Hi there – I am hoping to get some advice on the last leg of our 15-night honeymoon trip to Spain in late June/early July. We have done a lot of research but would like to get some practical advice from those who know the regions we are visiting best!

Here is our general plan:
Arrive in Barcelona from Toronto at 9 AM, June 20th
5 nights Barcelona – will be here for Sant Joan June 23/24; if time, day trip to Montserrat; fly to Sevilla
4 nights Sevilla – day trip to Cordoba; train to Granada
2 nights Granada – bus or rent car to last location
4 nights Nerja? – or somewhere along the Costa del Sol
Fly Malaga – Barcelona – Toronto on July 5th

As it is our honeymoon, we’d like to limit our overnights to a maximum of 4 places to keep a fairly relaxed pace. We have already booked accommodations in both Barcelona and Sevilla so those locations are set. Visiting Granada and the Alhambra is a must for us. I have read that many people are happy with 2 nights in Granada; does that seem appropriate or would we benefit from adding one more night and cutting one from the Costa del Sol? And finally, we would like to end our honeymoon relaxing and soaking up the sun. I have read that Nerja may be a good spot for this; we’d be interested in some beach time and outdoor activities like kayaking and snorkeling. The caves in Nerja also look incredible and fitting in a visit to Frigiliana or another pueblos blancos would be great.

Would you recommend the Nerja area as a last home base to relax before heading home? If not Nerja, where else should we consider staying? And do you have any accommodations recommendations? We would love to find a spot along the coast with an awesome view of the sea and would be open to a vacation rental or hotel.

Comments on the rest of our itinerary are also welcome! Thanks in advance.

I like your itinerary.
Cannot comment about Nerja never been.
Yes you are rught to limit the number of bases and these cities have so much to offer.
And congrats for your wedding.

Now some others should chime in !

Sounds quite reasonable. I too have never been to Nerja.

Two nights in Granada is sufficient. Try to a score a room at the parador in Granada, it is the hardest reservation in the parador system. If you can't, go to the restaurant for a drink outside overlooking the Generalife.

Malaga is well worth a visit, the castle, the art museum etc

Are there not any easily accessible beaches where you live? You can lay on a beach in Barcelona instead of relocating to Nerja. what else.......Not interested in Madrid at all?

I'd go with Málaga over Nerja. Better restaurants and no a bad beach.

For Granada, I think it depends on what you want to see and at what pace. I spent a full day at the Alhambra, and then an evening visit, too, so I wanted a 2nd day (and hence 3rd night) so I could see the rest of Granada's highlights.

Congratulations and best wishes!

Do you already have reservations for the Alhambra? If not, get them immediately. I really liked Granada and would spend the extra night there.

It will be very hot in Andalucia during your visit. It can get well into the 100s/40s (Fahrenheit or Celsius respectively). Allow time to take it slow; siestas are wonderful on a honeymoon.

Thanks everyone for the very helpful advice! I think adding a third night in Granada may be wise to keep a more relaxed pace, especially since we would like to do both day and night visits to the Alhambra and gardens, and also factoring in the heat. I have been keeping an eye on tickets and will book those very shortly. Does anyone have experience with the guided tours there or is general admission with an audio guide sufficient?

That would leave us a good 3 nights along the Costa del Sol and will certainly look into staying in Malaga instead of Nerja.

Thanks again! We are really looking forward to our visit.

I think Nerja is adorable and low key. Malaga is great, too, obviously busier

We just returned from Andalucía and am glad you're adding another night to Granada. We enjoyed our stay there and there's much behind the Alhmabra to explore.

In retrospect, I wish that we'd had a professional tour guide for the Alhambra and I would have splurged for a private guide if it was reasonably within my budget. The audio guide just wasn't my thing (and one of them malfunctioned while we were in the Nasrid Palace).

For the Alhambra, I was satisfied with the audio tour, but I think maybe it has been updated since I was there? And FWIW, II had read extensively in advance, so I really just wanted a voice saying things like, "look to the right now" or "just below eye level" or other directional cues....

take a look at the Parador in Nerja.. beautiful setting.. at least stop there for lunch .. stop in Almuñecar.. cute little coastal town on way from Granada to coast to Malaga/Nerja.

Parking nowadays may be problematic in Nerja/Almuñecar.. but worth it to find a place and stroll these waterfronts.

We spent 2 nights in Granada this past September. We stayed at the Alhambra Palace, which was lovely. We also had a private guide for the Alhambra. [email protected]

He charged 140 Euro for 3 hours. Well worth it!

We had dinner at the Plaza overlooking the Alhambra one night. One night we went to see flamingo dancing in a cave, touristy but fun.

As stated from others, buy your Alhambra tickets now. You should also be buying your tickets for the Sagrada Familia, Casa Battlo, and La Pedrera in Barcelona now

Definitely agree with a 3rd night in Granada. In addition to the spectacular Alhambra, I enjoyed the Capilla Real (where you can see Isabella's and Ferdinand's coffins-eerie and fascinating at the same time), the Cathedral and wander the Albayzin. Also, don't forget to have your photo taken at the San Nicolas viewpoint with the Alhambra spread out behind you.

I'll share a fun experience we had in Granada on our trip there two weeks ago. There's an olive oil store called La Oliva where the owner offers what he calls a tapas "experience." He offers an olive oil tasting followed by five drinks, each paired with three tapas. I think we had cava, sherry, white and red wine and a dessert wine. We were, of course, stuffed to the gills, but we really enjoyed it. The owner, Francisco, was very gracious. He just asks that you email him a few days (I might suggest a week in high season) in advance. Info can be found at http://www.laoliva.eu/

Alternatively, Devour Tours has offerings in Granada. We did a tour with them in Sevilla that we very much enjoyed.