cherrybomb

need a daytrip, I mean, not a drink yet. Lolz.

cherrybomb

Would it be too much to book the afternoon, then the evening session at Alhambra all in one day?

LunaBella

cherrybomb - As far as your question about the baths in Seville and Granada, you can't go wrong at either place! I visited both in February and loved them equally, the staff at each place were friendly and welcoming and the baths themselves were stunning. Such a cool experience at either place! I miss those baths every day. Lights down low, only a few people in there with you, cool Arabic music playing, candles in Moroccan lamps everywhere, and architecture like you're in the Alhambra. Seriously. Except without all of the people taking photos. Maybe even better! Hot pools, cold pools, steam room, mint steam room, heated marble benches, mint tea. And then there are the massages...

My suggestion is you do it in Seville and then give yourself the option to do it again in Granada if you love it as much as I did! I didn't have a reservation for Granada, just walked right up and the guy at the front desk was super nice. (Make sure you have some euro coins with you for the lockers there!)

As far as day trips, I did the opposite of one you're thinking of - did a day trip to Seville from Cordoba - last November and it was a snap. The Mezquita in Cordoba surpassed my wildest expectations, it's one of the coolest buildings I've ever been in, if not THE coolest. I took my i-pod and just hung out in there for a few hours by myself listening to Arabic music. Dreamy.

Didn't make it to Jerez so can't comment there.

Think you're doing it right by staying five nights in Seville, it's one of my favorite cities in the world! And from what I've read, I think you like the nightlife and pub crawling, so I think you'll find plenty to keep you busy in Seville! There's lots to see there during the day as well though, and it's a feast for the eyes for sure.

cherrybomb

Thanks for the feedback on the baths. Did you get bathing gear their or bring your own? Odd question but Mildred asked if Monte would provide her with gear or she had to bring. (pardon my baiting for mom to join in)

Chynk92010

What we did was fly via Spanair from Barcelona to Seville. Did a day trip to Cordoba by bus (at Sebastian del Prado Bus Station), then, took the bus again to go to Granada, stayed one night in Granada (after visiting the Alhambra in the pm). The next day, we took the bus again to go to Madrid.
The best thing to do is go back to Spain again in the future and plan on visiting those that one missed like Cadiz, Huelva, Arcos de Frontera, Ronda, Valencia, Malaga in Andalusia. Spain is a country where one can really enjoy the history, culture and foods by traveling SLOW. Maybe, it's worth living there for 2 months just to do the must-sees.

cherrybomb

I do keep going back. Need suggestions specific to this trip though. Not to sound curt. Just looking to plan something specific with my parents and having trouble fashioning a plan that suits their requirements with my super plain no plan planning style. As I mentioned earlier, I am not an overplanner or daytripper, but they like to have more of an agenda than me.

CathyM

Lazy traveler.....I prefer to say that I'm a "slow" traveler

With 5 days in Sevilla I'd definately plan a daytrip to Cordoba as suggested. If you want to do another daytrip there are several options depending on your preferences. Carmona is an easy daytrip by bus and a nice typical village. Arcos is another easy daytrip by bus and a white hill town. If the interest is in sherry I'd head to Jerez (bus or train) or even Sanlucar (bus) for manzanilla. I'd play the 2nd daytrip by ear but have the information ready in case you want to do it. In Jerez many of the sherry bodegas require reservations but Gonzalas Byass does not.

I agree about doing the Arab bath in Sevilla as you'l have more time there and if you really enjoy it then you could repeat the experience in Granada.

http://www.airedesevilla.com/

cherrybomb

Cathy:

We will be driving rather than public transporting. Does that open more options in your opinion? I think the sherry thing is a must, as I want to bring some back and I have only recently acquired a taste for it in the past 4 years or so. Would you prefer Sanlucar or Jerez. I have no interest in equestrian things so that is not in the equation.

CathyM

Jerez vs Sanlucar is a difficult question. If it were summer I'd probably say Sanlucar for the beach location. Jerez probably has more options for sherry tasting but I personally like Sanlucar. It has a more intimate feel and I don't think gets as many tourists. The Pedro Romero tour is excellent.

Driving does give you more options for daytrips but for some places (Cordoba) I'd probably still use public transport and not have to worry about parking and navigating.

LunaBella

Regarding the baths, I brought my own bathing gear and it seemed that's what everybody else did as well.

As for the sherry, be prepared for them to try to put Sprite in it! (At least that was my experience, but as I said, I didn't go to Jerez and I know they won't be doing that in the tasting rooms. Out at the bars in Seville and Cordoba though any time I tried to order something such as manzanilla, they always replied with a "Con Sprite?"