Bob4

My wife and I are going to Spain next year, either March 13-26 or March 20-April 2. We fly to Madrid on Iberia and take the AVE train to Seville, rent a car and drive to Ronda (prehistoric cave paintings as well as Ronda itself), ending up in Cordoba, and return to Madrid by train, spending 3-4 days in each place. I am especially interested in two questions: 1) Is it better to be in Seville and the surrounding area during Holy Week or the week after; 2)What's a good drive from Seville to Ronda to Cordoba, and how long should we allow.

Thanks in advance for any information and suggestions.

--Bob

kaudrey

Hi Bob,

I'll try to help a little. I drove from Sevilla to Ronda. Take the route that goes through the pueblos blancos - you can stop at Arcos de la Frontera, Grazelema or others on the way. It is a beautifull drive. I believe this drive took about 2 hours, not counting stops. Alternatively, since you have a few days in Ronda, you can go directly via a highway from Sevilla insteadd, and use one of your days in Ronda to tour around the white towns. BTW - I LOVED Ronda. It is such a picturesque setting.

Just my opinion, but I'm not sure there's enough to do in Cordoba to stay 3 or 4 days - I stopped there for 1/2 a day on the way from Madrid to Sevilla. With the car, you could day trip to Toledo from there.

I was not there during Holy Week, but I have heard that if you are going to be in Spain for Holy Week, Sevilla is the place to be.

Hope this helps a little.
Karen

Bedar

3-4 days in Ronda are too many. 2 days in Cordoba are enough. Yes, it's best to be in Seville for Semana Santa (the week before Easter). Do remember that the rest of the world will be there, too, so make your reservations NOW. Semana Santa and the Feria de Abril (two weeks later) are the ultra high season, so when you look at hotels and prices, look for those rates, not just 'high season' rates.

TopMan

I wholheartedly agree that being in Seville during Holy Week is memorable AND the absolute necessity of booming accommodations for that period NOW (as in five minutes ago)..have a great trip whatever you decide.

TopMan

Ooops...sorry..yes, those accommodations will BE "booming" and you should be BOOKING!

NEDSIRELAND

Easter, 2005 is 27 March. Most of the Semana Santa processions in Sevilla are Thursday or Friday (Thurs. nite into Fri. for la Virgen de la Macarena). That's 24 & 25 Mar. One year we took an early AVE from Madrid, caught an 'Exterior loop' bus from Santa Justa station, and got to el Portal de la Macarena around 10:30 AM. The Procession returned to the Basilica starting around 11:00 AM. It left around midnight Thurs. It was nice: Gitanos singing to the Virgen from the balconies as the statue passed ...

If you're flying Iberia, why don't you save the hassle of getting to & from la Puerta de Atocha and tell the people at Iberia that your destination is Sevilla. I think they'll allow you a stayover in Madrid on your return. It would be less expensive than AVE (65 Euro each way Tourist Class w/a small discount if you buy R/T tickets).

People at the Renfe Office in Madrid's Barajas airport don't seem to want to advise people of discounts available. They would rather sell you full fare one way tix. If you go by AVE, ask for a discount for Ida y Vuelta. them.

marigross

Semana Santa is big all over Spain, not only in Sevilla. Three years ago we had a hard time finding a hotel in Ronda on holy Tuesday. Thank God we had made reservations in Granada for Wednesday and Thursday or we might have had to sleep in the car. Yes, it was that crowded! Driving is going to be tricky since most old towns close in the early afternoon to prepare for the processions. Now, this is a sight to be seen! Very impressive even if you are not catholic. Bottomline - the towns around Sevilla will be equally busy as the city itself so be prepared

We loved Ronda and could have stayed longer than we did (two nights). We stayed in Cordoba two nights as well and it was just about enough.

artlover

We were in Seville during Semana Santa and I advise you that not only do you have to make hotel reservations long in advance (and you will pay more), but train reservation as well.

I'm wondering if you'd be able to fly open-jaw--into Madrid and then out of Malaga--this would save you having to take the train back to Madrid.

I also agree with Kaudry about Cordoba--I loved visiting, but think you could either do this as a day trip from Seville or else 2 nights and add another night to either Seville or Madrid (with maybe a day trip to Toledo or Segovia).