Traveller51

My DW and DD (23) will be traveling to Spain for 9 nights around Easter 2015. We will be flying in and out of Madrid and can take the train to Cordoba or Seville.

1. How many nights should we plan for each city.

2. I would probably rent a car to drive to Grenada. Do we have time to drive to any of the towns in Andalucía such as Jerez and Ronda

3. Should I avoid Seville on Holy Thursday and Good Friday because of the crowds. If so we can start in Cordoba.

Thanks

Robert2533

You'll find crowds at all three destination during Holy Week. I wold avoid a car and take the train or bus. Parking in Sevilla, Granada and Ronda are tight, Cordoba's okay.

It's high season and some hotels require a minimum stay, so plan well in advance.

kja

"How many nights should we plan for each city." -- that really depends on your interests! FWIW, I thought Sevilla needed 4 full days: Cordoba 2 full days; Granada at least 1.5, and better, 2 full days; and Ronda just under 1 full day. My time didn't include the events, or crowds, surrounding Holy Week.

I agree with Robert -- try to avoid renting a car. You don't need one and it would be a decided encumbrance.

It's a great part of the world - enjoy!

kimhe

And be aware that Semana Santa/Holy Week is extremely serious business down here, devotion and fiesta hand in hand almost 24/7 for the whole week. Everybody out on the streets, magnificent processions all around in even the smallest villages, food and wine all around. Sevilla from Holy Thursday through the night and well into Good Friday afternoon is the highlight of it all (the "Madrugá"). So if you want the Semana Santa experience, this is the time and place. This Telegraph article should give you a very good idea: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/de...and-guide.html

Momddtravel2

We just spent time in Madrid, Granada, Sevilla and Ronda. I did rent a car in Granada and drive to Ronda and spent 2 nights there. Driving in any of the cities/towns was pretty stressful for me. I would do it over again as we loved Ronda and I would like to see more of region that you cannot get to on a train.

I would be set up what you *want to do and then go from there on the amount of time in each city. We spent 4 nights in Madrid, 2 in Granada, 2 in Ronda and 4 in Sevilla.
I could have done one less in Madrid and one less in Sevilla - I have found from reading the boards it is really highly personal as everyone seems to have different ideas about the amount of time in each place..sorry not to be of more help.

kja

Just to be clear -- Ronda itself can be visited without a car, as it has both rail and bus connections to other cities. Its the rest of the surrounding area for which one would need a car.

Momddtravel2

KJA - I knew you could take a bus but did not think you could take a train to Ronda...

kja

At least when I went -- which was in 2004, and so things could easily have changed - I traveled by train from Granada to Ronda and then by bus from Ronda to Sevilla.

Momddtravel2

Oh wow KJA - somehow I completely missed that... I don't think I would have rented a car in Granada and drove to Ronda..it was a little stressful for me.

kja

@ Momddtravel2 -- yes, it's one of those things covered in some of the better guidebooks, but not in others, and travel forums won't necessarily provide answers to unasked questions. BUT you survived!

CGS

We are also just back from that region. We had a car and it had pluses and minuses. DH did most of the driving. I was OK on the highways but had a hard time in the cities and gave him back the wheel. It is definitely difficult. But we were glad we had it as we enjoyed doing some "off the beaten track" touring in between cities that would otherwise have been impossible, and it also enabled us to keep a cooler in the car with water, fruit and sandwiches for long car trips.

We spent one day/night in Cordoba, 2 days/3 nights in Granada, 2 days getting from Granada to Ronda, seeing Ronda and the pueblos blancos, and then getting to Seville, with 1 night in Ronda in between those 2 days, 2.5 days/3 nights in Seville. I would have liked another day/night in the Ronda region and another day/night in Seville. 1.5 days in Granada would have been enough if only seeing the city - we went on a great hike in the Sierra Nevadas for the other half day. I agree it is highly subjective. Seville is big and it takes time to get from one thing to another, so you need to leave time for that. Plus you have to check the hours things are open. Even if it seems like the time you have allotted should be enough, it may not be if things are closed part of the time you are there. Virtually everything in Seville except the Alcazar and Cathedral closes from 2-5, and the Cathedral has it's own strange hours, especially on Sundays and Mondays. I'm sure this advice should be multiplied exponentially for Holy Week!

Traveller51

Thank you all for your helpful comments. Is Semana Santa/Holy Week as big in Cordoba and Granada as it is in Seville.