I don't want to hijack your thread any more than I already did, danon, but I want to thank you for starting this as I got a lot of ideas. Hope your trip will go forward this Fall!

Back to danon's original inquiry
How to travel to these new destinations by public transportation:

From Madrid/Atocha to Jerez de la Frontera----take Renfe's direct Alvia train
From Madrid/Atocha to Cádiz----ditto, same Alvia train
From Córdoba or Sevilla to Jerez or Cádiz---same Alvia train
Between Cádiz and Jerez----take Renfe's MD or the cheaper Cercanías (on Renfe you will need to look under Cercanías Cádiz)
Between Cádiz and El Puerto de Santa Maria---take the 30 min. catamaran across the bay
Between Cádiz and Vejer or Conil de la Frontera on the Costa de la Luz---take the local bus
Between Jerez and Sanlúcar de Barrameda----take the local bus
Between Jerez and Arcos de la Frontera---take the local bus

Note: the IRYO train company does not run on the Madrid to Jerez/Cádiz route nor does OUIGO.

Another note: From Málaga to Cádiz is a rather long Avanza bus ride (even longer by train with change in Córdoba). The shortest bus ride is 4 hours, departing at 1:15 and arriving at 5:15. These two cities are not very well connected by public transportation.

thx . I hope so , too. It depends on when my husband ‘s surgery is scheduled…
If I cannot go in October, then probably in the spring.
In the meantime I am considering a week in London…when it cools down .
The information provided by Maribel is , not only useful, but also inspirational.

Maribel, that you for the details on Fuente de la Higuera.

I will consider spending a few nights there, before Vejer...

It reminds me a bit of your special place outside of Vejer. Booking rating: 9.4 "wonderful"

https://www.i-escape.com/hotel-la-fuente-de-la-higuera

Now I have my heart set on Malaga for next Feb and probably will just stay there for a whole week, with some day trips to the surrounding towns. I have been to the bigger cities and while I wouldn't mind revisiting the Alhambra in Granada, I think I should focus on visiting places where I've never been before. I have no desire to rent a car but I should be able to get to the nearby towns by train and bus? I took out a Spain guidebook but it only mentions the big cities. I should borrow guidebooks that focus on Andalucia for more details.

Maribel do you know the Carnival dates in Malaga for 2026? I tried to look it up but saw conflicting dates.

I also found a very good price for plane tickets via Swiss Air for sub-$400. Price is the same whether i have 6 full days or 7 full days on the ground.

Malaga is a great transportation hub. Carnival, Malaga, 2026: 7-15 of February BUT it hasn't been officially declared.

Try the Michelin Green Guide, even if it's for all of Spain.

ROUGH GUIDE TO ANDALUCIA is good.'
LONELY PLANET not bad, either.

I always recommend the classic DISCOVERING SPAIN by Penelope Casas. It's focused on food but has much great information that you will not find in any other English-language guidebook. It was published long ago but I consult it on all of my trips to Spain.

GRAPE, OLIVE, PIG is focused on the food of a few select regions; I think the author has a chapter on Andalucia that would be worth reading before your trip.


I've got a few more at home and can post the names if you like, once I return.

I have a few more guidebooks, and a few architectural guides, at home and I will post the names when I return.

I know you are going to have a remarkable trip, Danon!!

I downloaded Lonely Planet Andalucia, Insight Guides for Andalucia, and the Rough Guide to Andalucia on Hoopla

There are so many interesting things to in and around Malaga. My son is not a fan of art museum, but probably will still visit the Picasso museum. The auto museum will be fun for him. I also want to do the El Caminito del Rey. I also read about the dolmens in Antequera, the Nerja caves, the white villages etc etc etc

The Discovering Spain by my idol the late Penelope Casas has seemed to me in my wanderings here rather out of date. I no longer use it as my "guiding light" as many (but not all) of her preferred restaurants no longer exist, were victims of covid or have been eclipsed by other newcomers, although the notes on regional gastronomy are still, obviously, very valid, helpful as are the cultural notes.
I do have all of her cookbooks that we still use regularly.
I always hoped that someday I would meet her, and my husband and I seriously contemplated taking one of her tours that she and her husband, Luis, offered. She used to write a sort of blog on www.latienda.com. She was taken from this world far too soon.

I have the Michelin Green Guide specific for Andalucia, the Lonely Planet and Rough Guides for Andalucia plus the latest edition of the DK Guide to Sevilla and Andalucía. 2024.

yk,
I did the Caminito del Rey this past May!! Me with my vertigo!

I was going to recommend it to you, since m-yk is old enough to do it now. There were several school groups.
I didn't watch any YouTube videos prior to our walk, but we did see people equipped with helmets walking the pasarelas in mid April when we trained from Antequera to Málaga.
It didn´t look so bad, so I thought, ok, why not?
My BFF convinced me, as she did the walk with her 83 year old father (mom chickened out) and said it was easy for both.

Well, since I have vertigo, I did the whole narrow pasarela part (the narrow wooden walkway) through the 2 gorges grabbing on to the metal rope to my right and didn't dare look down into the ravine to my left or stop for a selfie!. My husband had far more "fun" than I, and he was in charge of the photography.

Most say the scariest part is crossing the swinging suspension bridge with the heavy wind, but to me the worst was tackling the 3 very narrow and steep flights of steps at the very end, when exhaustion sat in. But...they're building a bridge that will negate the climbing of those last steps and it should be completed by next spring.

And the long walk back to catch the bus to the northern entrance in the blazing sun after we exited the gorge.
We had tickets for 9:30 am and ended the walk at noon. By then it was extremely warm. We stopped at the cute Hotel La Garganta at El Chorro for a very welcomed cold drink!

We opted for the guided tour, and our guide was excellent, explaining in great depth the history of the project and the flora and fauna. We were given headphones and there was time to stop midway in the shade (not on the walkway) for a drink and sandwich. Take both! The guided tour was well paced with about 30 people of all ages. A few locals had actually done the very, very scary original pathway as kids before it was condemned.

Although we drove from Estepona where we were staying at my friend's condo, there are plenty of Caminito del Rey excursions from Málaga.
I would urge you to book an early slot for the walk, as the sun gets intense at midday.
One can also reach El Chorro by train from Málaga if you want a do it yourself version. But the bus excursion makes the whole experience much simpler.

I must say that I´m very proud of myself for having completed it, and the scenery is breathtaking.

For the dolmens outside of Antequera one needs a car or the Menga and Viera dolmens may be just a 20-minute walk from the center of Antequera. I can't remember. We stayed at the Parador along with many hikers who used it as their base.

As for the Nerja caves, there should be excursions from Málaga. That, I think, is something that m-yk would enjoy.

Danon, just a reminder that our venerable Reference Library @Yonge/Bloor has in its second-floor Travel department, a smazzillion Andalucian guidebooks. I've recently gone there to research them all twice, the above-mentioned ones plus many more specialty titles (additionally, remember to delve into the 'stacks' which must be asked for on a form). The adjoined Maps room is also world-class. If you were interested, the rare books room also has a sizable collection of original red Baedekers guidebooks, several from the 19C. That library is of course close to your old place of employment, the Brass Rail. Your picture is still on the wall there in the BEST BOUNCERS EVER section.

Both you and I have spouses dealing with knee issues. For us, that means we will need a flatter town this winter (goodbye Urbino et al) so my wife and I are thinkin' to snowbird in Cadiz. Currently looking for a good rental there. Maybe we will base in a second location too. Dunno, perhaps Vejer? We have been as close as Arcos de la Frontera in the past but never down onto the actual coast.

Btw folks, Cadiz---is it pronounced 'kaw-deeth?
I am done. the gaditanos in the works

Correct, /Kádith/ would be an approximate phonetic translation of Cádiz. If you are from certain areas of Spain, because in Cádiz they do not pronounce the "z" as strong "th" but as an "s". Or they just simply ignore the sound and do not pronounce it. Andalusia (Andalucía) has many different accents and all of them quite peculiar to those of us that live up north in the Basque Country. Which has a very different accent to many parts of Spain. Diversity is king here

Even the people of Cádiz pronounce it something like Ká-ee.

thx… H. will have the surgery some time in the fall. Apparently, the recovery is long and painful .My plans for Spain are on hold ,for now.

Indeed Revulgo is always right on.
Cádiz in flamenco is pronounced Cai ( KAH-EE) One sylable.
This is a great video and while it is actually a promo for online flamenco courses if you listen carefully Manuel Soto repeats that pronounciation several times when he sings.
DISCLAIMER; NO IM AM NOT TRYING TO SELL OR ADVERTISE THESE. I just love them & the explanations they contain.

I just watched that video twice....I love it!!

More important, this seems to settle the pronunciation question.


However, : the guys in the video say "ka-ee"
But I'm pretty sure that the person from Vejer, which is in the province of Cadiz, who tried to teach me how to pronounce it, said: "Ca-dith," with accent on first syllable but lisp at the end.

She's also told me that Vejer has its own accent! Hard enough trying to distinguish an Andaluz but now we have to figure out the pronunciation os the various regions of the province, and even the different towns?? (I also remember her saying that people from Vejer put a "th" at the beginning of words, so "serpiente" becomes "therpiente," with a slight lisp at the beginning of the word.). So would a person from Cadiz city know from their accent that another person comes from Medina,, or Vejer? (It seems so..)

When I told this same woman, Jessica, that I had trouble understanding the accent of another person we both know, Jessica (from Vejer) told me that this person comes "from the countryside," so speaks with a different accent! Mind you, the "countryside' is less than ten miles from the town of Vejer!

mikelg, amsdon and revulgo have it. The locals just simply ignore the z and do not pronounce it. Ane the locals have their own argot, their own slang. Just google "el argot gaditano" or "el argot de Cádiz" and you'll find many articles about this special way of speaking. "Trisnina"="alguien poco agradable" (an unpleasant person). That was explained to me by the owner of a now closed bar named "Trisnina Tapas y Vinos".

Andalusians have created many words that are unknown in the rest of Spain. I really liked a word I heard in the province of Jaén: CANSOSO. It's a combination of cansino (tiresome) and soso (bland, graceless).
Juan es muy cansoso = Juan is so tiresome/bland guy.