Mary

Does this even make sense and can anyone offer suggestions if it doesn't? Flying from NYC to Malaga on Fri. Arrive Sat. and spend the day around our condo in Mijas Costa and Malaga. Sun. go to Nerja for the day. Mon. spend in Ronda. Tues. and Wed. go to Granada coming back to the Condo each nite. Check out of the condo Thur. and spend the nite in Seville. Fri. we're still in Seville, but go to Cordoba in the afternoon and spend the nite. Drop our car off when we get to Seville and take the AVE to Madrid early Sat. morning. Take the bus to Toledo for the day. Back to Madrid for the nite and home Sun. Believe me, I know we rushing everything, but thats all the time we have. Can we do it? Will it kill us. Also, does anyone know of reasonably priced hotels near the Madrid airport? Also, can we get the AVE in Cordoba or only Seville? I really need your help. I will check the Spain thread here, but if anyone can help I'd really appreciate it.

mary

I'm topping this.

patg

This itinerary is so foriegn to my way of thinking about Spain that I hardly feel competent to reply. Have you considered your day by day hours traveling vs. relaxing while on this schedule? I have been to southern Spain 5 times and haven't seen as many places as you are planning on for a week. Pick 2 spots for their special appeal, stay and enjoy the relaxation and the special flavor of Andalucia. It is a vacation, isn't it?

Carmen

With that itinerary you'll spend more time in cars, busses and trains than seeing beautiful places.<BR>If you only have 1 week, limit yourself to 2 or 3 places, Sevilla, C&oacute;rdoba or Granada and Madrid. Skip Toledo (it's great but you don't have enough time).

Maira

Mary--- your itinerary is way loaded with opportunities for something going wrong and maybe, ruining the rest of the vacation. Spain is meant to be enjoyed at a much slower pace. It is not the kind of place to say "being there, done that". <BR><BR>The condo in "Mijas Costa and Malaga": where exactly is the condo? <BR><BR>You need more time in Seville, otherwise, why bother go there?<BR><BR>What month are you going?

Mary

Thanks for all the advice. The condo is in Mijas costa and we're going the middle of October. We waqnted to use the condo as a base to do day trips as I'm not really a beach person. We know we want to go to Seville and will have to stay in a hotel there. So should we just include Granada for 2 days? That should still leave us with 2 days to see something besides the area around the condo. Any suggestions? Thanks

patg

Your idea of using the condo as a base strikes me as a false economy. If traveling to and from such a place takes a big bite out of your short vacation time, what is the advantage? Go and enjoy the things that strike you as "must sees." Leave time to discover the perfect tapas bar. Set aside the rest; it's been there for hundreds of years and will be there when you return.

Mary

I usually appreciate and more importantly understand the advice I recieve on this site. Not so this time. The condo is free, thats why we decided to go in the first place. I see people asking for day trip advice (and getting it) on Fodors all the time. It sounds like you are telling me if I'm not willing to spend 2 or 3 days everywhere I want to see I shouldn't bother going. And by the way, vacations mean different things to different people. I don't like to lay on the beach for more then a day. Show me an old church or quaint shopping district-I'm a perfect tourist, and I always come home from a vacation needing to rest. That, lucky for me I can do at home. So since most of you don't think I should venture to far from where I'm staying, is there anywhere close by that we can do as a day trip. We're still going to Seville for 2 days,and getting a hotel room there. Any suggestions?

Daniel

From Mijas, two miles inland from Fuengirola at the Costa del Sol, you may take day trips to Marbella, Gibraltar, Ronda, the white village of Casares and lots of others less famous.

Mary

Thanks Daniel, How about Nerja? On my map it looks close and in Frommers it sounds close, but so did every place else we considered as places we'd like to see. Are the roads that bad, that we should allow double the expected driving time?

Paula

Hi Mary,<BR>We used a condo at the Marriott in Marbella for our base for a week and it was great. One thing I would suggest is to do Alhambra as a day trip--it's very managable. We also did Nerja as a day trip, and that was even closer. Both are well worth your time. If it were me, I'd spend more time in Serville and do Madrid etc. another time. I think this would be very managable and a great trip.

Paula

P.S. You still would have time for Ronda, as that's easily a day trip too.<BR>

Robert

I was in Spain last September and October. I am not a beach person either so I would only want to stay on the coast if the condo was free! (Lucky you)<BR>I do somewhat agree with some of the "help" you are getting but I also believe that YOU DO KNOW what is best for your vacation.<BR>I do suggest more time in Seville and I heartily suggest the Hosteria Del Laurel as a place to stay. Wonderful older hotel right in the middle of the old part of the city only a short walk from the Giralda (And a GREAT restaurant in the hotel too) We spent four nights in Seville and I wish it had been 10.<BR>Casares is where we stayed most of the rest of the time. A small village about 13km from the coast. Great place to visit and taste the real Spain, including eating dinner in Anna's house (Just ask around town)<BR>Ronda is really a treat if you take the time to walk around and the old palace is now a beautiful museum. Very lively for a museum.<BR>In October there is now a "Flamenco Festival" in Seville. Also there is the wonderful Andalucian Folk Center in the Santa Cruz district that often has folk music and dancing from the crossed cultures of the Moors and the Spanish.<BR>The Alhambra is one of those places where a day trip is great and two days would be great as well! We did in fact drive from Casares and back (Needed to pick up a friend flying in from Tunis at Malaga) in one day and we loved it...and that was with our 8 year old daughter!<BR>I also believe that I would forgo Madrid and just take a day trip to Cordoba from Seville. In Seville forget the car! I am very happy to have gotten that advice from someone on this forum before we went. Too difficult to park and to drive in Seville and taxis, buses, trains are great there.<BR>I am not a fan of Nerja. I would rather spend some time in the OLD PART of Estepona or driving to Jimenez de la Frontera and the country around there. Friendly rural areas where they raise quite a few bulls. Those mountains are beautiful in fall. Fact is that is a beautiful way to drive to Seville, via the National Forest through Jimenez, Ubrique, Grazelema, etc. <BR>Have a great time and have some rabbit stew!

Mary

Rabbit stew! Sounds interesting. I'm going to check out Cesares. We were not planning on going to Madrid, just flying into an out of there. Thats where seeing Toledo came from. I think I need to check out open jaw flights landing in Malaga and leaving from Seville. That way we can leave Seville for last, check out of the condo a few days early, drop off the car when we get to Seville and take the train to Cordoba for a day trip. Robert, 2 questions. Can I find the Hosteria Del Laurel anywhere on the web, and why aren't you a fan of Nerjas? I knew nothing about it, but people on Fodors rave about it. I hope you see this and can answer. Ands thanks again to all of you that gave me such good advice.

Christie

Mary, <BR>Two summers ago, we did what you did in about 10 days. Except we did not go to Nerja.<BR>We loved Rhonda but found Mijas rather touristy. If you have/want to skip a place skip Mijas...It is quite similar to Rhonda but less historic and less intersting. They donkeys on the post cards seem to be just for the post cards. Also the ride up there on the bus can give you sickness if you are not able to do well with windy roads. <BR>We stayed one nighte in Seville and loved it. It was very hot there though. (August)Watch out for taxi rip off in Madrid. The smaller and junkier they are the cheaper they are. My husband made the mistake of hopping into a mercedes Taxi at the airport. We paid 3X what we paid later to get back in a small white import vehicle. WE were only in Madrid for about 6 hours. I agree that if you feel you can cover this much ground then GO FOR IT. I don't think it will kill you.