Granada has Alhambra and everything, but I think Málaga is a more joyful and high-spirited city. Vibrant Andalusian atmosphere, excellent tapas bars, cafés, shopping and perhaps the most easy-going people in all of Andalucía. Within three hundred metres in the center, you'll find the recently excavated Roman theater, the 8-11th century Moorish Alcazaba (much older than Alhambra in Granada), the great 16th century Cathedral and both Picasso's birth-place and the new Picasso museum (2003).

Read the article "The authentic city of Málaga" to get a better idea:
http://www.andalucia.com/magazine/en...ed2/malaga.htm

or, "Málaga: Authentic charm of an overlooked treasure".
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/ci...-treasure.html

Central Málaga to central Madrid in 2 1/2 hours with the comfortable high speed AVE train.

First off, I am tremedously grateful to everyone who has taken the time to respond to my requests for info!

WomBatt~your info has been invaluable. Could u specifically tell me how we could go to a true white town within our time?

So is the concensus that we should skip Granada and go to Malaga instead? Malaga seems to have a great vibe~esp for kids, but then I keep hearing that u haven't lived until you've seen the alhambra @ night.

So maybe we could do:

7 arr Madrid travel to Seville
8 Seville
9. Seville
10. Seville travel to white town?
11. White town
12. White town travel to Malaga
13. Malaga
14. Malaga
15. Malaga travel to Madrid
16. Madrid
17. Madrid
18. dep
*or maybe extra day SEV and 1 1/2days in Malaga?

I wouldn't want to miss Granada to visit Malaga. As much as I enjoy Malaga, Granada is on my don't miss list for a first visit to Spain. I'd spend 2 nights in Granada and add a day to Sevilla. This way you have 4 nights in Sevilla (the first will be a late, jet-lagged arrival).


I'd also highly encourage trying to be in Sevilla for Palm Sunday. If you don't mind an early train (7:15) you could take the first AVE from Sevilla to Madrid and still be at the airport to catch your flight in the early afternoon. The early train is inconvenient but the experience of seeingthe processionals would be worth it (to me).

sorry to join...
we'll be in Seville on Palm Sunday. Any suggestions, Cathy?

or2nh4me,

White villages.

O.K. - At your 10. above.
Take the bus Seville to Ronda at 1000hours with Los Amarillos, arrive 1200hours. Book in, stay overnight. Gives you more time in Ronda that day than many have on organised tours.
The following day your choice of white village from the list on the Wiki page and return to Ronda that afternoon or evening to overnight in the same premises.
As I have said the bus services are not tourist oriented, so ensure you go somewhere where you can give yourself enough time before return.
This is everything, may be a little unclear, in and out of Ronda (bus wise) with the websites to clarify. http://www.turismoderonda.es/informa...oautobuses.pdf.

Thank you both for the replies. Simply put, as much as I would love to, I'm just too chicken!

WomBatt, thanks again. You have been very patient with, and helpful to me. I will check that out and try to book it!

Ok, I am simply unable to navigate some of these websites!

Los Amarillos tells me that there is no service from Ronda to the various white towns? I want to see the white towns, but this is supremely frustrating and unfortunately, I don't have time to search endlessly.

I don't get it. Sold out? They don't service the route? I am befuddled...

Ok, I figured it out. April was too far out. I will research for my trip by inputing a closer date...

Ok, I have refined my itinerary to what I think will be my final. I just could not make Ronda or the hill towns work. I really want to avoid exhausting my daughter, so I had to make some tough calls. Now I'm off to see if I can make the transport scheduling work!

7 Arr MAD->Ave train to SEV 2.5hr
8 SEV
9 SEV
10 SEV
11 SEV->GRANADA 3hr train
12 GRAN
13 GRAN
14 GRAN->MALAGA 2.5hr train
15 MALAGA->MAD Ave train 2.5hr
16 MAD
17 MAD
18 Dep

I guess I could also go GRAN->CORDOBA on day 14 then CORDOBA to MAD?

danon-
For Palm Sunday in Sevilla I'd just have a nice lunch perhaps a little early. This will give you a chance to perhaps see a processional as it's leaving it's home churh. There are generally less tourists at these times and you get more of a feel for the neighborhood and people. Be sure to get a Semana Santa guide at the tourist office early in the week - often they run out as the week proceeds.