Andalucia Spain
 

Hi.

My husband and I are going to Spain for the first time in September. We fly into Seville arriving at Noon 19 Sept. We depart from Valencia 6:15am flight 26 Sept. I know it's not easy to get up to Valencia, but no way to fly home from Seville (twice as much air fare) and we have booked the flight.

The cities we want to visit are Seville, Cadiz, Granada (drive through Ronda at some point), and would like to do a day trip to Morocco. This is too ambitious of an itinerary for our short duration.

I have heard great things about Seville, and we certainly don't want to skip Granada. Was thinking Cadiz would be nice for a few days as it is cooler down there and we could see ocean? (or just enjoy view of ocean from Valencia but could be dark by the time we get there if we only do overnight for flight)

Any suggestions on what we should skip? Should we take the time to visit Valencia or spend entire time in Andalucia and just overnight Valencia for our flight home? Should we skip Cadiz? Skip Morocco?

Originally I was thinking a few nights in Seville, a few nights in Cadiz, a few nights in Granada, and just realize we have to spend an entire day to drive to Valencia - the flight out of Seville was far too expensive and I think we got lucky coming into Seville from U.S. with only 1 stop. I can't remember why Madrid didn't work. And we didn't choose Lisbon because of difficulty getting to Lisbon ($1000 drop fee to drop rental car off, and no quick way there via bus or train).

I saw you could do day trips to Morocco from either Seville or Cadiz (not sure why Morocco only offered from Cadiz on Saturdays).

We are thinking the earliest we will rent a car is upon leaving Seville.

Any suggestions are most appreciated! Thank you!

Why are you driving? Take the train. You've got seven days. If you're set on four in Seville you don't have time to drive or to see more then Granada and an over night in Valencia.

It looked like drive from Granada to Valencia taking A-7 is 5 hours (I know that probably means 6). And the train trip looked longer (because it doesn't go direct? goes through Madrid?)

We are fine with 2-3 nights in Seville, unless it's recommended that we stay there longer. Was thinking 3 nights Seville, 2 nights Granada. Leaving a few nights up the air to either stay longer in each city, or add a city.

You'll have 3 nights in Seville, but only 2.5 days. It's up to you to decide if that's enough time or not. Personally, I'd add at least 1 more night to that. You want to visit at least 2 other cities in Spain, plus a full day trip to Morocco. You really don't have 'a few more nights' for more than 2 cities. Leave Morocco for another time. The amount of time it will take you to get to and return from Morocco will be more than the actual amount of time you spend there.

Seville is meant for strolling (IMHO), not fast paced walking. When you have your dates in place, would suggest you order tickets on line to places you want to see to 'skip' the lines, and waste valuable time. Watch out for the 'scammer' ladies giving away sprigs of flowers in the Cathedral area - they want money. A polite, but firm, No should suffice if they approach. If that doesn't work, just say the same thing, but louder.

You might want to look into a budget airline to get to other cities you're considering. We flew Vueling from Barcelona to Seville last month and at $64/each, it turned out to be not only faster, but cheaper, than a train ticket, and no additional fee for luggage.

Happy planning!

Well, you already know you can’t do everything you want to do. And only you can decide what to try to see with such a compressed time frame.

Some thoughts:

You haven’t mentioned Cordoba – it’s extraordinary Mezquita is understandably a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Many people visit it as a day trip from Sevilla, or en route to or from Sevilla, but others (including me) think Cordoba worth at least 2 or 3 nights.

You mention Granada, perhaps for the Alhambra, another gem. A visit to the Alhambra generally takes 2 nights in Granada, with another night if you want to see anything else of that magnificent city.

If it helps you plan, I wanted 4 nights in Sevilla (not counting Cordoba). IMO, 3 nights, including time to deal with jet lag, is exceedingly little for Sevilla itself, let alone Cordoba.

Personally, I would skip Cadiz, Ronda, and Morocco and plan on arriving in Valencia the night before your flight, skipping any other part of that city on this trip – but that’s just me. It isn’t that I wouldn’t like to see Valencia – my logic is that it will be easier to include on a subsequent trip than anything in Andalusia itself.

A car will not likely be an advantage to you for ANY part of this trip. Spain has excellent high-speed train connections. Even if the connections are close in time, the driving will require your attention; with so very very little time, you might want to conserve your energy for actually seeing things on the ground, not zipping past them with (I would hope!) eyes on the road. Use your time on the train to gather your energy to see what you can. And I’m not sure where you are getting your driving time estimates, but viamichelin.com – among the most reliable sites – puts the time at almost 6 hours, not counting breaks, stops for gas, navigating traffic in the cities at start or end, etc. Flying might be an option, but remember that you need to then get to and from airports (generally outside of cities) and you need to be at the departure airport at least an hour in advance, maybe more.

Since you tell us nothing about why you want to visit ANY of these places, it is difficult to help you plan. Here's what I recommend: Get some good guidebooks (or spend some time with a few in your local library) and plot your wish list on a calendar. Each time you propose to change locations, pencil in your transportation, add some time on either side (for getting to/from your lodging, checking in/out, packing/unpacking, getting oriented, etc.). (Each change of location can be "costly" as it is time that you will not have to see or do anything.) Then see how things fit together. You might end up deciding to cut a destination or two....

BTW, note that many things in Spain are closed on Monday, and often for all or part of Sundays too; and many things in Spain will also be closed daily for a very long mid-day break.

Good luck!

Would it be crazy to spend 4 nights in Seville, and if it's too hot, take (2) separate day trips to Cadiz? Just concerned we will be super hot in Seville in mid-September. I'm thinking this would alleviate the need to switch hotels (plus we could play it by ear if it's not too hot for us in Seville). I realize Cadiz is 10 degrees cooler, and we'd love to see the ocean. Just would give us more flexibility. We could skip Cadiz if we're loving Seville too much and the heat is not killing us.

This is based on what I have heard that a day trip to Cadiz is a breeze. And I like the idea of having a home base in Seville.

Then from Seville we could travel to Granada (stopping in Ronda along the way). Spend 2 nights in Granada.

Then up early to check out of Granada and get to Valencia for dinner, and early flight out next morning home. ??

We were posting at the same time -- I hope you see my remarks!

Cadiz is about 1.5 hours by train from Sevilla (one way). Easy? No doubt. Worth it? Only you can decide.

I agree with the suggestions provided by Kja, but also wanted to suggest that if you can get to Valencia earlier in the day you will have an opportunity to experience a little of what the city has to offer. You could book a hotel in the city centre/old town where you can easily walk around the compact pretty town centre and have a nice dinner before leaving the next day.

First, I would totally skip Morocco. Are you talking Tangier? I haven't been to Tangier, but I did spend a whole week in Marrakesh years ago and it was great. Many friends and acquaintances have been to Tangier, Fez, and Marrakesh and all have said, over 3-plus decades, that they did not enjoy Tangier, at all, but that they loved Marrakesh. So, I'd save Morocco for a time where you can really enjoy it and not just step foot on its soil, for some hours, and then leave. I would put that Morocco time in Seville, hands down.

As for Seville, I just got back from Europe less than two weeks ago, and was in Seville for the first time and it was absolutely wonderful. I had 5 nights and didn't get it all in and have already booked a tentative hotel reservation to do 9 nights next summer and at the same hotel. I've been to a lot of places in Europe, since the early 70s, but Seville took my breath away. I love architecture and it reminded me of Marrakesh. Plus, the people were really nice, the hotel incredible, good food, and just an overall great experience.

As someone mentioned upthread, Seville is a city to stroll in and not do fast-pace walking. It's incredibly beautiful and there's a lot to take in. While in Seville, I asked my hotel if there were organized tours of places outside of Seville and was given a brochure where there are organized bus tours to places that one could leave for early in the morning and then return to Seville at night. I might do one next summer as it's easier, for me, to do it that way as I don't rent cars overseas. I've never rented a car in 40-plus years of traveling to Europe as I usually take the public transportation or if I want to go on a far away day trip, then I'll book an organized tour as to save time and also get fast entrance into sites.

I will keep my base in Seville and work from there. I spent my 5 days just strolling aimlessly and seeing what I would discover.

One thing that I highly recommend that you do is go to the flamenco show inside of the tiny theater inside of the Mercado de Triana. It was an amazing show with one singer, one dancer, and one guitarist. I've seen a lot of flamenco, over many decades, but nothing like that. The theater doesn't have shows every day, I was told, but they do have some in the day and one at around 8PM at night. I went at night. The show is an hour and then afterwards it's head to the nearby tapas bars in Triana and mix with the locals as folks eat really late in Spain. I was at the show and tapas bars on what's usually a work-week night, but places were packed.

http://casalateatro.com

Happy Travels!

The cities we want to visit are Seville, Cadiz, Granada (drive through Ronda at some point), and would like to do a day trip to Morocco. This is too ambitious of an itinerary for our short duration.>>

you are right. It is. Work with what you've got to do - arrive in Seville and leave from Valencia. If Granada is a must, then you can't see Valencia.

To see how little time you really have, it's useful to set out the days separately, like this:

19/9 - arrive Seville @ noon. get to hotel and check in. Max time - afternoon and evening.

20/9 - Seville

21/9 - poss day trip Cadiz/Cordoba [which you could also do en route between Seville and Granada]

22/9 - Seville

23/9 - train to Granada. [3 ½ hours] Arrive early pm, [or later if you go via Cordoba]
rest of day in Granada - night visit to Alhambra, must book in advance.

24/9 - Alhambra.

25/9 - travel to Valencia - train takes about 6 hours and goes via Cordoba.

26/9 - fly home

Another idea would be to rent a car to drive from Granada to Valencia - the drive is shown as being about 5 hours and if you picked up the car the night before, you would be able to get a really early start and spend the whole afternoon and evening in the city, thus maximising your time there. I think that's what I'd do. I'd drive straight to the beach, park, swim, and then have lunch in one of the restaurants along the beach. then drive to hotel, drop off luggage, return car to car hire co [or retain it to drive to the airport in the morning] and spend the evening in Valencia.

I second Annihig's plans.
Not sure if any available, but consider a hotel with a pool for seville. One caution is to check if it will still be open in September, as often they are outside pools so do have a set season. I noticed a number post open dates on their website.

These responses are extremely helpful! Wonderful suggestions, and I agree, Annhig's itinerary makes sense. And all the tips by everyone else. I will use all these suggestions! Any others welcome as our first trip to Spain. Looks like 4 nights Seville (with possible day trip(s); two nights Granada; and get to Valencia as early as possible to enjoy a slice of the city.

It's possible we need to rental car at all.

If we want to drive through Ronda en route to Granada to see the area and the gorge, does it make more sense to have a car? So we would rent a car just for departure from Seville and either drop in Granada or Valencia.

I'm not sure what we do with luggage if we take bus since we want to stop in Ronda for lunch and will have to catch another bus to Granada. My husband does not mind driving, so maybe we just rent a car from Seville.

If we take train to Granada, would we have any option to stop in Ronda and catch another train to - and what to do with luggage. Luggage is our concern with taking bus/train and having flexibility to explore as we take the drive from Seville to Granada.

I think the option to go to Cadiz en route to Granada is too ambitious, though we "could" stay one night in Cadiz instead of day trip to Cadiz from Granada. Would mean another hotel switch, but would save on some travel time. Thoughts on this? MUCH THANKS!

You should scratch both Cadiz and Morocco. Not enough time for these. Do 3 days in Seville, drive to Granada via Ronda, or better yet Cordoba, 2 days in Granada, and on to Valencia.

Bedar, do you think we should spend an extra night in Valencia? (skipping Cadiz and Morocco).

Thanks for the recommendation!

You could do that. Valencia is an interesting city, but I think you should definitely visit Cordoba on the way to Granada. Ronda, while a sweet little city, is only of secondary interest, whereas Cordoba is of prime interest, a 5 star city of all of Spain.

Got it, thanks Bedar!

Sounds as if you are getting your plan in place. Totally agree to drop Cadiz, Ronda and Morocco, and to include Córdoba. I personally love Cadiz, but the Great Mosque in Córdoba is, IMHO, a more impressive sight.
Usually, I would advise stopping in Córdoba between Seville and Granada, but adding up drive times, train times, etc. and considering you will use the car for the Granada/Valencia leg of the trip, in your case, I would not make that stop. I would do it from Seville.

I suggest this itinerary

4 nts Seville (3 & 1/2 days, including day trip)
1 nt Granada (2 half days)
2 nts Valencia (1 full day)

Sept 19, arrive Seville, late afternoon and evening
Sept 20, Seville
Sept 21, Seville, early day trip by train (less than an hour) to Córdoba
Sept 22, Seville
Sept 23, Drive directly to Granada, evening tour of Alhambra, book ahead.
Sept 24, Morning tour of Alhambra, afternoon, drive to Valencia
Sept 25, Valencia for sight seeing, beach/ocean
Sept 26, depart Valencia

Sassafrass, thank you for your reply and suggested itinerary! It looks great.

I only have 2 concerns:

1) it will be hot in the region and I thought Cadiz might be a nice little break in heat for a day

2) I feel strange going all that way during hot season and not setting foot in the sea

The fix to that could be Valencia but I'm struggling with where to stay.

I was just online looking at Valencia hotels for beach - when you look at pictures, there are tons, but I just can't seem to find any. Everyone says you should stay in Old Towne but by then I think I'll like a day of just sea breeze.

I'm a little intimidated by Valencia but agree we should stay two nights there.

I like the suggestion of 1 night in Granada and had actually been wondering if we could do Granada/Alhambra with one night stay.

I need to hear you all that you are saying don't skip Cordoba, just wondering if this is too much sightseeing during day when it could be oppressively hot (maybe I'm wrong about the heat mid-September - we had to complete the trip prior to Oct. 1).

Your trip, your call, but I can NOT imagine being in the area and skipping Cordoba. No matter HOW hot it is.

You can set your foot in the sea in all sorts of places throughout the world. You can't see the Mesquita or Cordoba's other treasures anywhere else. You can't see the Alhambra anywhere else (and the Alhambra is not a place you can see in just an hour), nor can you see any of Granada's other treasures anywhere else. You can't see Sevilla's Alcazar or its other treasures anywhere else in the world.

Here's the historic climate data on Cordoba. Note that you can change the city, switch to last year's data, etc.
https://www.timeanddate.com/weather/...ordoba/climate

kja, yes Sevilla and Alhambra are the no-brainers for me. I'm so unfamiliar with Spain that I wasn't really familiar with Cordoba but seeing it's only an hour from Sevilla and hearing everyone steer me there, I have to look into it. Checking it out now!

I know Alhambra tickets need to be gotten in advance. Is this the same for Mesquita and other Cordoba sites? Thanks!

No need for advance tickets for the Mezquita or, to my knowledge, anywhere else in Cordoba, except (perhaps) the better flamenco venues. Just be sure to check hours.

Be sure to give yourself enough time for the Alhambra. For me, that meant a minimum of 2 nights in Granada. YMMV.

I have been to Spain twice in July. It was super hot, but I survived, and enjoyed it. By mid-Sept, it will still be hot, but cooled down from July and August. Even in July, by evening it cooled down enough to be OK. Be sure your hotel has AC and take a nap in the afternoon. You won't have dinner until 9:00 anyway. You might splurge and get a hotel with a pool.

A three hour round trip for the sea and possibly cooler day in Cadiz over Córdoba would not work for me.

I recommended going from Granada that afternoon - so you could have all the next afternoon at a beach near Valencia. Can't make REC's on that as I haven't been, but others could and you could do some research.

There are beaches all along the coast, in towns and cities and more isolated ones. I thought of suggesting that you head from Granada to some beach location on the way to Valencia, but I would not want to go far out of my way to do that. We have driven along a lot of the Coast, but it was late Fall, and I would not know which beaches to recommend. Other people who know more can, and you could research that.

Must agree with Kja about the Alhambra and Granada. It is worth going for the Alhambra, but there is much more to see and do there. It is actually one of my favorite cities in Spain.

I suggested such a short stay there only because beach time seems important to you, and it is your trip. I often make treks to see things that nobody else would care about, but are of interest to me, and have been glad I did - my trip, my time. Also, you are going to be in Valencia anyway, thought you might as well see a bit of it.

As always, Sassafrass offers great advice. It really is one of the decisions that only the OP can make, and decisions of how to spend one's time can be very, very difficult!

Thank you both! I now realize going to Cordoba is a must. Frankly not sure why I'm so worried about the weather; typically I love the heat and I traveled all over southern China carrying two toddlers in July when it was 100 and have only great memories of the trip. Though we did spend a lot of time in the hotel as the littles couldn't handle it as well as I could. (this was during their adoption).

So I think now my only question (besides what to do in Valencia which I will research) is - is 1 night going to be enough for Granada?

The much appreciated itinerary is suggesting 4 nights in Seville (but yes includes a day trip to Cordoba). Wondering if should do 3 nights Seville and 2 nights Granada.

Will have to figure it out! Both cities look marvelous to me!

Thanks!

The best hotel at the beach in Valenci ...Las Arenas.
We stayed in an apt. across the hotel...you can take a taxi to the Old Town and The City of Arts and Sciences. 10-15 euros.


there is more to see in Granada than Alhambra, but with a short time you have
I would stay longer in Seville ( with a day trip to Córdoba ) and just spend a night in Granada.

Just in case I haven't been clear -- I would not cut any time from Sevilla. IMO, you are already as close to the bone as possible for that magnificent city. If you add a night to Granada, I'd take it from Valencia. JMO.

You have got great advice here, and whatever you do don't cut back on time in Sevilla. The queen of the cities in the South, and she should be taken in in peace and quiet. Perhaps see some flamenco here, the beautiful and powerful art so important for the city and the region? Nowhere better in the world to experience real deal flamenco than in Sevilla.
http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/2012...flamenco-scene

And, as many have said, Córdoba is something special, see this video and you're sold, "Vida y genio" (Córdoba life and spirit): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GyfGdpF55Uk

Thank you, Kimhe! I'm so excited! So grateful to receive this advice!

Does anyone know best place to purchase our Alhambra tickets online? I'm ready to do that now! Thanks!

For a first trip:
Sevilla 4 days (including a daytrip to Cordoba
Ronda 1 night
Granada 2 days

You have no time for Morocco or Cadiz

There are TONS of threads on this board about booking for the Alhambra. Please use the search box to the upper right, or for that matter, do a google search with keywords "fodor's alhambra tickets." I'd give you the info, but it has changed since I was there, and there are nuances depending on what gate you plan to enter, how you choose to pay, etc.

My husband booked Alhambra tour last night through "Book Your Tour" and we received a voucher via email. I got it's legit!! Anyone every use them? Thanks!

I think you've gotten great advice on Sevilla, Granada and Cordoba. We had 3 nights in Sevilla and it was not enough - it's one of my great regrets that I didn't have more time. It's hard to imagine how you could see the Alhambra and the rest of Granada with less than 2 nights. And Cordoba is not to be missed. We loved Ronda, but Cordoba is definitely the better choice between the two. The Mezquita is an absolute wonder. We were there one day and night and wished for more.

We were there in late June and it was baking hot. 103 Degrees F in Sevilla. We were sweating walking the streets at 11 pm. Make sure you have air conditioning and take showers. But I would say, don't let the heat stop you or influence your itinerary unless you are especially sensitive to it. I have no regrets about being hot, only about not having enough time in these spectacular cities.

Did you book your Alhambra tickets on the Alhambra website? If so, it's legit. Make sure you have the same credit card with you that you used to book the tickets. At least a few years ago, that was required.

Hope you have a great trip!

I should also say that I suffer more in my business clothes in the summer humidity in NYC than I did in my tourist attire in the dry (at least when we were there) heat of Sevilla.

We were in Spain this past September, and yes, it was hot! We booked our Allhambra tickets through their website and it was not a problem. We also hired a private guide to be with u s for a 3 hour tour. So worth it!! BTW, we stayed at the Allhambra Palace--a lovely hotel walking distance from the entrance to the Allhambra.

Thank you so much for that advice! I have to admit I was letting the weather determine our plans in the beginning (like trips to Ronda and Cadiz). We're good with the heat. I plan to wear skirts and skorts for some "open-air" flow! :) So glad for all these recommendations - have changed the itinerary. Had not even been planning on Cordoba until I learned more about it I was talking to a customer on phone today and she went to Malaga for her honeymoon, and she said we should go to Morocco. I said we would have to decide between that and Cordoba and she went online and looked at Cordoba pics and said "Oh! I wish we would have gone there!"

I had a typo above and meant to say: My husband booked Alhambra tour last night through "Book Your Tour" and we received a voucher via email. I HOPE it's legit!! Anyone every use them? Thanks!

Does anyone know if this company is legit? THANKS!

Did he book on:
http://apc.ticketmaster.es/nav/landi...nk&canalMB=ALH
Then it's the official site. It should cost 15.40 euro each for general ticket.

Benmia, when in September were you in southern Spain? We will be in Madrid, Toledo, and Andalusia from Sept 18 to Oct 3, and I was hoping it would be cooler then, but now I'm not so sure. What was the temperature in Fahrenheit?

@ KarenWoo: As noted upthread, you can get historic climate data at timeanddate.com. Here's the link again. Note that you can change the city, switch to last year's data, etc.
https://www.timeanddate.com/weather/...ordoba/climate