a central place to stay and do it all as day trips.
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Old Mar 21st, 2014, 05:06 AM
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I have already been to Granada and Malaga, so I am only going back to Malaga because of our flight home.

I had considered Cordoba but as we only have 8 days I thought that we probably wouldn't have time.

Where would you consider a good central place Rubicund? I had thought about staying in Tarifa or Facinas for 3 nights and the remainder of the time in Seville. But if you advising me to avoid Tarifa do you have any good alternatives?
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Old Mar 21st, 2014, 05:21 AM
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IMHO the must sees are Seville and Cordoba - everything else is optional. I would spend 3 nights in Seville and 2 in Cordoba - and add what else you can.

IMHO Gibraltar is a total waste unless you want to be harassed by a pack of nasty monkeys. And do allow plenty of time to cross into Spain - I'm not sure how the border crossings are now - but the one time we went across it took almost 2 hours and they half-disassembled out car.
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Old Mar 21st, 2014, 07:29 AM
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I agree with nytraveler. Sevilla and Cordoba are Andalućia's highlights.
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Old Mar 21st, 2014, 07:54 AM
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I think the original plan is close to a fine and quite concentrated round-trip. Very much possible, to say the least, to have a genuine Andalucía experience without going through the most obvious tracks of Sevilla, Córdoba and Granada. Would be very stressful to find a base and do daytrips.

Cádiz, Jerez, Sevilla, Ronda and Málaga could be excellent for an eight day round-trip. I would have stayed a couple of nights in Cádiz, a night in Jerez on the way to Sevilla, two-three nights in Sevilla, and a mix of Ronda and Málaga for the last two-three days.

Cádiz and Jerez are cradles of quintessential parts of Andalusian culture such as sherry, horses and flamenco and outside the most beaten tourist track.
Sherry/Jerez: http://www.andalucia.com/cities/jerez/wines.htm
Horses: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00jxx23
Flamenco: http://www.flamenco-world.com/magazi...ce11112004.htm
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Old Mar 21st, 2014, 08:13 AM
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A couple of years ago , we stayed at the Hotel San Jorge Alcala de los Gazules. I've only just found the details again, but it's an OK two star in a fabulous setting. It's touristy and the roads are narrow, but well worth it.

www.hotel-sanjorge.es
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Old Mar 21st, 2014, 08:14 AM
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Sorry, that should be "not touristy"
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Old Mar 21st, 2014, 08:49 AM
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I think the challenge is you only have 8 days and want to visit so many cities. I'd visit Cordoba over Tarifa, Gibraltar and especially Tangier.

I'd budget at least 4 nights in Sevilla and 2 in Malaga. You can visit Jerez, Cordoba and Cadiz as daytrips from Sevilla if you like. Personally I'd budget 3 full days just for Sevilla and then add a day for every daytrip you want to take. So theoretically you could stay in Sevilla 6 nights and 2 in Malaga if you don't want to more around as much. If you really want to visit Ronda then you could take the bus from Sevilla and visit as a daytrip then bus to Malaga. However, I'd just first verify there are luggage lockers at the bus station.

I'd drop Tarifa, Gibraltar and Tangier - just not enough time and more places that warrant the limited days IMHO.
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Old Mar 21st, 2014, 10:45 PM
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Does nobody think that the Costa de la Luz area is worth a visit at all?
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Old Mar 22nd, 2014, 02:06 AM
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It certainly is, but you can only cover so much ground in one short trip. I know that it's like a box of chocolates, spoiled for choice, but less is more in this case.

You will get far more out of your trip and have great memories if you slow it down and save the rest for next time.
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Old Mar 22nd, 2014, 07:56 AM
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Well said Rubicund . The Costa de Luz is certainly worth a visit as is about a dozen other places I can think of off the top of my head. But the challenge is weighing the limited time with the number of places to prioritize.
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