10 nights in Southern Spain: Itinerary & Questions
 

Greetings all,

We are a family of 3 adults planning a trip to southern Spain for 10 nights in middle of October 2015, after a week visiting the Amalfi Coast in Italy. This will be our first trip to Spain. Because we are using frequent flyer miles for the trip, we were limited in the dates/cities of travel. Our international flights are into and out of Rome.

After perusing many helpful trip reports and posts here, we have come up with the following itinerary.

Day 1: Direct flight from Naples to Barcelona on Vueling
Day 2: Barcelona
Day 3: Barcelona
Day 4: Direct flight to Granada on Vueling
Day 5: Granada (Alhambra)
Day 6: Rent a car at Granada train station (Auto Europe) and drive to Ronda
Day 7: Ronda (hikes in the area?)
Day 8: Drive to Seville (drop off the car at Seville train station)
Day 9: Seville
Day 10: Seville or day trip to Cordoba
Day 11: Direct flight to Rome on Ryanair (Could spend another day in Seville and fly to Rome the following day as all three of us have been to Rome)
Day 12: Rome
Day 13: International flight home in the evening

We try to spend at least 3 nights at a place, but there is so much we would like to see / do during our time, so admittedly this itinerary is a bit hectic. I realize that travel preferences are very personal, but if there are areas we should consider that we have not thought of--and in a similar vein, areas we should reconsider and omit because they are repetitive, too out of the ways, or do not go well with the rest of the itinerary--we would welcome your views.

Aside from the Alhambra, and perhaps the Mezquita in Cordoba, we are not set on seeing a particular site / city. We are looking forward to seeing places of natural / scenic beauty, places of culture, and enjoying the food we have heard so much about. We would like to limit our hotel / apartment costs to around 140-150 euros per night if we can.

We would welcome any and all recommendations, particularly on specific places of accomodations. We are considering renting an apartment in both Barcelona and Seville. (I have been looking at Habitat Apartments for Barcelona, Hotel Monte Triana in Seville as a starting point).

Thank you and look forward to your replies!

Since your flight home is in the evening, couldn't you fly to Rome that morning ? Would give you a couple of extra days in Spain.

Although it depends, of course, on your interests, it seems to me that you are giving yourself VERY little time in either Barcelona or Sevilla. I think deferring your flight to Rome as long as possible (while still ensuring timely arrival for your flight home) is a good idea. A much more radical idea would be to defer Barcelona for a separate trip so you have more time in Andalusia. Just a thought.

Dear Bedar and kja, thanks for your helpful replies. I think it is a good idea to add another day to Seville, so we will plan on flying to Rome a day later. Kja, if we cut one city from the itinerary, any particular reason why you recommend cutting Barcelona? Considering the rest of our itinerary, which includes a week in the Amalfi Coast, between Barcelona and Ronda (area), which would you cut? We were considering spending only 5 days on the Amalfi Coast, which would have freed up two more days for Spain, but the flights on Vueling from Naples to Barcelona are significantly more expensive on the date we wanted to fly--hence the 7 days on the Amalfi Coast.

"Kja, if we cut one city from the itinerary, any particular reason why you recommend cutting Barcelona?"

The main reason I suggested cutting Barcelona is because it is furthest from the other places in Spain that you said you want to see. Granada, Ronda, Sevilla, and Cordoba are all in Andalusia and make a nice set, IMO -- just similar enough to truly appreciate their differences.

AND Barcelona could take much more time than some of your other destinations. I'm currently planning nearly 5 days there (not counting day trips) and am finding it difficult to find a way to see everything I want to see. In contrast, the combination of Granada, Ronda, Sevilla, and Cordoba is, IMO, much better suited to a 10-day loop.

"between Barcelona and Ronda (area), which would you cut?"

As already indicated, Barcelona. I thoroughly enjoyed Ronda, thought it well worth 1 night, and can understand that you might want to give it one more night if the hiking options suit your family's needs (although I went into Las Alpujarras instead for a day of hiking). Substituting a major distant city with a wealth of attractions for a small, gorgeously situated one that fits better with your itinerary doesn't make much sense to me in light of your time frames. Again, JMO.

"We were considering spending only 5 days on the Amalfi Coast"

But that, IMO, would mean shortchanging the Amalfi Coast. With only 7 days there, you are already going to need to make some difficult decisions about your time there.

And frankly, if you added 2 days to Spain, I would still recommend cutting Barcelona in favor of one of the cities on the Costa del Sol, which is still in Andalusia (and so fits well with your itinerary there), would be different from anything else you plan on seeing in Andalusia (because they are on the coast), and would make sense as a 2-day addition to your journey (again, in contrast to Barcelona, which I think merits more time). Truth in advertising, though: I haven't yet been to Andalusia's Costa del Sol yet -- much as I wish I had!

Whatever you decide, you will see some wonderful things!

Kja, very helpful. Thanks. I agree that Barcelona is the most geographically distant from the others, and I understand your point about cutting it. We will have to make some hard choices, but agree that we will be experiencing some wonderful things! Do you think renting the car in Granada to use in the area around Ronda makes sense? I will take a look into Las Alpujarras--don't know it.

"Do you think renting the car in Granada to use in the area around Ronda makes sense?"

You don't need a car to get to Ronda -- train from Granada, bus to Sevilla. I don't know how convenient the current schedules are. If you want to see any of the other white villages, a car could be helpful; depends on what you want to do. You might check the Rough Guide for some quick insights into transportation options.

For my time in Las Alpujarras, I spent just one night in Capileira, which I reached by an absolutely terrifying bus ride from Granada. I took time for a long hike on the afternoon I arrived and then a shorter hike the next morning. I returned to Granada by bus, leaving Capileira mid-day. Thankfully, the return wasn't quite as scary. :-)

Granada and the Alhambra was our favorite part of Spain. Be sure to reserve tickets.

I also really enjoyed Barcelona (although it's very different from Granada!), but I haven't been to Ronda, so I can't recommend one over the other. Our other favorite stop in Spain was Montserrat, which is outside of Barcelona. (If it helps any, one of us is Catholic and one is not.)

We enjoyed Sevilla, especially the cathedral, and we went to see a flamenco show while we were there. We saw the Mezquita in Cordoba on our way from Granada to Sevilla. I was a little disappointed by it, after some of the lovely cathedrals we saw elsewhere in Spain. I would not go out of my way to see it on an already short schedule, but others may feel differently.

You should either bring a smart phone and plan to use its GPS or bring a very good map to Sevilla - we did not have smart phones when we went and got pretty lost trying to find our hotel.

Don't miss the Alcazar in Seville. We liked it better than the Alhambra, maybe because it's more colorful and because it merges European gardens with Moorish architecture. And I wouldn't give the Mezquita a miss. It's very striking in its own way.

Loved both Seville and Granada.

Gotta agree with skipping Barcelona this trip. We are there right now and there's so much to see, it would take weeks.

I was a little underwhelmed with the Alpujarras. They are ok but nothing special, especially compared to the white villages around Grazalema, Zahara de la Sierra etc, which are truly beautiful and a little more modern in terms of food and way of life (but still very traditional).

There is a great hike accessible from Ronda on the train/bus, and with only one full day at your disposal, I really don't think you need the car.
http://www.andalucia.com/rural/walking/railway.htm

Thank you all for the wonderful suggestions. One additional question about booking internal flights, mostly on Vueling. I noticed that the fare for the exact same itinerary can vary significantly based the date (particularly for departures on weekends), and one of the international legs on Vueling seems unusually expensive for the date we want to fly. For flights in October, is there a good chance that the fare may drop between now and then. Or is more likely the fare will increase as the high price indicates that seats are almost full and the price will only go up, not down. On their web site, I cannot tell how many seats are available. I would appreciate hearing about your experiences booking on Vueling or Ryanair.