sara

hi my fiancee and I are planning our honeymoon in the summer and would like to get feedbacks. we want to taste a bit of everything so here is the initial plan:<BR>4 nights in ronda <BR>8 nights in malaga where we can have access to a beach and from there we take day trips to sevilla, cordoba, granada and marbella and other possible day trips.<BR><BR>5 nights in barcelona<BR>any ideas are appreciated. <BR>

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lisa

Sara -- Congratulations on your upcoming wedding!<BR><BR>My husband and I honeymooned in Southern Spain in Sept. 2000. I can tell you that I think 4 nights in Ronda is waaaaay too much. Ronda is a very small town, quite quaint and a great choice, but I wouldn't spend 4 nights there, even if you're planning to make day trips to other "white towns" in the area. I'd say 2 nights are enough.<BR><BR>Similarly, I wouldn't situate myself in Malaga. It will be a long way from there to some of the towns you are interested in and Malaga isn't particularly interesting. Are you concerned about moving too many times and having to pack/unpack?<BR><BR>Here was our itinerary:<BR><BR>3 nights in Costa del Sol (Las Dunas in Estepona) with a day trip to Ronda<BR>2 nights in Cordoba (we stayed at the Melia hotel, but don't recommend it, the Amistad looked nice)<BR>3 nights in Granada (can't recall our hotel)<BR>3 nights in Seville (Casa Imperial)<BR><BR>If you are interested in the beach/Costa del Sol area, I'd suggest you spend a couple of nights there and then move on. Understand that the beaches in Spain aren't particularly nice. From there, you can go to Ronda or other "white towns." We liked Las Dunas because it is a beautiful, full-service resort, but we also liked not being right in the midst of touristy Marbella.<BR><BR>Granada and Seville were magical. Cordoba was our least favorite.<BR><BR>I can't help you with Barcelona, but there are plenty of others on this forum who know lots about Spain and can probably help.<BR><BR>Good luck!

AG

I would not spend any time at the beach. If you want to spend time at the beach, then go to Tahiti or the Caribbean. Malaga is not close to any of the cities you mentioned. You will be waisting your time in travelling! Plus, cities like Seville have a lot of things to see. If you want to go to Granada, you should think of spending three days there, that's enough. For Seville, 5 days are good and if you're in Seville, you can take the AVE (High velocity train) to Cordova, and spend the day there. Take some time to see Madrid. It's a beautifull city with many places to see. You can take a train from Madrid and spend the day at The Escorial, which is a monastery and castle. Really worth of seeing. In Barcelona, you should think of 5 days minimum. You can go and spend an afternoon at a small town outside Barcelona, Sitges (I think it's spelled like that). You can also spend a day visiting Monserrat. You'll find more information on the web about the places you can visit. But believe me, Spain has many more places to visit, and more interesting than Malaga or Ronda!

sara

thank you for the replies.<BR>we definetly want to go to a beach and we don't want to unpack more than 2-3 times. so if you had to choose a base city in Andalucia from which u can explore the area, which one would it be? and also any suggestions for beaches.

olga

Dear Sara,<BR><BR>I recomend you the beach called Novo Sancti Petri, in the town of Chiclana de la Frontera, in the Bay of Cadiz area.<BR><BR>There´s 3 or 4 very nice resorts there and the beach is fantastic. Do a search<BR>for Chiclana or Cadiz hotels, but book NOW, they fill up quickly in the summer.<BR><BR>Make sure you rent a car, lots of interesting daytrips like Jerez -do it on a Tuesday or Thursday so you can see the spectacular horseshow at the Royal School of Equestrian Art-, with very interesting history and great winery tours, Cadiz, Arcos and other White Villages, Gibraltar, Costa del Sol.<BR><BR>Seville is very close, about an hour and a half easy drive up the highway, but this wouldn´t be a daytrip, you need to stay at least 2 nights.<BR><BR>

sara

anymore ideas?