My wife and I will be in Marbella from April 16-23 and this is our first trip to Spain. We are flying into Malaga and will have a rental car and would really appreciate any advice on restaurants, day trips, tours, beaches, etc. We tend to enjoy local restaurants and local sites and would prefer to stay away from the tourist even though we are one. What about a day trip to Tangier, Morocco-Safe? Thanks and I hope everyone has a great travel year in 2006. Bill

If I read your post right you are headed to Marbella, one of the most touristy cities in Spain, yet you want to stay away from the tourists? Maybe in April there are less visitors, but I have been there in summer and have heard more non-Spanish than Spanish.

There is a tablao there called Chinitas and though it caters to tourists (as do most tablaos around Spain), they tend to have very reputable and find performers. The food and drink is overpriced but good.

Morocco: you can drive to Algeciras, park and go over the strait, spend the day and come back. It will be a lot of travel for what is a sort of uninteresting venture (Tangiers fell from glory a while ago, though the rest of Morocco is amazing). If you want to see Spanish stuff, I recommend you take day trips around Andalucía (Granada, Málaga, Ronda, etc). They are accessible by car and have a lot to offer.

This is our first trip to Spain so it sounds like we'll be among a lot of other tourists. Any recommendations on restaurants and bars in the old town? We were in Puerto Vallarta last year and spent most of our time in their old town which we were hoping we could duplicate in Marbella.

Marbella is esentially one giant beach resort - so don;t go there expecting to see anyone but tourists. (Not a bad resort - parts are quite pleasant - and expensive - like Puerto Banus.)

If you want to see the real Andalucia go to Seville, Granada, Cordoba - plenty of tourists - but still mostly local inhabitants. And a chance to see a good part of the real history of Spain.

I would do a day trip to rhonda its a very pleasant drive. I would see a whitw town or two nearby. you frive up into the hills to get away. Instead of tangier consider a day trip to gilbratot-go to the yop and see real baboons!
Val

Try the Bar Altamira in the old center for good fish. It is a bit hectic inside, but the fish is fresh and done very well. Granada's Alhambra is one of a kind! Good luck and buen viaje!

Even Marbella's casco antiguo is pretty new looking and very manicured. Most of the city is very new and bling bling (thanks to being one of the most important landing areas for drug runners coming in from Northern Africa). I have never actually stopped long enough to go anywhere but the flamenco tablao.

You have a week, so I recommend a couple of day trips. Go to Granada and the Alhambra, and spend one day in Málaga where there is, indeed, an old area (though it is quite dilapidated). Ronda is a beautiful little village that is worth a visit.

You arrive on the last day of Semana Santa, so there might be things going on on the 16th. Sevilla will be one big party.

Per your trip to Morocco, I would say no. I mean, anything is possible, but since it is your first trip to Spain, I say stay there.

I was in Marbella a year ago. I would definitely make the day trip to Ronda - absolutely beautiful and a pretty drive. You won't regret it! A must see. Don't waste your time on a trip to the Rock of Gibraltar - the "Rock" is beautiful but from afar - up close it is just an ugly rock and the tour is cheesy.

Have a great trip.

I just returned from a week in Marbella and the Costa del Sol. I feel the same way about tourists and I didn't feel it was that bad this time of year. Rhonda is a wonderful day trip, and the old town of Marbella still has alot of character and some great little restaruants. Gibralter is only a 45min drive from Marbella. There's wild apes that are so friendly there take food right out of your hands, the views are amazing, and the history of the rock is quite interesting. A trip to Tangiers is worth it if you want a stamp on your passport and fancy a game of chance with the local pickpockets as its quite a poor representation of Morocco. Save your money and go to Marrakesh for your next vacation, its such a beautiful country beyond Tangiers.

<<There's wild apes that are so friendly there take food right out of your hands>>

yeah, so friendly that one jumped on my back and snatched my twix. Southern hospitality?

Marbella wouldn't be my choice - but I hope you enjoy. As for a trip to Morroco being "safe" ... why the hell shouldn't it be?

Perhaps, OP, you would care to tell us (a)why it even occurred to you to ask the question, and (b) how many murders there were in your "safe" home locality (where is - please?) in the last 12 months.

Sorry I stepped on some toes about Tangiers, Morocco being safe but thanks to odb_nyc who answered my question very well. We'll plan on staying in Spain this trip and try to visit Marrakesh on a future trip.

fuzzy- that was unnecessarily inflammatory. he is asking about safety the same way that people come on asking about safety in Paris, Barcelona, Berlin. . . it is a valid question and one that no one should get angry about hearing.

He mentioned nothing about homocide, which you jumped to very quickly. When i went to Morocco last summer I had questions about safety as well and I was not thinking "am I going to die?" Mostly it was about me, a single 24 year Western female traveling alone in an unknown country and culture. Would I be a target for robbery? Violent robbery? Rape? I ask myself those things when I go anywhere.

Take a deep breath, calm down, and be glad that they have chosen not to go to Tangier on a day trip, but on a more serious future visit to Marrakech where they will see how beautiful Morocco really is.

Billnc
If you're allergic from tourists, maybe you could drive over to Cadiz for a day. There really aren't many tourist, except for Spanish tourist. Puerto de Santa Maria is across the bay and again, it's not covered with tourist.

Both cities are about 3,000 years old, so it's worth looking. Certainly the food is a better example of Spanish recipes. I've never found better fish and shellfish than these two cities.

Blackduff

I am laughing so hard I'm in tears! This is priceless:

<yeah, so friendly that one jumped on my back and snatched my twix.>

Something about the image of a wild, twix-crazed ape and the still palpable bitterness of recalling this traumatic event . . .

No joke palpable bitterness! This may sound ridiculous, but when I was in Gibraltar I had already been abroad in Spain for 7 months. At the time, Spain did not have a lot of American candy, and Twix was on that list (at least in Alicante). So, when I happened upon one at the cafe on the rock, I was psyched. Then some cheeky monkey jumps on me (literally onto my shoulders) and starts grabbing for it. All my companions were either yelling "Daselo!" (give it to him) or taking pictures, and I had to relinquish the Twix. Here is the real kicker, though. That bastard monkey then let the two chocolatey bars of Twix fall from the open wrapper and proceeded to play with the shiny packaging.

Oh, had I only been an ape or an orangutan. . .

Although a lot of people seem to take umbrage at the thought of a "touristy" place, I for one do not. While the Costa del Sol does have a lot of tourists it is also a great jumping off place for side trips into Andalucia. From Marbella you can visit Ronda, Granada, Antequera, Jerez de la Frontera, Cadiz, Arcos de la Frontera even Sevilla. Now before anyone starts to comment that one day is not enough especially in Seville, I know that. However, if one has serious time constraints a partial loaf is better than nothing and may inspire a longer trip when more time is available.

As for Marbella the old section is quite pretty and small restaurants abound. The tourist information center will be glad to help.

Again a one day trip to Tangiers is not the best way to see Morocco but if one day is all the time one has, why not?? Tours are offered by every travel agency on the Costa del Sol so people must take them. It is a chance to see something a little bit different. So let's not be so travel snobbish.

As for Fuzzy, It is a bit wearying to hear all this nonsense about YOU AMERICANS. Europeans are always asking questions about the safety of travel in the U.S. and rightly so. Given today's political climate and animosity of some cultures toward westerners in general and Americans in particular I think it is a legitimate question.

"If I read your post right you are headed to Marbella, one of the most touristy cities in Spain, yet you want to stay away from the tourists? Maybe in April there are less visitors, but I have been there in summer and have heard more non-Spanish than Spanish."

This is dead on. Marbella is a virtual clone of Ft. Lauderdale. Why anyone world go all the way to Europe for this has always been a mystery to me.

As far as Tangier is concernd, it is safe. But it is like going to Tijuana. It isn't really Morocco. It's a highly efficient tourist trap.