A little help with an itinary for southern spain
 

Hi all!

I'm planning my trip to southern Spain and here is my current itinary

Seville - 3 nights (figured I'd by tired from the trip from CA)
Cordoba - 1 night
Granada - 2 nights
Ronda - 2 nights

But I'm wondering if I should cut a day from either Ronda or Seville and spend it in Ronda and see more sights. So I'm wondering if Cordoba justifies two days.

Any advice would be good.

Thanks

Beth

1 day is (more than) enough for Cordoba,IMO.

Not sure what you are cutting and adding here, but your itinerary sounds fine to me.

I found 1 day in Cordoba to be enough, having spent it mostly in the Mesquita and Juderia (loved both), but others may prefer more time there.

Around Ronda, you might see other white villages, if you find yourself with too much time. Olvera is not to far and is absolutely breathtaking, IMO.

Add a day to Seville to day trip to Cordova.

thanks everyone!

Opps, had a typo in my original post, I was wondering if I needed more than a day in Cordoba. It sounds like I don't though -- thanks for the advice on that.

I have an extra day now. I was wondering if it made sense to add it to Granada or Ronda.

I actually want to go see the Flamingos which are near Malaga. Has anyone done that too?

Thanks

Beth

I would agree with Viajero2, depending on your itinerary. Your sequence seems a bit strange, you are going in a circle. If you choose more of a "straight line" : Sevilla, Ronda, Granada, then I would day-trip to Cordoba out of Seville.

Are you driving or taking trains/buses? How are you arriving to/leaving Andalucia?

I'm flying into Seville and out of Malaga. That is why the route is a little bit of a circle. I'm going to drive. I like driving and I want to go do some outdoorsey stuff. I want to see the Sierras and the flamingos. I need a car for those parts of the trip.

You could check if you can see the flamingos in the La Donana National Park, which is an easy day trip from Sevilla. (I have to admit that I did not see many when I was there, though.)
That would save you the drive to the Málaga coast, unless you want to go there for more than just the flamingos.

No flamingos at Donana. The place is Laguna de Fuente Piedra, off Campillos, Málaga, (formerly 1 km. off town of Fuente Piedra), on your itinerary from Seville or Ronda, to Granada. Chances are you'll see them as breeding season is March to July, and the new chicks are ringed (in the leg) in late July-early August. Take a look at http://www.turismofuentepiedra.com/turismo/turismo.html and http://www.igme.es/internet/zonas_hu.../visita/u.html

Thanks everyone for your help! Josele, thank you so much for telling me where the Flamingos are. I've been trying to figure it out online, but I got a bit lost. I'm so excited.

Thanks for explaining, Josele.

I had found the info on flamingos at La Donana on a website of nature spots in Andalucía. So I thought it was my fault to go during the wrong season when I only spotted three or four from a distance.

I've seen flocks of the flaminos at the Coto Donanno (sp?)when I lived in that area. Since that time, there was a serious chemical spill upriver and maybe the birds flew the nest.l

Blackduff

RE: car. Are you planning to have a car during your stay in Seville? If so, you need to reconsider. A car in Seville is both, unnecessary and a huge liability. I agree that a car is the best way to explore Andalucia, except when it comes to day stays in Seville. Rent the car when you are ready to move on from Seville. Suggest HERTZ/Estacion Santa Justa to pick up the car. No drop off fees if dropping at an airport.

Also, important detail, WHEN are you going? Daylight is limited in the winter months as well as the amount of outdoors stuff you can do and the convenience of driving/staying up in the mountain region where Ronda is located.

Oh, I'll rent a car as I'm leaving Seville, so no worries. I'm going in May, so there should be plenty of Sunlight. ;-)

Thanks for the advice.

Re flamingoes:
A few years ago, at the end of March, we were staying south of Granada and drove to Fuente de Piedra (west of Granada) to see the flamingoes. The building at the nature center was closed and locked. The signage was completely in Spanish. The flamingoes were so far away (?on the other side of the lagoon?) that we couldn't really see them even with our binoculars. I was pretty disappointed but we drove to Antequera instead, and walked around, enjoyed seeing the Arch of the Giants and some of the town before returning to the house we were staying in. It might be completely different now but I thought I'd offer my experience.

Hi, galaxygrrl200 -

I'm offering a different perspective from other posters - I spent 2 nights/nearly 2 full days in Cordoba and did not run out of wonderful things to do. In contrast, 1 night/1 day was enough for me in Ronda. I loved my time there, but was ready to move on.

Hope that helps!

I have read other review on not seeing the flamingoes and the place being closed. Check http://www.turismofuentepiedra.com/s...fonte-ing.html and contact them for information. You can even book a tour with them. Better that than finding the place closed. (you can spot flamingoes in Doñana indeed, but this is the place). I think march is too early, but in June there are thousands of them. So sorry, galw.

kja -- I was actually thinking one day in Ronda is enough and was trying to figure out if I should move the extra day to Granada or Cordoba so I appreicate your post. I just need to figure out which town to add a day too. Any thoughts on this?

Josele..thanks again!

Hi, again galaxygrrl200 -

You might want to spend your extra day in the place where you will be on a Monday, since many things are (I think) closed then. Also, consider what times you'll be arriving in and departing from these places. After all, 2 nights can mean anything from 1 day to 3 days! All of these locations are wonderful, so you should end up having a lovely time no matter what you choose.

Enjoy!

HI: From Seville you can take a day trip to S Portugal by bus, have lunch on the beach and return by bus. You can
also go to Gibralter by bus from Seville. I spent the night in Gibralter and then took the boat to Algiers and returned back to Seville. Spain is lovely, have fun!