Kavya

Hi,

Myself and my friend are planning a one week trip to Andalucia. We plan to cover Ronda and the white villages around and Granada. Here is the itinerary we are thinking of -
Day 1. Fly to Malaga and head to Ronda by train
Day 2. Hire a car in Ronda - visit Granzalema - Zahara and back to Ronda
Day 3. Explore more of Ronda
Day 4 - Drive to arcos de la frontera and Jerez (it being a thursday we can catch up one of the horse shows) and back to Ronda
Day 5 - Take a train to Granada
Day 6 - Spend in Granada
Day 7 - Return to Malaga and take flight back

Is the plan of Day 4 worth? or is it better we cover cordoba on Day 4 and return to Granada by night?
Appreciate any suggestions on the above. I also was wondering if January would be right time to visit these villages or is it better spend time in Cordoba and Seville instead. Our preference would be to explore country side as well.
I also have another Q on the car rental.. If I can rent one in ronda or Malaga is the better place to rent?

Regards,
Kavya

nytraveler

I would definitely rent in Malaga - options in Ronda are likely to be very limited.

As for the countryside, you are there i the midst of winter - and while it's not going to be snowy it can be moderate or even quite chilly at night. And be aware that the countryside here is not pretty/pretty but is quite mountainous and can be rough and fairly dry - except right on the coast.

I would much prefer Granada to Arcos and Jerez - but it depends on your interests.

kja

You might want to consider giving a bit more time to Granada -- it really needs 2 full nights just to see the Alhambra, and there is MUCH more to see there than that.

And you might want to consider reversing the order of your trip: As nytraveler notes, you might not have many options for renting a car in Ronda, but if there's any chance you might have jet lag, you shouldn't try to drive on your first day or two. (Jet lag is associated with microsleeps, which are so short you might not even know you are having them, but they are strongly associated with a risk of accident.)

For January, I would probably choose Sevilla and Cordoba rather than the mountains -- JMO. Do check the historical weather data on a site like
http://www.wunderground.com

alvamo

I would rent a car at Malaga Airport, because the timetable for the trains from Malaga to Ronda are very limited.


Day 1 - Fly to Malaga rent a car and go to Ronda by car
Day 2 - Ronda and visit Grazalema, Zahara de la Sierra
Day 3 - Visit Setenil de las Bodegas and Alcala del Valle and go to Granada
Day 4 - Granada
Day 5 - Granada and visit Alhambra
Day 6 - Malaga centre
Day 7 - Malaga and take flight back

I would change the itinerary a bit, I would leave Sevilla and Cordoba for another time and would go to Malaga for a day, maybe the most underrated city of Spain. Mild temperatures in January and not touristy at all so you will find the real spanish atmosphere.

alvamo

From Malaga airport to Ronda is only 50 minutes drive so you shouldn´t have any problems with jet lag and also in AGP the prices to rent a car are much cheaper than renting the car in other places like Granada or Ronda...

mamcalice

If I were visiting Andalusia at any time of the year, I would focus on Sevilla, Granada and Cordoba. This is the case especially in winter. We spent a day and night in Ronda and that was about a half day too long. We enjoyed the white villages but found the cities much more interesting.

Bedar

Way, way too much time in Ronda. Pick up the car in Malaga, drive there, spend the night, go on to Seville the next day, spend 3 nights there, on to Cordoba for a night, then to Granada for a couple of nights, and out thru Malaga. If you need to cut a night, cut Ronda. You can see it in half a day so drive that day to Seville.

Kavya

Thanks so much for all your suggestions. I understand Seville is the main attraction, but we thought to club country side along with the major towns. And probably another trip to Seville and Arcos later in the year. However, considering whats said worked out the below 2 itineraries.

One option -
Day 1. Fly to Malaga, rent a car and head to Ronda
Day 2. Ronda - visit Granzalema - Zahara and back to Ronda
Day 3. Drive to Granada and visit Setenil de las Bodegas on the way. Drop the car in Granada
Day 4. Granada
Day 5. Granada
Day 6. Cordoba - can we do a day trip to Cordoba here? or stay night there?
Day 7. Return to Malaga and take flight back

Second option -
Day 1. Fly to Malaga, head to Seville by train
Day 2. Seville
Day 3. Seville and to Cordoba for night by train
Day 4. Cordoba and to Granada for night by train
Day 5. Granada
Day 6. Granada
Day 7. Return to Malaga and take flight back

Waiting to hear more views. Thanks a ton for the responses so far.

emily71

As a fan of trains in Spain I like option #2.I think you have just about the perfect amount of time in each city.

Kavya

Thanks, Emily. I was wondering if we will spend most of the time checking in and out of hotels in option 2. Would you suggest a day trip to cordoba so that we spend an extra night in Seville or Granada?

emily71

I'd do the day trip to Cordoba and spend the extra night in Sevilla, three nights in Sevilla and two nights in Granada would be my choice.

alvamo

Day trip to Cordoba is the most strange thing I´ve ever heard, sorry but Cordoba is almost as important as Seville and has so many things to see..if you go for a day trip you will miss all the charming and character Cordoba has by night.


Kavya you need to sit down and think what do you exactly want to visit. You wrote so many different plans...Do you really want to go to country side places or want to visit big cities?

If you like big cities them:

Second option -
Day 1. Fly to Malaga, head to Seville by train
Day 2. Seville
Day 3. Seville and to Cordoba by train
Day 4. Cordoba (mezquita for free from 8:30 to 9:15) and to Granada (no train)
Day 5. Granada (go to Alhambra)
Day 6. Granada and Malaga
Day 7. Return to Malaga and take flight back

I don´t know at what time is your arrival and departure flight but check http://www.renfe.com/ for timetable and give Malaga a try. Historical city and if you are flying from Malaga you shouldn´t miss the city at least for a day.

If you take option 1 don´t go to Cordoba for a day trip.

kja

For that time of year, I like option # 2 MUCH better. And I think alvamo's modification of that option the best of the bunch. JMO.

Stopping in Cordoba en route is not an unusual choice. Personally, I thought it well worth 2 full days, but you don't have that much time to give it and also do justice to Sevilla and Granada. That said, if you are willing to spend an overnight there, go for it! I agree that it has an especially charming ambiance after daytrippers leave.

If you do go for option #1, and if there is ANY chance that you will experience jet lag, I again encourage you to reverse the order of your circuit. It doesn't matter how long the drive from Malaga to Ronda is -- microsleeps can be less than a second and are almost always less than a minute. And you can't will yourself to not have them, or use caffeine to eliminate them. It can take just seconds to set an accident in motion-- one in which not only you, but anyone else on the road, could be injured. Research indicates that driving with jet lag is as bad as driving drunk, and I don't think anyone would say, oh go ahead and drive drunk because its not that far. And in this case, if you do go for option # 1, you have a simple alternative that eliminates the entire problem.

kja

BTW, I'm sorry to be so adamant about driving with jet lat, but it is a really serious problem that many people continue to deny....

Kavya

@kja - Sorry, I missed to respond to you earlier on the jet lag aspect. We will be flying there from Paris. So, it shouldn't be a problem. And I completely understand and agree to your point on driving with a jetlag. Thanks

@alvamo - Thanks for your suggestions on the option. We do thought of covering the country side initially, but now rethinking about driving there incase of icy conditions and shorter days. Our flight back from Malaga is around 5pm on the last day. So we have half a day there. Why have you mentioned as no train to Granada?