zwho

I can't find the exact info I need and I have looked here, Frommers guide, slow trav.com and Rick Steves Spain & Portugal. So, I have tried! We (4 women) are flying into Malaga on 9/12, early afternoon. We fly home from Malaga the following Tuesday the 19th. We think driving's our best bet, but we need an itinerary that will work for 4, 50 somethings who want to seize every moment, but not run ourselves into the ground! Can someone please critique and add their own ideas to this VERY preliminary plan.
Tuesday- arrive in Malaga, early afternoon, get car, drop off luggage and walk around Malaga near the Cathedral or go to Picasso Museum. OR, drive to Marbella, hang out in the old historic part, early dinner and to bed.
Wednesday- Gibraltor, spend the day. Back to the Costa del sol and have dinner at one of the coastal resort towns. Any ideas?
Thursday- Drive to Sevilla, see what we can, go to a Flamenco performance that night.
Friday- ????
Heres my problem. If we want to definately see Cordoba, Granada, Ronda and Nerja, how do we proceed? Is there a smart way to do it? I'm sure Nerja is our last stop Monday, before we fly home, cause its closest to Malaga, but where do we go from Sevilla? Hope someone has some ideas that are practical? And PLEASE, no one needs to tell me to ONLY spend our time in Sevilla. This WILL BE a driving trip. We would like to use as few places as bases as we can, but how? Yes, I already know we will only touch the surface of each of these magical places, but its my 2nd time going there and hopefully my friends will get to go back again, so no lectures about how we spend our time, just advice on how to CRAM as much Spain into our days there, without killing ourselves. If I sound defensive its because the 1st time I went, thats what most of the advice centered around. That we should slow down. Well, we couldn't and we didn't, and we had a great time. The difference is, this visit, we have less time, so I hope someone can help. Thanks in advance.

lucielou

topping

annhig

For distances between your proposed destinations, try Via-michelin.com - it will give you driving times as well. Having arrives at Malaga and hired a car, allow plenty of time to pick it up and find your way out of the airport. My suggestion would be to drive into Malaga, and spend the rest of the day there, to acclimatize - it's very pretty, has a great market [perhaps better the next morning,] terrific bars, and of course the Picasso museum.
From Malaga, you have the choice to go up to Granada first, and work your way anti-clockwise round your chosen destinations, or to go the other way. As Gib would not be a priority, I'd start off with Granada, then Cordoba, Seville, Ronda, and back to Malaga. In December, you will not need to make hotel reservations, [though it would be sensible to make one for the first night] so when you are fed up with one place, you can move onto the next. Or not!Good luck!

zwho

Annhig, Thank you so much for the great advice. It makes lots of sense. One question. We are planning on driving, but I know from prior experience that parking can be terrible for day trips, where we can't leave the car at the hotel. Do you know of any car services. Not a tour guide, just a driver with a car that can take us and pick us up on day trips. Thanks.

Chele60

Annhig gives great advice on the counter-clockwise circle through Andalucia. If Gibraltor were a must see for you, you could skip Ronda and take the coastal route from Seville through Gibraltor, but you can figure that out from here.

As far as parking goes, your toughest hurdle is going to be Seville. It depends on where you will be staying, though. If in the Barrio, try to secure a spot in one of the car parks that are close to the edge. You will have to pay for parking, but you can the car there for the duration of your stay.

We did 2+ weeks in Spain via driving, and while parking can be a bit tedious, it isn't overwhelming. We used the rental we had everywhere we went, including daytrips, so I'm a bit confused by your question.