baerbel

Hi<BR>I am going to be going to marbella and have a reservation at the Los Monteros a le meridian property. Any comments?

Paula

Sorry, don't know anything about this hotel.<BR>

George

Hi Paula<BR>I hope you enjoyed your trip.<BR>I was hoping to get your opinion on whether to spend 6 nights of our honeymoon in either Nerja or seville. We will also stay in Ronda for few nights then fly to Barcelona.<BR>thanks a lot

Priscila

Paula,<BR>Me and my husband are going to stay 15 days in Spain. Certantly we are going to Barcelona. But I would like to ask your suggestion , wich places do you recomend ? PS. WE MARRIED 2 YARS AGO, AND THIS TRIP WILL BE OUR SECOND HUNNEY MOON.

Paula

George and Priscilla,<BR>Depends what you like. Nerja is smaller and the caves are truly fantastic, but Serville is larger and was one of my favorite places ever...the flamenco is incredible (Los Gallos), the Plaza Espana, Alcazar, cathedral, and barrio Santa Cruz were wonderful. However, I hear it gets very hot in Serville in the summer (we were there in March), so I don't know how well you deal with heat. I like Toledo too--especially where we stayed--Hotel del Cardenal--and you can make day trips from there to Madrid to see the Prado and Sofia. Congradulations to all of you (we were there on our 20th anniversery--hard to believe!)<BR>Hope this helps,<BR>Paula

Another Paula

Hi, Paula! We are considering Spain for a "beach holiday" in late June. Do you think Marriott Marbella wld. be a good choice? Do they have suites/condos there? Can you tell us a little bit about the beach? What is closest major airport? What will the weather be like in late June/early July?<BR>Look fwd. to your comments/suggestions<BR>Another Paula

John

Paula: We (6 of us) will be in Barcelona for 3 days the end of June. It will be the only place in Spain we are visiting. Can you give us some idea for day trips by train or cab from the city that might give us a broader view of Spain. We do not want to rent cars and to pay a guide looks like big $$$$$$. Thanks

Paula

I would suggest you spend all your time in Barcelona. We were only there 3 days and it wasn't enough time to do everything. It's such a great city...so much to so (check notes above)...and you sure don't want a car there. Have a great time.

spencer

what day trips did you make from marbella? we will be using marbella as our base in july. was the staff at the marriott helpful in helping make plans?

Dean

Hi Paula,<BR> I'm strongly considering attending an athletic event which will be held close to Santander (Cantabria) in mid-July for 2 days. The most inexpensive tickets to Spain would be to Madrid. From Madrid, would it be advisable to take a train to Santander, or rent a car and drive there? Also, if I do rent a car, how do I arrange to drive there? Is the driving much different there? Thanks.<BR><BR>Dean.

Paula

Spencer, We used the Marriott Marbella as a base to see Alhambra, the Nerja caves, Ronda and Mijas as well as the old village of Marbella which is charming. The staff were wonderful...so helpful...best of any place we stayed in Europe.<BR>Have a great time.<BR>Dean, I don't know where Santander is. Sorry can't be of any help. As for renting a car, check out Europcar (don't use Hertz). Yuo need an international driver's lincense which you can get from AAA in the states.<BR>Good luck

cathy

Paula..did you do a day tour to Granada from Marbella? Who did you use? Would you recommend Marbella or Nerja as a base to tour Andalucia?

Paula

Cathy,<BR>We rented a car. Granada was about an hour/hour and a half drive from Marbella. I liked both Marbella and Nerja, but the Marbella area is more touristy, but we had a time-share at the Marriott for a week and it was great--staff were unbelieably helpful. Whichever place you stay, make sure you see the caves in Nerja and Alhambra. Have a great trip.<BR>Paula

Cooter

Dean:<BR><BR>You may want to start your own thread on this, as Paula doesn't mention Santander.<BR><BR>I have made this trip a few times, though. Basically, you have three options:<BR>1. bus: cheapest, approx 5-6 hours.<BR>2. train: approx 6 hours.<BR>3. car: approx 4.5 hours.<BR><BR>For driving, taking the N1 to the N623(@Burgos) and N623 to Santander is usually good. There are other options, though, especially if you want to see some towns along the way, like Segovia, or Palencia or Valladolid. Check viamichelin.com for good routes and get a good map once you are in Spain. For train, check www.renfe.es. There are a million private bus companies in Spain, I don't know the one that is serving Madrid-Santander, but it should not be too hard to find out.<BR><BR>I don't know where you are from, so I don't know how different driving in Spain would be for you. I, an American, have found it fairly easy outside of the big cities, with good roads, good signs and decent (if fast) drivers. If you'll have a place to park the car in Santander, it might be good. Driving in Santander itself is no fun, although no worse than most American cities and is certainly easier than Madrid.<BR><BR>IF you are only spending two days in the Santander area, I think your decision should be based on what you are going to do before and after. I hope that two days won't be the sum total of your visit to this great part of Spain.<BR><BR>

Elizabeth

Thanks for being available to answer questions! My 18 year old son is going on a study abroad program in Alicante for the month of July. He will be taking the train back to Madrid for the flight home and will have to spend a night alone there. How far is it from the city istelf to the airport? Can you recommend a hotel that would be safe for him traveling alone? What 1 or 2 sites would you recommend for him to see in an afternoon/evening before his flight? Thanks so much.

Paula

Hi,<BR>We didn't fly in or out of Madrid, so I can't help you on the airport...hopefully someone else will...we stayed at a place in Madrid that I personally wouldn't stay at again, but would have as a student...there were several students from the U.S. there on exchange programs...it's called the Hotel Europa and is inexpensive and in a safe area. As for what to do...I'd say not to miss the Prado and Sofia museums. For July he might check out getting tickets in advance on the Internet. Hope that helps, Paula