seagulls

My husband and I will be traveling with our two children in their early 20's this May for 10 nights, flying in and out of Madrid. I would love some input about our itinerary. We are trying to cover many different areas of Spain and want to make sure we are not sacrificing anything major or making misguided choices. This is our tentative itinerary.
Arrive in Madrid midday - Two nights in Madrid (Hotel Plazor-Mayor)
Leave Madrid in morning or mid-day, drive to Cordoba, one night (Hotel Lola, perhaps Amistad)
Leave Cordoba for Sevilla, two nights (Hotel Amadeus)
Leave Sevilla, drive through Ronda, stop to sightsee, walk, continue on to Nerja, two nights in Nerja (Hotel Paraiso del Mar)
Leave Nerja for Granada, two nights (Casa del Federico)
Leave Granada for drive back to Madrid, try to stop in Toledo on the way back, last night in Madrid.
My questions relate to: 1. Are two nights and parts of three days in Sevilla enough. Will we regret not having a third night there.
2. Do we need two nights in Granada? We'll be driving one and a half hours from Nerja and could enter the Alhambra for the 2pm entrance time, just stay one night and then move on. If we let go of one night in Granada we wculd have it to put either in Sevilla or Toledo.
3. Will 2 nights be enough in Madrid
and should we stay in Toledo the last night instead? Will it be lively enough for our adult children looking for some night life?
4. Is Nerja worth the two nights? We could hike in the Sierra Nevada mountains, which appeals to all of us. We chose Nerja for that reason instead of Marbella, which is another option.
I know these are a lot of questions, but I'm sure all of you fodorites who try to make you're trips the best they can be can relate.
thanks so much for your input.
Karen

nytraveler

Madrid seems to be a center of nightlife (I just loved all the drunken, shouting revelers wandering home through the streets when the clubs closed at 5am.)

If you plan on sleeping rather than clubbing yourself I would try to find a hotel that offers some inner rooms.

seagulls

thanks for the advice, I have asked for an interior room! Any one else have any other comments on the rest of my itinerary? thanks

artlover

IMO you're doing too much driving for the amount of time you'll be there. I think you'd be much better off taking the train or even flying from Madrid to Seville and then picking up your car. Actually, if you could do an open-jaw ticket, you'd be better off flying into Madrid and out of Malaga rather than backtracking to Madrid.

I like Nerja, but would add a day on to Seville instead. One night in Granada might be enough, but I wouldn't add another area on to this already rather hecktic schedule--maybe another day in either Madrid or Seville.

seagulls

thanks for your response. We can't do an open jaw ticket because we're using frequent flyer miles and my daughter is meeeting us in Madrid on her way back from Africa so she can't have another jaw on her ticket. My husband doesn't mind driving, I'm more concerned about whether we're not allowing enough time in each area, Madrid, Sevilla, Granada, particularly, to enjoy them. On the other hand, we don't want to stay too long in one place at the expense of missing out on seeing the variety, ie. the Nerja segment.

laclaire

I did Nerja in a morning and really, aside from the beautiful beaches and a really attractive guy that bought me lunch, I would have skipped it. You are covering a lot of terrain in very little time and the landscape you will be seeing from the car is not all that beautiful. Also, unless you are magically good at getting over your jetlag, you will probably miss a little of Madrid in those first 2 days.

Cordoba is cool and worth seeing. Eat at el churrasco!!!!!!! It is near the mosque/cathedral. Ronda is beautiful and has good vibes, too, so I am glad you are stopping there. As for the stop in Toledo, it is not really all that. I far prefer Cordoba and Segovia.

Cut a night in Nerja (or cut it completely. I mean, we have all seen beaches) and add on to Sevilla or Madrid. One day in Granada is enough for the big stuff.

Claire

weber6560

I wouldn't be worried about the driving, it's the parking that would concern me. I'd take the AVE to Cordoba [1hr 45min or so], stay Cordoba as long as you like and then take the AVE again to Sevilla [45 min] and stay in Sevilla. When ready to leave pickup a car at Santa Justa station [near town] and do the rest of your trip.

Some people even take the AVE to Cordoba, check bags at the train station, see the Mezqita and then get back on the AVE to Sevilla and don't spend a night in Cordoba. It would be my suggestion to do this and take the extra night and put it in Granada or Toledo.

I generally agree with Clair re Nerja. If you are looking to mountain hiking you could get that near Ronda. See Molina del Santo a great inn/compound outside Ronda that caters to hikers and naturalists. Another gfreat hiking area is the Lanjaron/bubion area between Nerja and Grenada. Check out Rusticblue.com. Incidentally, on the way from Ganada to Madrid, you can easily visit some great windmills in Consuergra which is just 5 miles or so off the main route. Nice little restored castle there as well.

seagulls

thank you all for your input. I'm definitely rethinking Nerja and at the most will spend one night there instead of two. Had thought about spending the night in Ronda, but thought we'd like to see the coast. My daughter's in Hawaii now and we were on the Riviera last year, so it may not compare favorably! Am definitely leaning towards 3 nights in Sevilla and 2 nights in Granada. Sounds like there are differing opinions about the value of staying the night in Cordoba and/or Toledo. Giving myself just a little more time on this!

seagulls

Still struggling with another decision about the trip. Currently planning 2 nights in Madrid, 1 night in Cordoba, 3 nights in Sevilla, drive through Ronda area and then 1 night in Nerja, hike in Sierra Nevadas on the way to Granada and then 2 nights in Granada. For the last night, do you think we should stay in Toledo and go to the airport the next morning from there, or try to stop in Toledo on the way to our last night in Madrid? Also, Ian, it looks like you did a similar trip, do you have any comments on how many nights we're doing in each place? Still ambivalent about 1 night in Nerja and 2 in Granada, vs. 2 in Nerja and 1 in Granada. thanks!!!

annabelle2

seagulls, I understand your dilemma; I am usually trying to combine cities, small towns and some beautiful hiking on trips, too.

You have lots of advice already about your itinerary, so just a comment about Madrid. If your kids (or you for that matter) are looking for nightlife, Madrid is great. Just remember that things really don't get started until very very late.

I was able to get in lots of sightseeing, walking and shopping in Madrid and still survive the nightlife by having a nice, long, substantial lunch around 2 or 3 and taking a rest in the early evening. Then I'd head out with my Spanish friend around 8 or 9 or later to walk around and bar-hop, eating tapas and pinchots (sp?) as the mood struck. Things really start livening up after midnight!

I've been to all the places you mention except Nerja, and all of them were memorable in their own way, so I think you will be happy with whatever you end up deciding. Spain has more World Heritage sights than just about anywhere else, so it IS hard to decide what to see.

Enjoy Spain and traveling as a family. My parents loved Spain and some of my best memories are of traveling together there.

Vera

Two suggestions. We did both the day tour and the evening tour of Alhambra and were very glad we did. It is magical in a different way at night, and less crowded. But you don't want to miss the daytime. Second, don't underestimate the time it takes to drive in the mountains. We stayed on the Cosata del Sol and each day drove up into small villages, including Ronda. Went through wonderful national parks if we had been looking for hiking. But the drives always took longer than we thought they would. No bridges over gorges or tunnels through mountains to speed traffic.
Vera

suec1

I'm going to suggest you skip Granada - now granted the Alhambra is amazing but if you see the Alcazar in Seville it is similar enough (IMO) to the Alhambra that it will give you the idea of that architectural style. So you could do Madrid, Cordoba, Seville, and Nerja with a little more time to spend where ever you decide.

holakjs

I agree with Suec. Granada is the Alhambra. But the not-to-miss IMO is the mosque in Cordoba. Then the Alcazar in Sevilla is not nearly as large but it's very impressive. Nerja is a great place to see the beach, but I agree cutting time there to spend in Toledo. Also I would do Cordoba on the fly, if necessary. The mosque is incomparable, and someone mentioned someplace to eat, but really having experienced the mosque, you have seen it all. (True, interesting bullfight museum, synagogue, etc. but...)

Re: Cutting out Granada. The Alhambra is it! My husband hasn't seen it, and he loved the Alcazari in Sevilla. I always wished we would have gone to Granada as well, but I guess we are saving it for another girp.

I can see why you want to drive from Madrid to Cordoba to Sevilla, etc. is that the train ticket for four is more expensive than the car rental and gas, but the parking will be a hassle, plus be sure that no luggage shows when you
park. With four in the car, that problem is probably solved since you need the space for passengers.

Also rental cars are usually marked with "out of the area" license. For example, a car rented in Madrid is "M..." and when you are in Sevilla that tells others you are a visitor...or a mark for the thief especially if you have goods to see in the front or back seat.