Help with nine days in Andalusia
 

Hello,

We've just decided to take a trip to southern Spain in May. I've bought several travel books, but am hoping for advice from individuals as well.

We tend to like a mix of historic and cultural sites, day hikes, and relaxing on a patio. We don't like to change towns every day. We tend to prefer villages/small towns over large cities for our bases of operation. Our initial plans are to focus on Andalusia, and not even try to cover all of that.

Right now our thinking is: after flying into Malaga, hit Granada for one evening and a day to see the Alhambra.

Leave from Granada late afternoon to spend two nights/one day in Seville area. Seville might be too big for our tastes in terms of lodging. We were thinking of staying in Carmona. Any experiences there? Any other suggestions for smaller town near enough to Seville for a day of exploration?

Leave Seville area for Rondo area. This would also allow us to spend another part of a day touring Seville. Right now we're thinking of spending several nights in one town and exploring from there. Zahara and Grazalema our being considered as possible base to explore Arcos de la Frontera, Jerez, Rondo. We will probably also do at least one day of just hiking (national park near Grazalema?).

Leave Rondo area and go to Tarifa for one night/one day. Possibly extend another day. Then fly out of Malaga.

My main questions for now are: what do folks think of our possible towns for lodging? Do you have better ideas?

Should we keep Granada in the trip, or add a day to Seville? I'm torn.

Is it worth it to spend in extra day for a day trip to Morroco? Or would we just see a crowded, loud market? How about Gibralter?

Any other comments would be great. Neither of us has been to Spain. We want to see some sites, but also need very much to have some relaxation time. This is not necessarily our only trip to Spain. If we love it, we could go back some time in the next five years.

Thanks in advance for your assistance!

oopsy:

You had lots of ideas...GOOD and lots of questions.

First I encourage you to take a look at my 8 or 9 part trip report to Spain.
I answer more of your querries via the report.

I also implore you to take a half day and pull up and read the other Spain travel questions on this thread.
You will get some excellent ideas and advice... you will also generate more questions for us!

You "can not" do a day trip to Morrocco. You would only wind up in Tangier and I am not the Chamber of Commerce person for them...also in my report.

Do NOT delete Granada.

For lodging look into Paradors.

Happy Travels,
Oaktown Traveler

Sounds good. Where will I find your report? My husband and I just booked a trip to Southern Spain. We're flying into Malaga and driving to Almeria where we have a condo for a week (Vera Beach Club). We then have 2 nights at the Rock Hotel in Gibraltar and then back to Malaga for 3 nights at La Posada del Torcal. Looks lovely.
This is our first trip too.

Iplezia:

You will find the Trip Reports on this thread.

They are titled: As Promised the 2.5 month Trip Report to Spain and More...

Start with number one...

Enjoy and Happy Planning,

Oaktown Traveler

I would definately add at least another night in Sevilla - one night just isn't enough. Although it is a larger city it doesn't feel like it - the historical centre is very compact and it is a great place to just roam around and relax. I'd definately stay in the Santa Cruz quarter and not outside of town. Personally, I wouldn't bother with a day trip to Morocco. I have 2 friends that did this and they hated it....not that all of Morocco is awful it's just not the place to visit in a daytrip. Also, it may make better sense logistically to go from Granada to the white village area then to Sevilla. I don't know if I'd skip Granada to add time to Sevilla. I enjoyed Granada and the Alhambra is fabulous. If you have more than 2 nights alloted for the white village area then I'd shave a day off there for Sevilla.

No matter what you decide, this is such a beautiful part of Spain. Although this is your first time in Spain, you do have a good grasp on not trying to visit too many places at once. Please keep us updated!

Thanks for your help Oaktown and CathyM. So many folks seem so enchanted by Seville, perhaps we will stay there even though it's a "big town". Thanks for the advice on the section of town to stay Cathy. Oaktown--wow! What an amazing trip! I think we're pretty close to taking Morocco off the itinerary for this trip...maybe another decade. Just a few months away!

oopsy:

Your welcome...I did not mean to "scare" the Morroco out of ya!

I do think another trip another time is an excellent decision.

Happy Planning,
Oaktown Traveler

Don't miss or cut short your time in Granada! It is one of Spain's prettiest cities, and to me, one of the best-sized.

I have also had wonderful experiences in Arcos de la Frontera--you may want to consider spending a night there. You don't really need to visit more than one of the pueblos blancos. I would pick either Arcos or Ronda and spend a little more time getting to know the place.

I would cut out Tarifa--there's just too much to see elsewhere.

As for Gibraltar, I've never been but my Dad loved it.

Anyways, lucky you!

You sound like us in many ways. I did a trip report last March. We did many similar things. See if you can find the report I think it was called something like Andalucia in winter. I mention several places we hiked and tips for doing that.

I confess you have me a bit confused. I am not sure whether you want to wander the hills of the Sierras or hit the culture. While some will disagree, I think the the preeminent history and cultural sites are Granada and Sevilla. If you want to wander the hills, Ronda is a good base. You'll hit Grazelema on the way between the two. Given the time you have, I'd drop Tarifa, forget about Carmona, and then opt for either culture or country. The classical first trip is split your time between Sevilla and Granada with a stop on the way between the two in Ronda for the night. If you are a hiker, shave time from the cities and put it into Ronda.