Andalusian Itinerary
 

Hola !
Planning an 8 day itinerary for Anadusia arriving in Seville and departing from Malaga.
Kindly review and suggest any improvements to my initial plans. I am very surprised my first choice hotels are already booked since the trip is planned for February and I thought it was low season,with few crowds, and that the weather will be rather poor!
I have never been to Spain and our Spanish is fair. Would like to see as many pueblo blancos as possible as well as Seville and Grenada, and the sea.

Days 1-3 arrive at 9:30AM Seville ( Hotel Amadeus 3 nights) including day trip (bus tour?) to Cordoba

Days 4 and 5 -rent car and leisurely drive to to Ronda (1 or 2 nights ?) hotel suggestion please -` would like to be right in town . I believe the Parador is booked.

Days 6,7, and 8- leave Ronda , on to Nerja 3 nights , including day trip to Grenada (bus tour?)
Is anyone familiar with El Capistrano Village in Nerja? Seems like a nice alternative to a hotel for a few days, but would we be able to walk to restaurants or the beach from there? also considering the Parador, anyone?

day 9 leave Nerja have 11:30 flight back to Boston from Malaga.

Please critique, any suggestions most appreciated .

Sorry, but you make no mention of your arrival date.

Ome people don't like to put dates in for privacy purposes. It is February.

For a first time trip to Andalucia, I'd focus on Sevilla and Granada.

I'd spend at least 3 full days in Sevilla - it appears you'll have 3 days - one jetlagged and one for a daytrip to Cordoba. I'd add a day to Sevilla. No need to do a bus tour to Cordoba - it's an easy train ride from Sevilla and you can do on your own.

Given it's February I'd skip Nerja and spend 2 nights in Granada. It's really worth much more than a day trip.

Finally I'd add a final night in Malaga city. It's a wonderful city with plenty to do, friendly people and great tapas.

Why haven't you added Granada? I wouldn't miss it.

You asked about accommodation in Ronda. Our family spent a couple of nights in Ronda this past January. We caught the bus from Sevilla (an hour and a half duration) and stayed at the Hotel Ronda. Had a thoroughly enjoyable time there - family run, about 4 rooms, very light breakfast was included.

Compared to what we’d had before the rooms were very large – plenty of space – wonderful bathroom which was large and had great water pressure – the best towels on the whole trip! Heaps of room for our gear and lovely décor.

Thoroughly enjoyed our stay in Ronda. From here we caught the train to Granada.

I agree with CathyM - add at least one day to Granada and consider adding a day to Sevilla. Cordoba is easily visited on your own from Sevilla (although I found it worth 2 days). Ronda is beautiful, but I was ready to leave after 1 day. I didn't visit Nerja, so can't comment about it. Enjoy!

Hotel Ronda is very new, in a good location in the old part of town. It is a big town house refurbished and turned into hotel. I visited it and it looked good to me (I do not stay in hotels in Ronda, as I have relatives there). The website in english is www.hotelronda.net

If you go to Nerja, I would strongly recommend to stay in the center, close to the Balcón de Europa. The Parador would be an excellent option, on level with and close to the pictoresque old town and the best restaurants and bars as well as great beaches (might be a bit cold in February, but you'll always find people working out, swimming or relaxing on the beaches in Nerja year around). Otherwise it might be a lot of steep walking. Other great alternatives would be Hotel Carabeo, Hotel Balcón de Europa or Hotel Plaza Cavana.
http://www.hotelcarabeo.com/

Depending on your tastes/interests, I can recommend great restaurants/tapas bars as well as suggestions for things to do and see in the area. Excellent fish and seafood places in town as well as high quality Spanish and international restaurants. Extremely popular "La Marina" is as good as you get a seafood freiduria in all of Andalucía. This site is best on Nerja:
http://www.nerjatoday.com

Direct bus from Nerja to both Granada and Málaga several times a day. Taxi from Nerja to Málaga airport is 69€ (45 mins): http://www.nerjataxis.net/

I spent 2 nights at the Hotel San Gabriel and loved this place. It really does feel like you're staying in a home - beautifully decorated and relaxing.


http://www.hotelsangabriel.com/

Thanks so much for the info.
Is Hotel Amadeus in Seville a good choice?
Yes, I'm sure Granada is great but I've heard it's quite cold in winter and we are escaping from New England for a week and hoping to encounter somewhat milder weather if not sunshine, so I thought we'd settle for just a day trip (a bus tour since I'd read driving and parking there is annoying)
Nerja just looked pretty and the caves interesting (and I'd like to be by the sea) as does Antequera which I'm hoping we can fit in visiting for a few hours after leaving Ronda.
Couldn't we easily drive to Malaga for a day from Nerja?
In Nerja, Hotel Balcón de Europa is already booked, I'll check out the other suggestions, thanks. El Capistrano Village anyone? the Parador is available.

We can get only one night at the Parador in Ronda, second night not available, so perhaps we'll just move on.

So plan right now is Seville 3 nights(day trip Cordoba)then rent car and travel to Ronda with 1 night at Parador, visit Antequera on way to Nerja (4 nights with day trips to Grenada and Malaga). Any more suggestions most appreciated.

You can check for other Ronda hotels on TripAdvisor.com. The hotel that I stayed in 10 years ago is getting 'tired' reviews so I won't recommend it.

I was also in Andalusia in February... weather was fine. Went for a 3-hour sunrise horseback ride in Ronda. And had to buy shorts to sit on the beach in Marbella!

shorts! well that's encouraging! thanks !

El Capistrano village will be 20-30 mins walking from the center of Nerja. It's a kind of a tourist village. Would strongly recommend to stay in the center, close to seafront Calle Carabeo and the Balcón de Europa. I am absolutely sure that Hotel Balcón de Europa is not full booked for next February. But would perhaps rather recommend the smaller and more intimate Hotel Carabeo.

Málaga is 35 mins drive or a litte more than one hour by bus from Nerja. Departures almost every 30 mins. Málaga is a must and has got its very own and fabolous Andalusian atmosphere. "Málaga: Authentic charm of an overlooked treasure":
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/ci...-treasure.html

Antequera (pop. 40 000) is also a fascinating town. Known as the "heart of Andalucía" with its dolmens, Roman baths, a Moorish Castle, Gothic churches, Renaissance fountains and baroque bell towers. Antequera was the first of the Granada emirate towns to fall to the Christians in 1410.
http://www.andaluciacoastandcountry.com/antequera.html

Close to the famous El Torcal limestone rock formations.
http://www.andalucia.com/antequera/torcal/home.htm

The article "A Tapas Tour of Antequera" should give you some ideas of great places to eat. I've lived in Hotel Castilla and can recommend the adjoining bar/restaurant mentioned in the article.
http://www.andaluciacoastandcountry.com/tapaspain.html

Thanks kimhe- I can't believe Hotel Balcón de Europa would be booked already for February but I can't find vacancy (used Venere,www.123casa, Expedia, and their own web page.

Thanks for all additional info also - so I'm going to take your advice as an endorsement of my itinerary ?

Renting a car after our stay in Seville and keeping it through the rest of our trip through Ronda, Antequera, Malaga, and Nerja, good idea?

Kimhe is right, staying closer to the center of Nerja would be better. There are so many nice places to rent so cheap, its not worth going to Capsitrano.
We found a quality cliffside 3 br apartment w/pool for 1100/wk

Hi Keds1, I've just had a look at the website of the Hotel Balcón de Europa and it looks like they're only taking bookings until the end of December 2010 - all dates from 1st January 2011 are blocked out. We encountered a similar thing when booking for our trip last Dec/Jan. Sometimes we found we were looking too far ahead. In some instances we e-mailed the relevent property and were either able to book that way or they told us when to look online to make a booking. Hope this is of some help.

A lot of places for just some eight days, but it's doable. Perhaps just stop by Antequera for lunch en route to Nerja/Málaga? Visit the lovely and quiet plaza in front of the 16th century renaissance church Real Colegiata de Santa María la Mayor: 50 mtrs down on the one side there are newly excavated Roman baths, and just up on the other side is the Moorish alcazaba. Perhaps also drive up to El Torcal for the views and a walk?

I normally use the excellent public transportation in the area, but I think car after Sevilla sounds like a good plan. In Nerja, there is free parking on the big feria ground behind seafront Calle Carabeo.

Thanks again for all the info.
four_maccas I'm sure you're correct about the bookings- I think the reservations were in Spanish and I probably lost that in translation.
kimhe thanks for your critique- I'm feeling pretty confident now with my plans, and I appreciate all your tips.

I would skip Nerja and stay in Granada for two nights and Malaga for one.