Southern Spain
Dec 17th, 2014, 05:44 PM
#1
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Southern Spain
My husband got tired of me 'thinking' about this trip so he has booked a flight to Madrid and accommodation in Benalmadena. We are staying at the apartment for the first week of March. During this time we'd like to visit Seville and other towns in the area. We will go to Granada at the end of the week as we wend our way back to Madrid. We are in our energetic, early 70s, enjoy history and art. We would like to use public transportation if possible but could rent a car. Any suggestions for things to do, see, and how to get there would be very appreciated.
Dec 17th, 2014, 06:21 PM
#3
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Benalmádena is a hideous concrete beach resort. It has two parts, B-Costa on the sea and B-Pueblo inland, but the two are pretty continuous. Not the best base for exploring historic cities of Granada and Seville, as the one-way journey is around 2-3 hours. Much better to split your time, like 2-3 days in Granada and the rest in Seville, travelling by bus or train between them. From Madrid, you are in Seville by high-speed train in 2.5 hours.
Dec 17th, 2014, 07:43 PM
#4
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Cancel Benalmadena and stay in Seville and also stay in Granada. Evenings in Seville are lovely and the Alhambra is worth two visits - day and evening. You would spend way too much time traveling back and fourth and not much time enjoying the best places. Stay a couple of nights in Madrid and visit Toledo and see the great Toledo cathedral. It is only about 30 minutes by train from Madrid. For Seville, Granada, Cordoba, Madrid and Toledo, you would not need a car. Driving into those cities is a pain, as is parking. Trains are fast and easy. Taxis are cheap.
Dec 17th, 2014, 10:24 PM
#5
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Sassafrass has given you some great advice. Please consult a good guidebook or two -- I recommend the Rough Guide for this part of the world, but almost anything will serve you better than whatever you've used so far. ;-) Good luck!
Dec 18th, 2014, 12:56 AM
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The high speed AVE train takes you from Madrid to three wonderful Andalucian cities; to Cordoba, once the most advanced city in Europe, in 1h 40 min - to Sevilla, the undisputed queen of the cities in the South, in 2h 30 mins - and to wonderful Malaga city by the Med, also in 2h 30 mins. Granada, with the Alhambra, is 90 mins by bus from Malaga.
Cordoba: http://www.theguardian.com/spanish-t...-changed-world
Sevilla: http://www.exploreseville.com/
Malaga: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/journalis...pleasures.html
Cordoba: http://www.theguardian.com/spanish-t...-changed-world
Sevilla: http://www.exploreseville.com/
Malaga: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/journalis...pleasures.html
Dec 18th, 2014, 05:28 AM
#7
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I will look into cancelling Benalmadena. I don't know know why husband booked it because he doesn't like large places. If we still wanted a few days near the ocean would Malaga be the best place. Seems to me we would have better transportation from there. We don't need to include Granada in the Malaga part. We intend to spend 2 nights there and 2 nights in Toledo before returning to Madrid.
Dec 18th, 2014, 05:32 AM
#8
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Thanks Ozarksbill. I did read your excellent trip report and thought about following your route. However, we had the base on the Med booked. Now I'm really not wanting to go there. I think I need to prepare a very nice dinner and sit down to discuss this with the planner. I usually do the planning and don't run into these issues.
Dec 18th, 2014, 06:12 AM
#9
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Hold on. Our tour was based in Torremolinos not far from Benalmadena, both coastal resort towns for Europeans. But from our locale we toured Ronda, Malaga...and if stuck with a reservation you could still get to Granada, Sevilla I would think.
Dec 18th, 2014, 06:30 AM
#10
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Forget the change. It cannot be changed so I'll just have to get over it. Many women would be happy to have a husband book and pay for something. I'll make sure I book something more charming in Granada and Toledo. So we will be arriving at Benalmadena on Sat. February 28th. I would welcome suggestions about what to do/see before we leave on March 7th. Public transportation/car rental or a combination?
Dec 18th, 2014, 12:11 PM
#11
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A few hours have passed and I have come to terms with the fact that we will be in Benalmadena. Part of this is because I always take my husband on a 'forced march'. When we leave Benalmadena we have 7 nights before flying home. We will probably book 3 nights in Toledo so that we can go back into Madrid if we choose to do that. We will spend 2 nights in Granada. That leaves us 2 more. Suggestions?
Also since I don't like hotels (and I have 2 nights in Madrid and 7 in this coastal apartment place) I'd like small, quaint, could be an apt. for the other nights. Suggestions?
Also since I don't like hotels (and I have 2 nights in Madrid and 7 in this coastal apartment place) I'd like small, quaint, could be an apt. for the other nights. Suggestions?
Dec 18th, 2014, 02:44 PM
#12
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Benalmádena is very far from the worst place to be in by the end of February/early March, quite the contrary. You've got the wonderful Med, the old town and a fairly laid-back pace in general.
Lots of Brits/Europeans, but many of those you meet in February/March are often well on their way to become true Andalucians as good as anyone. In fact, this is the lure of this part of Spain. http://www.andalucia.com/benalmadena/home.htm
And you are very close to wonderful Malaga city itself, Genuine and underrated.
Lots of Brits/Europeans, but many of those you meet in February/March are often well on their way to become true Andalucians as good as anyone. In fact, this is the lure of this part of Spain. http://www.andalucia.com/benalmadena/home.htm
And you are very close to wonderful Malaga city itself, Genuine and underrated.
Dec 19th, 2014, 05:41 AM
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When in Benalmadena, you should go to Resraturante La Fuente in the charming Plaza de España in Benalmadena Pueblo. Reservation is a must.
http://www.aicorestaurants.com/index...estaurant.html
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restauran...Andalucia.html
http://www.aicorestaurants.com/index...estaurant.html
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restauran...Andalucia.html
Dec 20th, 2014, 11:18 AM
#19
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the last part of my question has become very disjointed. I am looking to rent a small apartment (VRBO perhaps). 3 nights in Granada, 3 nights in Toledo. Any suggestions would be welcome.
B
B
Dec 20th, 2014, 12:17 PM
#20
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If you want to rent something from VRBO, you'll have to go online and find out what's available within your budget and time line. You should also note the check in and check out times. Unlike hotels, you may not be able to check in until later in the afternoon and have to be out by 10:00.
For Granada: www.vrbo.com/218695
For Toledo: www.vrbo.com/1473558ha
For Granada: www.vrbo.com/218695
For Toledo: www.vrbo.com/1473558ha
