Starting to make plans for our trip to Spain next June. We will have a car and would like to spend a week in or close to Ronda and do daytrips out. We thought we might try self catering, so can anybody recommend a villa/cottage/apartment in the area. Also we are considering 3 days at either the Paradore at Merida or Trujillo, would appreciate any comments or personal observations of either. Thanks for your help.

I have done some planning for a self-catering stay in Spain, even though neither of those trips ever actually occurred - - and it seemed to me that www.interhome.com was pretty good for Spain. There is also some good info on www.slowtrav.com, I think.

Best wishes,

Rex

Patricia,
You might want to look at the properties listed with the following:
www.real-ronda.com
www.spainatheart.co.uk
Both specialize in rentals in the Serrania de Ronda.
Also www.andalucia.com has offerings in the Gaucin-Cortes de la Frontera area, below Ronda, including a cottage at the superbly situated El Nobo, outside of Gaucin.

We're spending a week in Paradors in Extremadura next March. We've chosen the Caceres Parador for 3 nights rather than the one in Trujillo, 30 min. away, since we prefer to be in a city after 3 nights in the country at the Jarandilla de la Vera Parador, but both are lovely. In fact all of the Extremadura Paradors offer a very high price to quality ratio. Caceres will be our most expensive lodging, as it requires a 39 euro supplement per night when using the 5 night card. It just takes less time to see the sights in Trujillo. I think it really depends on whether you prefer a small town ambience or the city. We'll make Trujillo and Guadalupe day trips from Caceres.
I'll stayed in the former convent Parador in Merida but not recently. We will visit Merida on our way down to Zafra, where we'll end our Extremadura journey.

Thanks Rex and Maribel for the info. Fell in love with Spain when we visited earlier this year and just have to go back. We don't mind the small town scene so Trujillo seemed a good choice to base and visit Caceres etc. and avoid paying the 39 euro supplement. We have quite a big itinerary in mind as we will be doing a week in Provence first, down the coast of Spain making our way to Toledo across La Mancha. Thought we would try Paradore in Alarcon on the way, any thoughts. After Trujillo/Caceres/ Merida area, 1 night at Paradore in Salamanca then across into Portugal for 4/5 days before making our way back to France across Northern Spain, whew. Only just found out about the 5 night card, seems a brilliant price, any advice on the best way to book would be appreciated.
I have found several self catering properties in the Ronda area on www.ownersdirect.co.uk wondered if anybody had booked any of these. Also any thoughts on Montajaque, seems plenty of villas/cottages here but wondered if it would be too isolated. I wil spend some time looking up the web sites you gave me Maribel and see what they have to offer.
Thanks for the help.

Hi, topping my own message here in the hope somebody can give an opinion.
Spent ages looking at web sites on self catering in/near Ronda and Montejaque seems to pop up frequently. My queries are:
I know Montejaque is a mountain village but is the road tortuous, having driven to Cadaques in Costa Brava would hate to face a road like that everytime we ventured out!
Is it really a good place to use as a base for a week and do daytrips?
Have read that streets are steep and narrow so no cars, where does one park their car if staying here?
Has anyone stayed here and can recommend a rental property for 2 people, Casas de Montejaques looks okay but there seems to be several private properties for rent too.
Would appreciate any other recommendations in the area of Ronda to stay, thanks a million in advance.

Patricia,
We haven't rented outside of Ronda but would like too some day, so I'm just topping to see if anyone can give us first hand info.

If I recall correctly on that road, the MA 505 to Montejaque, on the way to Benaoján, you have the Mures mountain pass, a chasm with steep cliffs, to contend with, and those roads in that area can be quite narrow, but it's been a while since I've been down that way to Benaojàn. From the highway down to Montejaque couldn't be more than 6-8 km. , less distance to cover than on that sinuous, 1000 curve road from Roses to Cadaqués. Montejaque has become sort of a center for rural tourism, so it couldn't be all that inaccessible. Parking in these tiny Serranía de Ronda towns is tough, though. When we stopped in in Benalauría, we parked right outside of town, so we wouldn't get stuck, after our experience of almost not getting our Megane through the streets of Gaucín.

I just purchased the new "Back Roads of Southern Spain", a collection of suggested driving routes through Andalucía, and it suggests a route starting in Ronda, going down to Benaoján, then up to Montejaque, then to la Pileta caves, on to Cortés de la Frontera, which we saw this April on the wider and easier A 373, to Ubrique to El Bosque to Grazalema back to Ronda. The last part from Cortés de la Frontera on is pretty easy, as is the A 369 from Ronda down to Gaucín.

Maribel, I've sent emails to a couple of rental properties in Montejaque asking a few questions so will see what comes back.
Could you also please advise on the best way to purchase and use the Parador 5 day card without having to ring central reservations. Not sure if any travel agents here in New Zealand will be able to help me.
Am I right in thinking you buy the card first and then hope the Paradors you want to stay at have vacancies? Thanks for all the help Maribel.