Anniversary trip: itinerary for Granada/Seville/Day trips
 

Hi! My husband and I are planning a 15th anniversary trip to Andalucia for 8 days in January (the 14th-22nd.) We were thinking Granada/Seville plus day trips. How many days should we stay in each? Any suggestions?

I would plan to do 2 full days in Granada, 4 days in Seville with a day trip to Cordoba and two days in Malaga.

You need a full day to see the Alhambra and maybe most of one day for the city of Granada. A trip to Cordoba by train will
really take up most of one day from Seville.

I highly recommend that you look at the web page for
reallydiscover.com. The company offers day tour and nightly
tapas tours in both Seville and Granada. We took the tapas tour in Seville and we thought it was terrific. You won't need dinner afterward-terrific food in the form of tapas.

Be sure to order your Alhambra tickets ahead of time.

Pat

Is this 8 full and available days? No flights and travel to and from an airport involved in this 8 days and which airport if so?

www.maribelsguides.com Another guide for information.

Thanks all for replying :-) I haven't bought tickets yet (will do today) but we were planning on arriving in Seville early on the 15th, and flying home in the afternoon of the 22nd or 23rd out of Malaga. We can take trains or rent a car for any trips between these places. I appreciate any input!!!!

I would spend 4-5 nights in Sevilla with a daytrip to Cordoba. 5 nights if you are arriving on a transatlantic flight as you'll need a day to recover from jetlag. I'd spend a couple of nights in Granada. Ideally you could spend a couple of nights in the White villages between Sevilla & Granada. However, due to the limited time I'd probably spend the final night or 2 in Malaga as it's a great city and you'll be departing from there. No need to rent a car for this trip. It can all be done by bus or train.

Although many people visit Cordoba as a day trip from Sevilla, I found it worth a 2-day visit. Enjoy!

I agree that Cordoba is worth 2 nights - the issue is that most people don't have time in their itinerary for the 2 additional nights. In the case of the OP they'd have to forego nights in Sevilla (arrival city), Granada or Malaga (depearture city) for 2 nights in Cordoba. So in this particular case I'd do as a daytrip from Sevilla.

anetteandricky,

This can be a snip. Confirm into Seville airport and out of Malaga airport and sure dates and if no one else does, I will give a very neat schedule (or fill in any gaps) by public transport.

Best wishes.

Hello all...WomBatt, that sounds great. I just booked our flights: we will be arriving in Seville at 12:50 pm on the 15th of January and departing on the 23rd of January at 9:30 am from Malaga, which gives us pretty much 8 full days. I know we want to visit the Alhambra - other than that we're open. Thanks again for your help! :-)

I would spend 5 nights in Seville, 2 in Granada and 2 in Malaga. Take a night off Malaga if you'd like to stay in a sleepier town like Cordoba, Arcos or Ronda.

As usual I agree with Egbert ;) 5 nights Seville (w/a daytrip to Cordoba), 2 nights Granada and 2 nights in Malaga would be my choice. You could easily do this using train & bus. If you want to experience a smaller town you could do as Egbert suggests and shave a night off Malaga. Alternatively you could visit Antequera as a daytrip from Malaga or visit Arcos, Carmona or Osuna as a daytrip from Sevilla.

This is my first time on a forum like this, and I am finding it all very illuminating....Thank you all! Because we have 8 days, our preliminary itinerary is like this:
Day 1, Sat. - Arrive in Seville at noon - explore (suggestions???)Thinking of staying at the Alfonso XIII
Days 2-3, Sun, Mon. - Seville
Day 4, Tues. - Leave Seville for Cordoba (car-bus/train - undecided)(overnight at Cordoba)
Day 5, Wed. - Leave Cordoba for Granada (not sure when to visit Alhambra)
Day 6, Thurs - Granada
Day 7, Fri - Leave Granada for Malaga
Day 8, Sat - Malaga
Day 9, Sun - 9:30 am flight home

If you have any suggestions (restaurants, hotels, places to see, transportation) I would really appreciate it. I think we would prefer b&b's or paradors, as well as quaint towns vs. big cities. Also, we have never experienced Europe by car, but I'm not sure if this is the best itinerary for a car.

My husband and I never had a true honeymoon, so we are definitely looking forward to this!

Thank you all!!!!!

Malaga hotel I can rec. AC Malaga Palacio, in the very center and reasonably priced, compared to others. Ask for a room with a view to the harbour, it is unbeatable. Has a small parking facility.
Lower budget is Don Curro, just accross the street, but no view and no parking at all.
Another option is NH Malaga, this one has parking and it is by the river.
You will not need the car once in Malaga, everything is walking distance except El Caleño restaurant, but you can take a taxi there, it is not expensive (you can even walk, it'll be pleasant if sunny, but long).
As you are leaving on a Sunday morning, do not expect any traffic jam to the airport.

You do not need a car for this trip. The public trans. in Spain is excellent, I even take the bus. I guess you can't go wrong with a night in Cordoba. I am completely biased and would hate to lose a night in Seville. The quaint towns in Spain are quaint and quiet but boring for me when compared to the great cities of Seville, Granada and Malaga.

What is your price range for hotels?

We want to do a little balancing - staying at really special places and then switching up with something more inexpensive for other nights. I guess our budget is about +/-100 Euros a night, but we might have to tweak it a bit. I loved the Alfonso XIII in Seville (I found a room there for 132 Euros a night) and the idea of the Parador de Granada (with the Young Persons discount it's about 95 Euros/person a night.) I'm not sure if these are worthwhile splurges...

Egbert, it would definitely be simpler to not have to pack up for a night in Cordoba, but can it realistically be done in one day? At what time should we be leaving/returning?

Thanks!!!

I'm sorry I ask so many questions, but while I'm here, when would be the best time to visit the Alhambra? We will be there on Wednesday about noon and will be leaving Granada on Friday morning....

Keep in mind, I think you should buy tickets in advance. You may not be able to just walk up to the sales office and get what you want. So a little information. Richard www.alhambradegranada.org/en/info/ticketsale.asp