Madrid & Marbella
 

We have frequent flyer miles we can use that will get us into Madrid. From there we have Marriott points to use for a 7 day stay in Marbella. My question is this - we'd like to do some day trips from Marbella & take full advantage of our "free" stay at the Marriott property. My initial thought is to rent a car in Madrid (after staying a couple days in Madrid) & drive ourselves to Marbella. From there what kind of day trips would anyone recommend? I assume the Marriott Marbella Beach Resort has parking but I guess I should check w/the hotel. I admit we are hesitant about driving - having always used public transportation in Europe.

We stayed at the Marriott Marbella and loved it. Yes, it has parking and there are lots of day trips you can take from there--the ones I'd suggest would be to Alhambra in Granada, Ronda, Nerja (the caves are incredible) and to the old town of Marbella itself. <BR><BR>IMO it would be best to take the train from Madrid and maybe (if you have the time) stop in Seville--one of my favorite places in Spain. Also, a day trip from Madrid to Toledo might be good.<BR>

In case it wasn't clear--you probably would be best off renting a car once you reached Malaga (right outside Marbella--train doesn't go into Marbella).

Marbella &amp; surrounding resorts are very commercialised and not the &quot;real&quot; Spain at all. If you have the time, visit Seville (can get a train from Malaga); Nerja; and Mijas which is a quaint mountain village. (There are many of these mountain villages which are very pretty). I've heard Grenada is also nice. Like many places in Europe driving is a bit scary - coast road near Marbella is notorious. Have a good trip!

Take the train Madrid-Seville, spend a couple of days in Seville, pick up a rental car in Seville and drive to Marbella. On your way to Marbella stop at Ronda. Other day trip from Marbella, definitely Granada (The Alhambra, Cathedral), Mijas (wonderful views down to the coast, beautiful white-washed village), Casares (enchanting medieval village atop a mountain, don't miss a visit to the moorish castle), for beautiful pottery, go to Ojen (about 5 miles inland from Marbella). I would not bother with Torremolinos or Fuengirola. Do get yourselves for dinner to Puerto Banus at least one night. Do not get yourself too worried with driving in Andalucia, the roads and topography will remind you of Northwestern California. Very good roads, just get a good Michelin map and seek out great info already posted. Have a great trip, Spain is a wonderful destination!

Sometimes plane fair could be cheaper than train. During the winter months it could be as low a 75 Euros. Spanair could be good alternative to train. You can check www.spanair.com.

We are planning to go to the Marbella Beach Resort in October for 7 nights. Flying to Malaga. We have an infant (14 months in October) and the villa will be perfect for us. My only concern is that the drive to Granada may be too much for one day (there and back). Should we stay there overnight?<BR>We also plan to go to Sevilla (2 nights) and take the AVE to Madrid/Toledo(2 nights). We are thinking about staying in Carmona at the Parador instead of in Sevilla. Any suggestions on itinerary. We have a total of 11 days.<BR>Thanks!

Jana, We did Marbella-Granada easily in a day--it's only about 1 1/2 hours away. However, we didn't have an infant with us and I know that makes a difference! I remember a trip when my daughter was that age and it was difficult (my husband still hears her screaming for an hour in the backseat when he thinks about it), but it depends on how well your child travels, and only you know the answer to that. But, it can easily be done in a day if he/she travels well.

Thanks for all who replied. I think this is our tentative plan (I forgot to mention we'd be traveling in early September) Fly to Madrid (using frequent flyer miles), catch a train to Seville. Overnight in Seville a couple of nights. From Seville train to Malaga - pick up a rental car &amp; onto to Marriott Marbella. I realize Marbella might be commercialized/touristy but we have Marriott points for a free stay which would help to keep overall trip costs reasonable. From Marbella/Marriott base use rental car to take day trips to Granada, Ronda, Nerja. End of Marbella stay - drive back to Malaga drop off car/take train back to Madrid for flight out. Any thoughts? suggestions?

<BR>I flew LAX to Malaga via Madrid on Iberia Airlines using a United Mileage Plus award. You could see if your FF program has partners that have Spanish domestic connections. You're U.S. airline might also connect in Madrid and fly to another Spanish city (likely only Barcelon).<BR><BR>Then use your award to make a stopover in Madrid on your way to or from Malaga or another city. Your other option would be to get an open-jaw ticket. Fly to Madrid and return from Malaga, or fly to Malaga and return from Sevilla, as examples. Connect the two cities with rental car or rail.<BR>

<BR>Unless Marbella has changed drastically in the last 10 years, then it could be described as a tourist resort area for the well-heeled. Some of your fellow tourists in Marbella will have arrived on huge yachts (private ships, really). So, I think you will be getting a good value for your Marriott points (btw, another place for that would be in Rio).<BR><BR>I'm sure that you would be able to get a day tour to Tangier, Morrocco from the Marriott. That would involve a bus to a port city (I forget the name), a hydrofoil across the Strait of Gibraltar, and a bus tour around Tangier (with a stop at a carpet shop, of course). Then back to the hotel the same day.<BR>The Rock of Gibraltar is in the neighborhood.<BR>

I could be wrong but I don't think USAir (our airline reward miles) has a Spanish domestic airline partner. Last year it was great because we used USAir/Qantas &amp; were able to fly to Sydney w/a week stopover there before flying to Cairns - all for the same amount of frequent flyer points. So I think Madrid is as far as we'll get on USAir (This is of course assuming USAir makes it out of bankruptcy otherwise goodbye frequent flyer miles!) <BR><BR>In addition - we are interested in doing a day trip to Morroco. I'm assuming that is something the hotel could arrange. Has anyone else done this sort of thing? I'd be interested in any feedback.

We also are using USAirways dividend miles to fly to Madrid and are then staying at the Marriott property in Marbella over Easter. As of now, you cannot fly on to Malaga/Marbella with US Airways. But I am told that as of April 1st, passengers can use dividend miles to book flights that they code share with United. United does fly to Malaga thru Iberia and/or Spanair. So it may be possible for you after that date. Good luck!

What Maira said above--perfect !

bobthenavigator--- thanks for the kind words :-D<BR><BR>Steph, the draft plan you listed in 1/23 looks like a winner!<BR><BR>RE: Morocco <BR>Steph, throughout the years, there has been dozens and dozens of postings regarding day trip to Morocco from Spain, specifically to Tangier. Plenty of pros/cons listed. I did this trip back in 1993 and would never returned to Tangier, but would love to visit other cities in Morocco. In today's state of the world, I would not go to Tangier, period.