BHull

My husband and I would like to enjoy the Andulusia area of Spain. Our timeline is one to two months - probably February and part of March. We want to spend time in Madrid before we come home but the remainder of the holiday will be in and around Seville, Cordoba and Granada.

We have time to spend at least 1 week in each area. We'd like to stay in one city but out of the city in the other 2. We do not want to stay in hotels, prefer to rent through VRBO or another site.

My questions to get started: should we rent a car or travel by bus? which city should we stay in and which would be served by countryside accommodation?

Thanks in advance
Barbara

kimhe

Perhaps rent a car after you've stayed in your preferred city, no need for a car in Sevilla, Córdoba or Granada. More a hassle, and excellent public transportation in all of the area.

Not very much "countryside accommodation" close to neither Seviila, Córdoba or Granada, but of course you have towns/villages not very far away. Some ideas: Carmona in the Sevilla region, and Alhama de Granada in the Granada region.
Carmona: http://www.spain.info/en/que-quieres...s/carmona.html
Alhama de Granada:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/de...d-of-town.html
http://www.theguardian.com/money/200...vercashsection

Guadix might also be an interesting option close to Granada: http://www.spain.info/en/que-quieres...os/guadix.html

In February/March, I would also consider staying in the milder Málaga region at the Mediterranean coast. Antequera is an idea, but plenty of small villages not far from the coast that are not crowded with tourists. http://www.andaluciacoastandcountry....era-spain.html
http://www.andaluciacoastandcountry.com/tapaspain.html

Málaga city itself, by the coast some 30 mins away from Antequera, "Picasso's city of hidden treasures". Three thousand years old Phoenician Malaka: http://www.theguardian.com/travel/20...-breaks-travel

nytraveler

We toured the area by car, found it very convenient and had no trouble finding a place to keep the car (all of our hotels had garages or free parking). We stayed in sevilla, Cordoba, Granada and near Marbella - also visiting Gibraltar (do NOT bother) Ronda, cadiz and ubeda.

screen_name_taken

I agree with nytraveler - my husband and I drove from Madrid to Cordoba, Granada, Jaen. Never a problem with parking as hotels provided. And we were able to stop whenever we wanted. Absolutely a lovely trip.

BHull

Thankyou for your suggestions. Flights from Canada, in the winter months, generally fly to Malaga. We think our plan should be to rent a car, spent approx. 1 month in 2 or 3 locations in Andalusia. In that way we could stay in smaller towns if we choose to do that. We could then take the train to Madrid for a week and do day trips from there or take the car and drop it off in Madrid. Return by train to Malaga to fly home.

BHull

I have used VRBO for weekly/monthly rentals in the Us and Canada, also in Paris. Can anyone offer other sites that offer rental accommodation? thanks

Momddtravel2

I used Spain Select for both Madrid and Seville - we are in the middle of our trip and have been exceptionally pleased with their service and our apartment in Madrid (we have not arrived in Seville yet).

http://www.spain-select.com/en_US