Yazlin

I am planning a trip to Southern Spain at the end of April for myself, my mother and daughter. We will be arriving from Boston through London and was contemplating arriving into Madrid and leaving from Malaga, or arriving and leaving from Madrid. Which of the following makes more sense?

Arrive in Madrid - stay 2 nights (1.5 days)
Seville - 3 or 4 nights - day visit to Cordoba, is it doable?
Would a day visit from Seville to Ronda work or should we stay overnight there and stay only 3 nights in Seville?
Granada - 2 nights
Leave from Malaga airport

How far is Granada from the Malaga airport?

Another option would be to arrive and depart from Madrid in which case does the following make sense?

Madrid - 2 nights
Seville - 2 or 3 nights
Ronda - 1 night
Granada - 2 nights
Cordoba - 1 night
back to Madrid for the last night.

Which of the two itineraries makes more sense?

I prefer staying in one place more than a night and taking day trips to nearby cities as long as travel time is about an hour. It looks like the obvious place to take day trips is from Seville.

How far by train is one city to the other?

Is it easy to travel from one place to another using trains? I would rather avoid buses. I could also rent a car but would rather not.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Kristina

I did a very similar trip to your 2nd option a couple of years ago with my Mom.
We used almost every possible transportation option; train, bus, rental car in the 10 days we were there.

In terms of visiting towns like Ronda with public transportation, it's difficult, but it can be done (though not certain as a day trip). That's where we had the car.

You could do a day visit to Cordoba on the way to/from Seville/Madrid via train if you want. We spent the night there and I would have liked even more time-it's a lovely town.

Here's my travelogue for ideas:
http://www.wired2theworld.com/spain2005.html

artlover

Second plan is certainly the best, but unless you want to see Madrid (and it is worth seeing), flying in and out Malaga might make more sense. Ronda is tough without a car. Granada is approximately 1 1/2 hours from Malaga. Check out mappy.com for distances.

Suelynne

We did a day trip from Granada to Ronda by train a few years ago. No problem at all, although we had to catch a taxi [cab] to the station as buses weren't running that early in the morning [about 7am.]

Yazlin

Thank you all for the input. Kristina, I loved your travelogue, I will refer to it as I'm planning trips, etc.

It looks like flying in and out of Madrid makes more sense from the feedback. Is squeezing Barcelona in there asking for too much? I was thinking of only one night in Madrid at the start then flying out of Barcelona staying 2 nights there. Is that too crazy? How far is BCN from Granada by train?

I will read up on hotel recommendations and will come back with questions I'm sure. Planning to spend around EUR 200-250 for something that is walking distance to sights in each city. Anything that stands out from your travels? I would like something along the lines of a Marriott Courtyard.

Yazlin

Following your advice, decision made to fly in and out of Malaga. Also due to a scheduling conflict we are now going in mid February.

Would it be possible to drive to Granada the day we arrive in Malaga and see the AlHambra in the evening that same night? What time are the evening tickets for? We'll be arriving from Boston around 11:30 am and I'm concerned about the jet lag and time difference.

Anything I need to keep in mind in Feb? holidays, festivals, etc? Is everything open during that time of year?

annhig

Hi, Yaslin,

yes, depending of course of what time you arrive at Malaga, it is very possible to drive to Granada from Malaga and see the Alhambra in the evening.

you need to allow at least 30 minutes for picking up your hire-car, 30 minutes for escaping from malaga, and another 90 minutes to drive to Granada, if your drive north then east. if you go east along the coast then north, allow 2 hours.

if you go straight there, there is a very large car-park at the entrance. we stayed at the Hotel guadelupe just opposite and found it very satisfactory. you can catch a bus down to [and better still]back up from the town which stops right outside the alhambra ticket office.

from memory the evening visits start at 7.30 to about 9.30. as with the day time visits, you have a time to enter the nasrid palaces, but otherwise may enter the site and wander around at will. [restricted at night to the walk to the main site, and the gardens to either side of this pathway].

you must arrive at the entrance to the nasrid palaces within 30 minutes after the time marked on your ticket.

it is very well worth doing this as well as the day-time visit - the alhambra at night is quite magical. I would book for both, rather than leaving it to chance.

hope this helps,

regards, ann

annhig

oops, yazlin,

just saw you'll be arriving at 11.30 am.

even allowing for delays, queues at the car hire offices [under the airport] getting lost coming out of the airport [we were, for an hour!!!] you should make it easily to Granada in time to see the alhambra that night.

remember that the spanish eat late, so you'll probably get there in time for lunch!

regards, ann

Cowboy1968

Guess it is because I am a bit sensitive re. jetlag and overnight flights, but I admire people who can fly all night, change planes in London (Heathrow???), get on another 2hr flight, pick up car, drive 150km, and then still have the energy to visit the Alhambra.

Viajero2

Actually the second itinerary you listed in/out Madrid sounded very good and reasonable. In Feb, days are shorter and weather is iffy, so the day trips to Ronda from Seville should be with the caveat of good weather. Madrid is a great city to visit, with great museums, great shopping, and a great home base for day trips to amzing cities such as Toledo, Segovia, Alcala de Henares, etc... the idea of visiting the Alhambra the arrival day in Malaga after transatlantic flight is insane (to put it midly...); scratch that ASAP.

Kristina

We also stayed at the Hotel Guadalupe and it's literally across the street from the Alhambra. I would also recommend it.
Not sure I would recommend getting off the plane and driving to see the Alhambra same day however. That would be too much for me.
I would also check closing times for February. The sun sets much earlier than in the summer and it's likely to be chilly too.
So, how will you fit in Madrid? Or will you?

pconte

You may find some useful hotel info in my recent post.

http://fodors.com/forums/approvethre...53&start=0

-- Paul

kja

Hi, Yazlin -

As annhig notes, it is possible for you to see the Alhambra on the day you arrive, but a note of caution: Maybe you and your family deal with jet lag better than I, but I find that I crash sometime during the evening of the day I arrive in Europe. It would be a shame to miss the Alhambra, or to be unable to enjoy it, because of jet lag!

And I'd advise again trying to see Barcelona on this trip - its just too far away, and it deserves more time than you would be able to give it.

Hope that helps!