Black Forest and Andalusia: Even Possible?
 

Hello all!

After a tame semester in the states, the travel bug is itching under my skin again. Luckily, my mother (late-40s), my sister and myself (college students) are planning a trip to Spain and Germany sometime in August (probably the first two weeks).

We are trying to combine a variety of interests.
In Germany: my mom wants to see the Black Forest, the castles, the "typical." My sister wants to go there also, as she has previously been to Germany to visit her soldier boyfriend there. I personally have no driving desire to go there (I'm much more of a Mediterranean baby) but there we have it.

In Spain: I studied in Alicante for five months. My mom wants to see Alicante to see where I lived, etc, and I want to travel further south to check out Granada/Marbella/Malaga/Ronda/Cadiz, if possible.

I know this is a very varied itinerary, and I'm wondering if it's even possible to do it all. We have two weeks, a fairly accomodating budget, and not a lot of room for "roughing it." (My mom doesn't do hostels, get

Whoops, hit the "Post" button accidentally!

Anyways, to finish up - mom gets tired walking a lot, she's definitely into the more "tourist" stuff rather than the authentic stuff (which is exactly the opposite of how I am). My sister...a wild card. As you can see, trying to organize this trip is going to be bit of a nightmare (but I wouldn't have it any other way!)

Whaddya think, Fodorites? Any way this trip is possible?

Thanks for the advice :)

To travel between Germany and Spain check out this web site:

http://www.whichbudget.com/

VERY posible, especially if you are willing to fly and can meet the checked luggage restrictions, particularly Munich-Spain via Air Berlin:

www.air-berlin.com

I've flown Lufthansa to Frankfurt & on to Bilbao (Spain), and then back thru Frankfurt. Lufthansa & SpanAir are codeshare partners.

What you propose is possible, (maybe 1-week in Spain and a week in Bavaria). but you don't want to spend too much time traveling. Unless you fly 'Open Jaw' you'll have to arise real early in the morning for a flight to connect thru Frankfurt.

I would do Spain first ... peak season on the Costa Blanca may be expensive; it will be very hot (Oklahoma HOT) in southern Spain.

Great! Thanks for all the help :) I'm sure this won't be the last you'll hear from me on this board - take care all

I did something like your Spain portion a few years ago with my Dad. I, too, had lived in Alicante for high school, so he came and met my host parents (both sets) then we went south, hittting Granada, Sevilla, Córdoba, then up to Madrid. You will have no trouble traveling as long as you keep the luggage light (as others have said). There are buses (4 hours) from Alicante to Granada (trains go through Madrid and are slow). The bus from Granada to Málaga is a little under 2 hours. Málaga to Marbella is about an hour (bus, again. . . I don't know why you want tos ee Marbella). Cádiz and Ronda are the wild cards. You can get buses to both places, but I would recommend getting a car in Málaga and using it to get to Cádiz, then to Ronda, then on to your departure city (Málaga?).

2 weeks split between Germany and Spain is not a lot of time, but as long as you guys don't mind running like crazy, it will be fine.