Need your help to refine this Andalusia itinerary
 

Hi,

I have done some amount of reading and I have created an itinerary for our Andalusia trip. However, I have several questions and I need your input to refine this further.

Fly to Madrid and take train to Seville. Spend 4 full days in Seville. Do a day trip from Seville to Jerez by train. Question - is it possible to explore Jerez without a car?

Rent a car in Seville and drive to Pueblo Blancos. Question - we would like to have a base in one of the villages and explore the area. Which would be a good base? Grazalema? We prefer self catering accommodations but I am finding few to none in Grazalema, but may in Casares etc.

Also how many days would we need to explore the villages at a comfortable pace?

What is the best way to get from the white villages to Granada? Drive or return to Seville and take a train?

How much time is needed for Las Alpujaras? Can it be done as a day trip from Granada?

Is this itinerary doable in 15 days?

Sorry for the long post. Any input will be greatly appreciated.

hi kdd

will have time later - know the area well

Jerez is a fine day trip and the station is near everything and it's a relatively small town, at least the historic centre

the riding schools and sherry tours are all within easy walking distance of each other

sherry being an English corruption of the word Jerez i heard after the English started importing it for their old ladies to sip

You might consider adding Sanlucar de Barrameda to the plan..we really liked this small town, famous for seafood and home to one of the most famous sherry producers:


http://www.vinicola-hidalgo.es/mainEng.htm

We stayed at the excellent value Los Helechos:



http://www.hotelloshelechos.com/Serv...nes-c-1198.htm

kdd,
For self-catering in Grazalema (it and Zahara de la Sierra are my favorites) try

Apartamentos Turísticos Villa de Grazalema, right outside of town.
www.villadegrazalema.com

I would drive to Granada from the white villages (about 2 hrs. 45 min.) but would drop off the car at the airport rather than trying to find your way to a drop off location in the center city. And the gas stations are located next to the car rental offices. Downtown Granada traffic is nightmarish.

From the airport you can take a 3€ bus ride (45 min.) into the city or grab a taxi (25€)

See the airport bus schedule here-
http://tinyurl.com/ypbwv9

You can get easy driving directions here-

www.viamichelin.com
www.repsolypf.com/es_en/

ekscrunchy weites: "You might consider adding Sanlucar de Barrameda to the plan..we really liked this small town, famous for seafood and home to one of the most famous sherry producers:"

Sanlucar ia the only place Manzanilla comes from (please pardon my grammer). It's the dryest of the Sherrys, excellent as an apertif wine or with Sardinas, boquerones, chanquetes o anchoas. It is served very cold and is best from baril.

Hi, kdd -

I think it would be difficult to visit Las Alpujarras as a day trip from Granada. As I recall, its a drive of several hours in each direction, and the roads are ones that I, personally, would not want to drive on in the dark or if tired. It is a truly lovely area, and I am very glad that I spent some time there, so work it in if you can - but do consider an overnight stay!

Hope that helps.

The Alpujarras can be done in a day if you only stop at two of three places. It is a pleasant drive in itself, as long as you don't epxpect to get back to the start the same day...

WELCOME BACK MARIBEL!!! (I missed you :d )

Casares would have made a great base. Beautiful village, but unfortunately they spoilt it by builing large wind energy plants right next to the village. No nice views , would not stay there any more.

explore Jerez without a car? Yes, perfectly doable.
a good base? Grazalema? Yes. Casares is off the way. Another possibility is Zahara, with Hotel Arco de la Villa. You may need a couple of days and a night. Highlights: Zahara and Grazalema, which are small; and Arcos de la Frontera, bigger. Add a day/night if you are visiting Ronda.
To go to Granada, better go to Ronda, Cuevas del Becerro, Teba, Campillos and A-92 motorway.
About the Alpujarras, there are many small towns, but I’d visit Capileira, and spend the night at nearby Bubion. Roads are narrow and winding, can be tiring.

Could those who know the region provide some general ideas about the allure of the Alpujarras, please...

Josele, do you have a recommended hotel in the area?

Nedsireland: I did notice on our trip to Sevilla/Arcos/Sanlucar de B. that La Gitana seemed to be by far the most popular sherry in the (tapas) bars we visited.

Hi, eskrunchy -

The part of Las Alpujarras that I visited was the Poqueira Gorge, which has 3 tiny white villages set at ever increasing altitude along an incredibly beautiful ravine through the Sierra Nevada. The highest village is Capileira; the next highest is Bubion - I found both very charming, with their flower-bedecked, curtain-doored, simple white-washed buildings, some of which hold shops selling local crafts to an increasing tourist crowd. The area has several reasonably well-marked hiking trails of various lengths and difficulty that allow one to explore above, below, and between the villages. The scenery is truly stunning. And a short stop there makes a nice contrast to the larger cities of the area.

Hope that helps!

bookmarking

We liked Gralazalema and also noted the place Maribel referred to in case we decided to return. Note that if you want to really hike the guide services have secured all the permits ahead of time and you have to go with them. We spent a long day in Cadiz and really enjoyed it, so you may want to think about that. We really liked Ronda and weren't as impressed with Arcos.

We rented a house in a small village about 30-40 minutes south of Granada. From there we took two day trips to Las Alpajurras and spent the day hiking. We also drove into Granada for one very, very long day, doing both the day and night tour of the Alhambra. If I had it to do over again, I'd probably skip the evening tour. We just drove in and parked at a lot on the outskirts of town and walked in.

We too flew into Madrid, arriving in the morning from the US. We took the train to Cordoba, arriving early afternoon. We spent the afternoon and night in town and in the morning too the train to Seville.

Just thought I'd tell you how it worked out for us.

ekscrunchy, there are many rural places to stay in Alpujarras, but I'd reccomend the Hotel Rural ~ Villa Turística de Bubión, there are many references in the web, but could not find its own website.

Thanks, Josele. I will try to ferret out their site once I can get some idea of when exactly I can take this trip.

Hi All,

Lots of good information. Thanks a lot. Sounds like Zahara or Grazalema would make a good base while exploring Pueblo Blancos.

I have a some more questions -

How much time is needed to explore the Pueblo Blancos at a comfortable pace? 3 days? Also, which towns should we visit?

Given that we are visiting Pueblo Blancos, I am wondering if Las Alpujarras has anything different to offer...perhaps it is along the same lines as the white villages, but maybe a bit more remote and rustic? I would like to hear your thoughts on this.

We have a 3 yr old with us, so we do not plan to do any hikes. Mostly plan to just wander around within the towns.

Thanks for your input

Time depends if you include Ronda, which needs a full day. Another for Arcos and something else, and the third for Zahara and Grazalema.
The Alpujarras towns and landscape are completely different and you should not miss them.

kdd,
To explore the pueblos blancos in depth, I would allow 3 days.

On our last trip, between Arcos and Ronda we did this loop:

Off the A 374 at Montecorto to Grazalema, down to Ubrique (the leather town), up to El Bosque, through the Puerto del Boyar and Puerto de las Palomas passes (a truly stunning drive) up to Zahara.

With 3 full days you can include Benaoján (maybe lunch at the lovely Molino del Santo) and the Pileta caves then continue down to Cortés de la Frontera, an immaculate looking white town.

We also did an extremely scenic day trip from Ronda down the A 369 to Benalauría (lunch at Mesón la Molinera) to Benarrabá to Gaucín (would love to go back a spend a couple of nights there) to Casares (my least favorite) to the coast.

As josele says, if you want to explore much larger Ronda thoroughly, add a night there (you won't regret it!).

Compared to the pueblos blancos, the Alpujarras will be more isolated, feel more remote, the driving more demanding. The villages have a distinctive look and feel, with the houses similar to Berber dwellings with their flat roofs topped with slate shards. More rustic.

eks,
Inns of Spain represents the Villas Turísticas de Bubión. You can read 3 client reviews. Also look at the lodging list from www.rusticblue.com.

I use to have Alquería de Morayma at the top of my Alpujarras list (same owners as Mirador de Morayma in Granada's Albayzín), but reviews at Trip Advisor have been mixed.
One 5 star review on Top Rural.
It's featured in Sawday's Special Places to Stay and represented by Secret Places.
www.alqueriademorayma.com
(not impressed with its web site)

There was a trip report "Granada, Alpujarra hills, Herradura & Benahavís" here a while back recommending Finca Los Llanos.
www.hotelfincalosllanos.com

Josele, do you know about either?