Fodor's Travel Talk Forums - Maribel..any suggestions for Andalucia?

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Maribel..any suggestions for Andalucia?

Starting in Seville, ending in Granada..how would you spend 9-10 days and in which locations would you pick the paradores? We want to take our time and enjoy the sites without feeling rushed. Will we have to book all the hotels ahead the early part of September? I expect we would have to book the paradores but can we "wing it" for the other towns? A bit leery of bookig the whole 10 days in case we fall in love with a place and want to stay longer. Any thoughts. Gracias.

Hi spanish lady, First of all, yes I would book all my hotels ahead the early part of September, just to be on the safe side, especially with the paradors. They're a fabulous value now, extremely popular, and even in Sept. the most popular ones still fill up fast. I'd call each parador individually, then follow up with both an email and a fax. I can't think of any lovely, well known Andalusian town where I'd just wing it for lodging (but I'm very anal and over-plan), because they're all popular with Spaniards and foreigners alike. Remember, if you book ahead then fall in love with a place and want to modify your itineray, you can usually do so without penality by cancelling just a day or two in advance. Two summers ago we fell in madly in love with Seville's Casa 7, added an extra night and cancelled the NH Amistad in Cordoba by just calling 2 days ahead-no problem, no charge. What a luxury, spanish lady, to have 9-10 full days to spend rambling through Andalucia. Take me along! If it were my 10 day (9 nights?) trip, this would be my itinerary on the southern, "low road" route: Carmona: 1 night at Parador (sigh!) Seville: 3 nights (Casa 7, Casas de la Juderia, Casa Imperial, Casa de los Mercaderes, Casa del Rey de Baeza-now being renov.-take day trip to Cordoba on the AVE) Cadiz: 1 night at Parador -wouldn't do this on a 7 day itinerary, but with the extra time, it will give you a chance to sip sherry and dine on langostinos (yum!) in the "sherry triangle" of Jerez/Sanlucar/Puerto de Sta Maria, take in the Dancing Horses of Jerez, and I sense this isn't your first visit to these here parts! :) Now, if this isn't appealing to you, change Cadiz to Nerja (Parador). Ronda: 2 nights (yes 2, because I love to use it as a base to explore in depth the white towns of Zahara de la Sierra, Grazalema, Jimena, Benaojan, visit the caves of Pileta, stop at Arcos along the way, and I love this seigniorial town and the magnificent views! Ronda has some very stylish, extremely charming lodging options besides the Parador, like the San Gabriel & Casona de la Ciudad too.) Or you could do 1 night Parador Arcos, 1 night Ronda. Granada: 2 nights at the Parador, but book NOW, believe it or not! If I were doing the northern, "high raod" route: Carmona: 1 night-Parador Sevilla: 3 nights in Barrio Santa Cruz Ronda: 2 nights or 1 Arcos, 1 Ronda Ubeda: 1 night at Parador Granada: 2 nights at Parador We always end up taking the "low road" from Seville, but on the inland route the El Torcal Park, below Antequera, is worthy of a detour, and I enjoy going up to the Parador in Jaen for the spectacular views and spending time in Renaissance Baeza and Ubeda (but we usually do this on the road down to Granada from Madrid) These would be my 2 plans. Now, it's time for Olga and Pedro and the rest of the Andalusian aficionados to weight in with their expert advise! Buen viaje!

Make that "weigh" and "intinerary". If only there were an edit function. The orthographically challenged Maribel

Wow, Maribel. you are a wealth of info - no wonder you've been questioned. I also have a question for you. Would you say the same thing re. booking ahead if one was going in October instead of September and if you had the choice would it be September or October? We'll also be visiting Barcelona as well as Andalucia region.

Hi canuck, Regardless of whether it's in Sept. or Oct., I'd still book ahead for the paradors and guarantee arrival with a c.card (I've canceled even on the day of arrival before 4 p.m. with no penalty); but then, that's me, Maribel, the anal-compulsive, obsessive plan-aheader and not everyone. :) I just wouldn't want you to have your heart set on staying at a particular Parador and then be disappointed. Some of the Paradors have meeting space for seminars (like the Parador of Carmona), and you could possibly run into a "mini convention" or group mtg. of some major European corporation that has taken all the rooms. Last year Volvo Europe had snatched up all but 6 of the rooms at the new Parador in Cangas when we were there, and that Parador has a healthy corporate seminar business year round. In the summer we run into lots of wedding receptions on weekends at Paradors. And the Parador in Granada always stays full; rooms there are the most highly coveted of all, given its location and small size. During high season they say it should be booked at least 8 months in advance. In early Jan. I tried to book the Parador in Aiguablava before their "official" high season begins July 1, and the rms were already gone for our dates in late June. I just don't ever like to risk it, except perhaps in Jan./Feb. As for Sept. vs. Oct. in Andalucia, I'd go either month. But then, I'd go to Andalucia any day, any time of the year! Good luck, canuck, in your planning; sounds like an exciting trip! Maribel

The Parador in Granada is arguably the most sought-after hotel reservation in Spain. Booking now for September or October is not too early - it may be too late. A couple of years ago, we made reservations in August for the NEXT JUNE, and were able to get a room. In Granada, we spoke to other travelers who had tried to book 4 - 6 months in advance with no luck. P.S. If you do book at the parador and are driving in, call the day ahead (hope a desk clerk fluent in English is on duty) and get driving directions. The directions in all the guide books are not detailed enough, and believe me, you don't want to trapped in Granada city traffic. Get your timed entry tickets for your day visit to the Nasrid Palace (the "Alhambra") for as early an entry as possible so you can have some relatively uncrowded moments before the tour groups descend. This being Spain, the "earliest" time will be something like 9:00 or 9:30 AM. Don't miss a night visit to the Nasrid Palace - the rooms and courtyards are illuminated to create a completely different, magical effect, and you can look down to see the city lights of Granada and hear music drifting up(also pretty magical). It's also popular to go across town to the San Nicolas overlook at sunset to see the Alhambra against the background of the Sierra Nevada mountains (the easiest way to get there is to take a cab and ask the driver to wait for you - remember, taxis in Spain are cheap). Going to the San Nicolas overlook also takes you through the historic Albaicin neighborhood. The Palace of Charles V on the Alhambra hill has a small but very nice (and blissfully well-air conditioned) small museum of Islamic art in its basement.

Hi again spanish lady, Just want to concur with mmgr's wise recommendation of avoiding entirely navigating through the maze of downtown Granada by car if you plan to spend your nights on the Alhambra hill. It's easy, actually, to avoid downtown. As you approach the city, watch for the signs for the "Carretera de Circunvalacion", follow it and the signs to the Alhambra, and it will circumvent the city entirely, curving up and around and taking you straight up above the Alhambra itself to the parking lots. There you'll go down past the lots on your right, following signs to the Parador. From the Alhambra hill near the box office you can take the little shuttle busses down to the Plaza Nueva area (they leave every 15 min or so) and walk easily to the Cathedral and Royal Chapel from the Plaza Nueva. I'd also like to second mmgr's suggestion to reserve the earliest possible slot, the one at 8:30 a.m. (you'll have a 1/2 hr. grace period), which is the very earliest, rather than 9 or 9:30 (see www.alhambratickets.com) to visit the Palacios Nazaries, the Royal Apartments of the Alhambra. For a precious hour, you'll have light crowds and will be able to take much nicer pictures before the hordes of tourist arrive. On the www.alhambratickets.com site, you'll also find info about the evening tours, which visitors find make a nice supplement to (but not replacement for)the daytime visit. And I also highly recommend the taxi ride up to the very famous lookout point of San Nicolas in the Albacin. We like to do this at sunset with the rose colored fortress and palace glowing in the fading light, or in the evening when it's illuminated. All taxi drivers know it; some now even call it the "Mirador Clinton" after the ex-Prez raphsodized about the view of the Alhambra being the most beautiful he had ever seen.

Maribel, you're a wealth of information! I think you helped me two years ago in planning a trip to northern spain; we're now planning 9 dayes in southern spain. I'm wondering your thoughts on Costa de la Luz. We're not attracted to by what we've heard about Costa del Sol, but the guidebooks make Costs de la Luz sound nice. Is this just relative to the other Costas? Would it be warm enough to swim in mid-March? Would you recommend checking it out or skip it and stick to sevilla, granada, cadiz, etc.? would appreciate your advice! Ben

I would like to second what Maribel said about taking the "Carretera de Circunvalacion" to avoid Granada city traffic, and add a warning. Ignore the official-looking uniformed attendants who blow their whistles and try to motion you into their parking lots. They are NOT official. Just continue on; you'll know when you arrive at the real Alhambra parking area.

Excuse my ignorance...what is a parador? Gracias!

Paradores are state-owned hotels. They are all over Spain, usually at the very best locations and of first quality.

Dear spanish, I have just returned from a little trip to the coast and have absolutely fallen in love with a certain Costa de la Luz beach area called Sancti Petri/La Barrosa, in Chiclana (Cádiz). It is without a doubt the most beautiful beach I have seen in Andalusia, with perfect fine golden sand and the ocean is positively green. This area is being developed now but hasn´t yet gotten to the extreme of the Costa del Sol. They say it gets very full in July and August but it seems like it would be perfect the rest of the year. Also, this area always has the mildest temperatures in Andalusia. There is a very nice golf course that my husband almost drooled over and just outside the main hotel area there is a totally unspoiled beach. There is not much to see other than beautiful luxury hotels like the Melia Sancti Petri-that looks like an andalusian palace- and gorgeous beach, but it´s such a short drive from Cádiz El Puerto de Santa María and Jerez-where all the wineries and the Royal School of Equestrian Art are- that is really a good place to base yourself at. We drove from there to Seville in less than 2 hours and the road system and signage are great . I have seen some of the hotels there in the Bancotel webpage, but not for July, August and early September, though, since that´s the peak season when most spaniards take their vacation. I hope you find something you like. Olga

Hola Olga, Thanks for yet another great insider tip! The Novo Sancti Petri seems like a perfect place to relax (not yet overbuilt or congested) for a couple of days around the sherry triange-even better than the Parador Atlantico in Cadiz or the El Fuerte Conil. I saved the review of the Melia that came out in the travel section of El Pais-they gave it an 8/5/10-and I was wondering about it. It gets a high rating in the Spain Michelin red guide 2002 as well-lots of upscale hotel development in that area, it appears. Sounds great for May/June or Sep. when the rates will go down. Thanks again for the personal rec. I'm on my way!

Hi Maribel: Just found this site and we're leaving for 4 nights in cadiz (parador) and 4 nights in Rhonda in 2 days! It should be great but the weather looks yucky. Any thoughts about restaurants, tapas bars, etc., night spots in these areas? One night we will be celebrating a special aniiversary so a great restaurant near Rhonda would be superb. Many thanks, David

David, For a splurge anniversary dinner in Ronda, I'd take your wife to Tragabuches on Calle Jose Aparicio, next to the Parador. The chef, Sergio Lopez, has trained in some of the best restaurants in Spain. It has a Michelin star and gets a 7.75/10 rating in Gourmetour. It's "creative modern" cuisine with a very contemporary decor in blond woods and pastels, not typically Andalusian, but inventive and considered one of the very best restaurants in the area. Closed Sun. night and Mon. But don't forget the dining rm in the Parador itself. The Parador restaurants always feature interesting regional specialties, have nice wine lists, huge portions and a very good value fixed price "menu". For a more traditional Andalusian meal, we like Pedro Romero (the native father of modern bullfighting), across from the bullring on Virgen de la Paz.. It's chock full of bullfight memorabilia, like an extension of the Museo Taurino in the Plaza de Toros itself, it has nice, welcoming service and typical classic rondeno dishes served in copious portions, such as "rabo de toro" (oxtail), "cordero" (lamb), chorizo sausage braised in white wine and venison. The fish is also very nice. It's also noted for its delicious homemade desserts, like the almond ice cream, "leche frita" pears in red wine and the cheesecake. www.ronda.net/pedroromero/ Amanda Hesser in a NY Times article (5/27/01) about Ronda also recommended the Taberna de Santo Domingo, "a small, homey restaurant with wood-beamed ceiling, terrific Iberian ham, garlic soup, scrambled eggs with shrimp and braised oxtail", but I've never had the chance to try it. Closed Mon. In Arcos de la Frontera I've had nice meals both at the Parador and at El Convento (nice atmosphere in a pretty Andalusian patio). In Cadiz, I'd head to El Faro (San Felix 15) for a classic, sit-down meal. Great fish, like the corvina (kind of like a sea bass), and pargo (red snapper) and fillet mignon medallions (medallones de solomillo de ternera). they have a reasonable priced tasting menu, "menu de degustacion", for under 30 euros. Cadiz is a great tapas-hopping place, and I think you can pick up a Ruta del Tapeo tapas bar guide at the tourist office. El Candil is a classic Andalusian tavern on Javier de Burgos 19 . If you find yourself wandering around in the "sherry triangle" of Jerez de la Frontera, El Puerto de Santa Maria, and Sanlucar de Barrameda, I'd suggest a long, leisurely outdoor lunch at one of the seaside restaurants in Sanlucar's "Bajo de Guia" promendade, facing the water and with views of the nature preserve, the Coto Donana, in the distance. You can't go wrong at any of these places. The most famous is Casa Bigote, a virtual museum, but it doesn't have outdoor seating. We ate a great meal of langostinos (giant prawns) and a soupy paella, "arroz caldoso" on the terrace of Casa Juan. Also in Sanlucar there's the famed Casa Balbino, at Plaza del Cabildo 1, with its 50 or so varieties of tapas, like the shrimp omelette (tortilla de camarones). It's the quintessential tapas bar par excellence. Fighting bull heads, hanging hams, etc. If you're in the area, both these places shouldn't be missed. The Fodors Spain writer, George Semler, did a lengthy article about them and others in the "sherry triangle" in Saveur magazine (Sept/Oct. '99). I'm not so good on places in Jerez or El Puerto. I'll leave that to Olga, Pedro and others. I believe Pedro recommends Meson Santiago for lunch in Ronda. Have a great trip and happing dining! Maribel

Well, make that "happy" dining, or just "que aproveche"! :)