kimhe

The parador in Ronda gets great reviews: http://www.booking.com/hotel/es/para...nda.en-gb.html

You'll get a great taste of Sevilla in four days also, so I would have moved the planned fifth night to Ronda.

To get you in the Ronda mood:
Antonio El Bailarin in the gorge to the voice of Manolo Caracol: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3VrW_E8CL2E

Rocio Molina dancing a rondeña in the Ronda bullring: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQcJC72NTsc

Maybe see Celia Morales if you go here?
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractio...f_Malaga_.html

FairfaxCA

Piccolina it looks as if you are getting wonderful advice for your trip; kimhe's tips are shaping our planning. I'm bookmarking this tread for a four week trip to Madrid and Andalucía being penciled on our calendar for Sept-Oct.

Piccolina

Hi everyone. Thank you so much for everyone's valuable feedback.

Flighs are now booked! Turns out there is a BA flight LHR to Malaga flight on Friday. This resolved my earlier problem about going to Gatwick or Stansted.

So here is the draft itinerary starting in mid-sep and have a few questions

3 nights - Malaga (arrival quite late at 20:00; 1st full day to visit Malaga; 2nd full day pick up a rental car for day trip - suggestion? Options include: 1) Antequera (which looks like can also be done en route from Granada to Ronda); 2) Nerja; 3) open to suggestions!

2 nights - Granada (day and night tour at Alhambra)

1 night - Ronda (stop by Antequera en route to Ronda in car. Other noteworthy stops en route? the 2nd day can be used to visit the pueblos blancos)

4 nights - Seville (day trip to Cordoba. Has anyone been to a dehesa to see a black pig farm - would this be something worth visiting or is my time better spent eating jamon in town?)

5 nights - Madrid (day trip to Segovia and another spot. I've been to toledo so it would be nice to see something else. Other days will be spent in Madrid).

Thanks again for everyone's help. Am looking forward to returning to Spain after a 4 year hiatus!!

Bedar

Black pig farm ? Snort, snort, oink, oink. No, better to spend your time eating ham in town. Now, were you able to watch a matanza in a small village in winter, that would be another story. How about visiting a finca where toros bravos are raised ? Believe Ozarksbill mentioned one near Ronda where you're going. Visit the Tourist Office for more info.

Piccolina

Just a thought, would it make more sense to do Ronda as a day trip from Malaga (adding an additional night in Malaga)? Currently, I'm stopping one night in Ronda en route from Granada to Seville. Mucho gracias!

Bedar

Doesn't really matter much, but I think I'd be inclined to go to Ronda on the road from Granada to Seville.

kimhe

The Septiembre es flamenco festival goes on in Sevilla Sept 8-20. http://www.labienal.com/en/programa/...breesflamenco/

Eva Yerbabuena in the grand Maestranza theater on the 20th should be an experience, she's arguably the greatest female flamenco dancer in the world the past 15 years. This gives you an idea: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8IW3mZNprq0
http://www.evayerbabuena.com/en/

Piccolina

Hi everyone

Counting down to my Andalusia/Madrid trip!

We'll be picking up our rental car late Sunday morning in Malaga and am deciding what to do on the Sunday with the car. We'll be sleeping in Malaga that night and leaving the next day (monday) for Granada. What we do as a day trip on Sunday will be depedent on the driving route from Malaga to Granada

Below is my proposed itinerary - thoughts?

Sunday - go to Nerja and the coast for lunch. Maybe do a visit to the caves if time allows (but we've been to caves before so it's not a big must-do). Then drive to Antequerra for a late afternoon/early evening stroll followed by dinner at El Escribano (as recommended by Kimhe above) - Is this too much for one day? The drive from Nerja to Antequeera is 108km (around 1 hr 10 mins) per google maps. This means there will be around 2.5 hours of driving on this day - 45 mins (Malaga to Nerja), then 1h10 (Nerja to Antequerra) and then 45 mins (Antequerra back to Malaga).

Then the drive on Monday from Malaga to Granada - I read on another thread where someone suggested to "head for the sierra by taking the A402. Some spectacular scenery. The time allowed should be around 3 hours plus stopping time. Eat somewhere in like the town of Alhama de Granada."

Other suggestions on driving route from Malaga to Granada are welcome. Ideally I would like to get to Granada around 3pm on the Monday.

Is the Sunday itinerary both achievable and enjoyable?

Muchos gracias for your thoughts and insight!

Bedar

You could go to Antequera on Sunday and stop by Nerja for lunch on the way to Granada on Monday.

tobyo

a question for Piccolina if you don't mind: you booked your flights 4 months prior to departure, is that right? I'm "out of practice". read: haven't planned a trip to Spain in over 4 years...but we're going next May and I can't recall when is the best time to buy plane tickets. had you always planned to get the plane tickets 4 months ahead?

many thanks for any information!

Piccolina

Tobyo - Actually, I was planning to get my plane tickets even earlier but procrastinated. Luckily I have a travel agent who can hold flights for me ahead of time and then I can make payment later. However I'm not based in the US so not too sure how that would work there. Perhaps other fodorites woul have better info?

May is shoulder season so it should be easier to get a more reasonably priced ticket. September is actually high season with kids returning to school overseas, etc.

Happy planning!

kimhe

Sunday night (13. september) at 7.30 pm in Malaga: The final act of the canonic coronation of Virgen del Rocio. The whole thing is presided by the king, and the main events are on Friday and especially Saturday (the actual coronation in the Malaga cathedral), but thought you should know about the Sunday night procession from Casa Hermandad (close to Plaza de la Victoria) accompanied by Banda de Música de Rincón de la Victoria. A major Malaga event, and you don't need to be very much into religious practices to appreciate the cultural importance of this:
http://www.hermandaddelrocio.com/san...oronacion.html

tobyo

oh yes, you are very lucky with that travel agent!! you must keep them! thanks for the info. I think it's all a crap shoot anyway to be honest. I've read a bunch of different advice. I think I will search every so often starting 6 months out and then grab one that looks good. and I LOVE the planning! almost as much as the being there....

you have gotten some great advice. I'm happy to see that kimhe is still here. a font of knowledge about Spain. I like your day trip for Sunday. It is a lot of driving but you'll be breaking it up. I haven't read everything above but I wanted to ask you what you're doing with your rental car while in Granada. there aren't many streets that regular cars can drive on (unless that's changed since I was there 5 years ago....). we dropped our rental car at the train station and took taxis and buses while in town. such a great city Granada. can't wait to go back!

enjoy your trip!! and thanks again.

tobyo

looks like you may have already booked your Madrid hotel but I had to chime in anyway. we love Hotel Preciados. great location, great staff. just great. maybe a little more expensive but we think it's worth it.

Piccolina

Yes, Kimhe is really a great resource on Spain. Thank you, Kimhe!

And yes I agree that flight pricing is a bit of a crap shoot anyway. Just figure out how much you are willing to pay and then benchmark the prices from that point of reference.

Re: rental car in Granada, we'll keep it because we're heading to Ronda after and will need a car. I'll park the car in Granada (for 2 nights).

I might just attempt my plan for Sunday (Nerja + Antequerra) because I would ideally want to get to Granada by early afternoon and also want to minimise time spent away from the car while our luggages are inside!

kja

"we're heading to Ronda after and will need a car"

I trust you realize that you don't need a car to see Ronda?

Piccolina

It's for the drive from Granada to Ronda and surrounding white villages

plambers

Hi. When we were in Spain two years ago in May, many of the natives highly recommended Cadiz. I have not been there but was surprised that it was the first recommendation from so many Spaniards. Just a thought.
May is a lovely time there. We spent 8 days in Madrid and Sevilla. Me encanta!

zeldababy

Kimhe- we are in San Sebastián 4 days and want to see zarrutz and Biarritz. Should we rent a car? Or bus? Also where is best city for paella? We had the best pintxos here in SS at bar borda berri.

Piccolina

Zeldababy - I'm obviously not kimhe but I did go to Biarritz from SS. YOu can just a take a bus. Cuts down on the hassle of having to park in Biarritz.

Counting down to Malaga in less than a week - what are your favorite restaurant/tapas places in Malaga? I read on one of these threads that Gorki still does good jamon iberico. I've done El Pimpi on my last trip so can do without that. Would love to try some local places where locals eat