I am planning a trip to Costa Del Sol? I have read about it in travel books but would appreciate some first hand accounts. I hear its lovely and it's less expensive that my other tour option to Barcelona and Madrid for six days.

Jewel, <BR>I haven't visited the Costa Del Sol, so take this information with a grain <BR>of salt, but I have not heard anything positive about it. It is very commercial, and during the season, extremely crowded. I am sure there are firsthand accounts on this forum, so I would do a search for more accurate information. <BR> <BR>Barcelona and Madrid are great cities. I happen to like Barcelona more as it's easier to walk around and has lots of museums. If you want the beach, try Sitges, near Barcelona. (Once again, secondhand information). I hear it's charming. <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR>

You didn't mention when you are going. We went to Torremolinas on the Costa del Sol in the first half of May and loved it. It wasn't crowded then at all. Went to a restaurant whose specialty is giant sea bass baked in a thick crust of salt. It was a real production watching the waiters crack the crust and carefully remove it from the fish -- and I got the whole thing on video! <BR> <BR>We also went to Madrid but it was already summertime hot and none in our family enjoys the heat, so we did not enjoy that so much. We've never been to Barcelona, but I've heard good things about it and will go some day. Have fun, wherever you go.

Costs del Sol can be a mixed bag. There are really commercial spots and ones that are much less so. High season in late July and all of August is really crowded. Plan around that. I have spent time in Salobrena, Almunecar, and Nerja. All nice places. They are a mix of white-washed villages, apartment blocks and resort stuff. If you are looking for the better beaches, you probably should look at Costa Blanca (Benidorm, etc.) <BR> <BR>Good luck!

I Live in Marbella (Costa del Sol), it is a great place to visit, and even more for living . But it depends on the target of your trip, if it is exclusively cultural, I do not know if it is the best place although you have dayly trips from here to Sevilla, Cordoba, Tanger (Morocco),Granada all of them are incredibly interesting. You can think about Marbella as a good place for relax, food, and as a good point to make very intesting excursions to all these places. <BR> <BR>Tips: <BR>Acommodations: <BR>Budget accomodation: bancotel.es <BR>Medium: www.hotel-elfuerte.es <BR>Expensive: Marbella Club Hotel. <BR> <BR>Food: <BR>Bar California: Typical fish (very popular, full of locals)Budget. <BR>El Tangito: Spanish, meat, medium price <BR>Pasta Di Bruno: Best Local Italian Restaurant. Medium price. <BR>La Taberna del Alabardero: Puerto Banus, Spanish, expensive. <BR> <BR>Places to visit around and distances from Marbella - beside previous excursions- : (Puerto Banus, 4km), Ojen 9km), (Ronda 40 Km). <BR> <BR>Have a nice tripˇˇ <BR>

We enjoyed it when we were there, granted it is not the culture capital of Spain, but it's nice just the same. It depends on you and what you are looking for in a vacation. You can take day trips to Granada & the Alhambra (marvelous) and to Tangiers too. People are always quick to run down the Costa del Sol and/or Tangiers however my theory is if you go assuming you will have a good time you will. Marbella is nice as the last poster indicated. We stayed in Torremolinos and enjoyed it - I would not stay for 2 weeks, but 5 days or so were just great. Try and combine it with a stay in Madrid and then do day trips to Toledo and El Escorial.

We stayed in Torremelinos for 7 days in early May. I really enjoyed it, we had warm weather which was great. The food (mostly seafood) was delicious and very inexpensive. We rented a car for 4 days so we took a lot of day trips to Gibraltar,Seville, plus we visited the surrounding towns, like Marbella, Mijas, Malaga. We had a great time. Next time, I would take a day trip to Granada & Cordoba, I heard it's very interesting.