chatty409

We are a group of four arriving in Barcelona following a cruise of Southern Italy and need some advice. We were thinking of spending 3 or 4 nights in Barcelona and going to Madrid for 3 nights and then on to Malaga ?? and ending in Seville. We would like to see Granada and the Alhambra. Also would like to take ferry across to Morocco. I picked Malaga as that is the only stop near Granada the train goes. My question is what is the most reasonable and easiest transportation to use? We are all around 70 so I am not sure what the rental car rules are and really don't want to do long drives, also heard parking is sometimes a problem. Tried to figure out the train system but not quite sure about it. Would it be better to use train and also get a rental car for certain areas? As we would have luggage we would have to get a fairly large automobile. Which also would like to know would it be hard getting off and on the trains with luggage? Also any ideas for sights to see in the southern part besides the main sights in Granada and Seville? Any help, itinerary, sights, places to stay, where to eat, etc. would be greatly appreciated. I do not speak Spanish but two of our party do speak it so that should really help.

Robert2533

Okay! Just how much time are we talking about? 1 week? 10 days? Or something else?

Generally, you might want to tone down your wish list to something a bit more pracitcal.

cruiseluv

How long is your cruise? Unless you have some sea days as down time dont underestimate how tired you'll be after the cruise. When I cruise I usually do my land travel before the cruise as after a 10-14 days cruise I'm ready to go home. I'm not suggesting is not a good idea to do some travel in Spain afterwards but maybe its not a good idea to be overambitious.

Will this be early Sept? If so I would skip the Andalucia portion of your trip, unless you dont mind the heat.

Regarding train travel, getting big suitcases in and out of trains is a pain. Doable but a pain.

kimhe

<any ideas for sights to see in the southern part besides the main sights in Granada and Seville>

You are talking about Andalucia, three thousand years of Phoenician, Roman, Jewish, Christian, Moslem and Gitano history and culture all arond hand in hand with modern Spain. A very basic intro: http://www.andalucia.com/top10s/home.htm

The video "Cordoba, vida y genio" (life and spirit) gives you an idea of what was the most advanced city in the western world around 1000 AD. 500 000 people, 300 public baths, the greatest library in the world etc. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GyfGdpF55Uk

Malaga is my favourite city in the region after intensive traveling here the past fourteen years: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/de...pt-secret.html

theecoquest

For the Spanish cities you mention the train is feasible for all these routes. The trains in Spain are great, spacious, lots of room for luggage and good bargains can be had if you book your tickets in advance: this is the local train site: http://www.renfe.com/EN/viajeros/
It is even possible to take the train to Algeciras from Seville (5hrs) if you really want to do a boat trip over to Morocco you can squeeze this all in without having to rent a car.

Depending on the route you take another option would be to hire a car when you get to Malaga, taking the toll road along the costa del sol is a very easy drive, you could reach Algeciras (1hr 40) or Tarifa this way for the crossing to Morocco or take advantage of the car by driving up into the white villages for a true Andalusian experience, there is a nice route you can do passing 3/4 different villages in a day inc: Gaucin, Jimena de La Frontera, Casares. Or if you want to experience a bit of the UK in southern spain you could pop into Gibraltar (leave car on the border and taxi across)

Malaga is a fantastic city, so many visitors overlook Malaga and simply use it as a landing spot to go elsewhere but it is full of history, has an up and coming arts and dining scene with some good accommodation options.

In addition to Cordoba, Ronda is also a nice city for a day trip (connected by train)

When in Granda in addition to the Alhambra a session at the hamman is wonderful, especially if you go late at night, but make sure you book your slot in advance. http://www.hammamalandalus.com/en/

Hope you have a fantastic time, Spain is such a wonderful country and all the destinations you have chosen are super.

chatty409

Thanks for all the comments. Robert1533 - We will be arriving on the 12th of September and will have 10 days. Want to end in Seville as our friends will be flying home from there and we will be heading to the military base (Rota) to fly home from there hopefully. We have been to Barcelona before (only one day) so we have done some of those sights. We could skip Madrid but we were hoping to do an overview of the different areas. Want to see main highlights if possible. Hopefully some day we will get back to Spain but the future is always uncertain.
Regarding the train, saw that you can buy one country pass using the saver ticket. Is this a good thing? Can you use the high speed train?
Trying to come up with an itinerary before we get there since we don't have that much time. So any recommendations is truly appreciated. Only have so much time to research and I am a little overwhelmed.

thursdaysd

For train info go to: http://seat61.com/Spain-trains.htm#

I don't drive in Europe, but I don't take much luggage either. If you have a lot it may be easier to drive.

bilboburgler

Malaga to Granada catch the bus

http://www.andalucia.com/cities/gran...ting-there.htm

Cordoba and Seville are both easy to get to from Malaga by train