Hello Fodorites,

I’ve gleaned a ton of helpful info reading the posts and trip reports here, it's such a great resource. I’ve sketched out a broad outline of where we’ll go and how many days in each place. It's our first trip to this region. I could use a little help filling in some specifics before we finalize our plans.

We’re flying out of JFK to Málaga in late March, and spending two nights in a hotel there. That much of the trip is already locked in.

On Day 3, we’ll go to Granada by bus and spend 4 nights there. (Or could be 5. Though some folks say 3 is good. I’m still kind of fuzzy on this.)

Granada questions: I’m looking at apartment rentals. I’m having a hard time getting a sense of what it would be like to stay in the various parts of the city. We’re both fine doing lots of walking, but one of us has limited capacity (but definitely some capacity) for doing stairs and very steep walking, which I gather we’ll need to do a fair amount of in our sightseeing. So it would be great if we could minimize it around the neighborhood of our lodgings.

I’ve figured out from reading the descriptions and reviews on Booking that we shouldn’t stay in the Albaicín if we want to do less climbing and descending. But I could swear that some places I saw listed as being in the city center still have reviews talking about the steep access. Can anyone advise what parts of town we should focus on in our search?

If stairs and steep streets are unavoidable everywhere in Granada, that might be a reason for us to opt for fewer nights there. But we won’t skip it. (And if I’m over-imagining how hilly it will be, please somebody set me straight.)

OK, on to Day 7, when we’ll rent a car and head to Úbeda for (probably) 3 nights. We’ll do some day trips in the area, Jaén, maybe Baeza, we’ll see.

Day 10, drive to Córdoba, return the car in town. Likely staying three nights, then on to Seville by train, probably staying four nights.

Day 17, rent a car in Seville, drive to Jérez for four nights. Planning some side trips such as to Sanlúcar, maybe Cádiz or Arcos. Knowing our preferences, it’s more likely we’ll do these things if we have a car at our disposal, rather than relying on public transportation.

Day 21, drive to Seville to drop the car by the station, take the train to Madrid for our flight home at 10 the following morning. I booked the airport Hilton with points. I think we'll go there directly from Atocha, though there's something in me that hates the thought of missing out on seeing a bit of Madrid. But it will have been a long day already and we'll have our luggage to contend with.

Once we decide how many nights to spend in Granada, the rest will be easier to decide. Thanks in advance for any guidance you can offer, and please let me know if you see any red flags.

The Alhambra is uphill from the center of Granada (or, for that matter, from the Albacin), so dealing with some slopes will be inevitable. But the center of Granada is largely flat, so that's where you might want to stay. You can use the "terrain" view in google maps to get more detailed information about topography.

For my interests, 3 or 4 nights in Granada would be sufficient. YMMV. I love that you're giving Cordoba and Sevilla time enough to see their highlights!

One request, if I might: Please don't use bold text for your posts!

Baeza, next to Ubeda, is a must-see and El Arcediano on Calle Barbacana is perfect for tapas: lomo de orza (meat), cazon en adobo (fish), flamenquines... and for dessert, you can't miss the yogurt with olive oil.
https://turismo.baeza.net/en/home/

If you take a taxi or bus to the Albaicin, you don't have to deal with steps . Plus you can walk from the Mirador de St Nicolas (famous views of Alhambra) all the way to Placeta de St Miguel Bajo with maybe just one short slope.

Yes, agree with your plan more or less, and with Shelemm about taking taxi to Albaicin. I would not stay there but, rather, stay in the center which is flat. I think 3 nights are good for Granada.

A big yes to Jerez! I know that everyone seems to take a side trip to Arcos but if you ask me, I would tell you that there is another "white town" (Jerez is what I would call a "white city) that I like better; I think it prettier and has far fewer tourists. An hour's drive (you should have a car to get there) from Jerez is Vejer de la Frontera. The town gets tourists, but I've never seen any Americans and I've never seen any group tours walking around. It does require walking on some steep streets, though, but most of the hill towns do as well. You could do a sort of circle from Jerez to Vejer and then to Sanllucar. Or do Vejer and Sanlucar as day trips as you mentioned. Here are a few pics, but they are not very good and do not give the feeling off the town very well. But you can see: No crowds on the streets:




Vejer fortress

Many women in Vejer covered themselves until a few decades ago.

Typical street

Main plaza of Vejer de la Frontera, with tiled fountain and surrounded by cafes and restaurants





Also there are some super places to have lunch in and around Vejer, and also as you know, in Sanlucar.

In Jerez, I had 3 great dinners in three nights and would recommend very highly LA CARBONA.
https://lacarbona.com/carta2.html

Thanks for those replies. kja , not sure how my post made it into bold text, I did notice it looked kinda dark. Oh well, could've been worse, at least I didn't type in all caps!

Thanks for the suggestion about using terrain view. Wish I'd thought of that. It'll be a big help.

Revulgo I appreciate your enthusiastic endorsement of Baeza. It's uncanny that you knew I could be swayed by gastronomic enticements. But seriously, we were considering a visit. I got a pop-up somewhere for this guided tour, it's of both cities on separate days. We're inclined to do it.

shelemm Thanks for helping me get a practical sense of what we will encounter. Very useful and reassuring.

My, those pics are appealing. We will definitely consider a day trip to Vejer.

If we opt for three nights in Granada, we gain a night to spend elsewhere. We could add a night to either Seville or Córdoba, or another idea we had was to stay 2 nights in Sanlucar and three in Jérez. We're not so fond of moving around a lot, which is a built-in feature of this trip, so I've tried to mitigate that by keeping our stays to at least three nights once we left Malaga. But maybe it would be worth it in this instance.

ps I figured out why my first post was all in bold -- it's all pasted in from a Google doc. I see that I can't unbold that text in this editor. But if I click "Source" in the editor, that fixes it.

HA..I wish I could learn to.type in bold! Not for posts, but to emphasize something. I'm sure I can figure it out....never take the time.

FWIW, three nights in Granada worked for me -- but I was on the move each and every day, all day. So I think four or five nights would be nice! But of course, it depends on what you want to see.

And no worries about the bold test. As you say, at least it wasn't all caps!

In Granada we stayed in a very nice apartment in Plaza Neuva.
The apartment had an elevator and parking
Was a great lively area, flat with easy walking to the cathedral and markets.
We caught an Uber to the Alhambra

You may wish to take the bus to Ubeda and hire your car there - and then leave it in Udeda and take the bus to Cordoba. Hiring a car locally for local sightseeing might be easier.

If choosing between Cadiz and Arcos, well we liked both but I'd choose Cadiz, and I'd take the train (but I prefer them over cars). I think Cadiz has more to see and do. We arrived in the morning and enjoyed staying on until dusk and taking the train back (we were staying in Jerez). Again, you could probably hire a car in Jerez if you wished.

Don't stress about not seeing Madrid, there will always be heaps of places which have to be put aside for another time and it's better to be selective and not cram too much in. Focus on where you're visiting, not where you're not - or at least that's what I tell myself when I get FOMO.

AND Madrid is one of the easiest places to reach in Spain, so you can include it in a future itinerary more easily than many other locations.

Progress report -- after absorbing the above advice, and reading a ton of info here and elsewhere, I've been busy reserving and deciding. Since I first posted, we did decide to make it 3 nights in Granada and 4 in Seville, and we're staying in Baeza rather than Ubeda. Courtesy of Delta rescheduling our flight home from Madrid, we decided to stay in town (at the Hilton Canopy Atocha) that last night, rather than at the airport. Apart from that, the plan is as outlined in my original post.

As far as reservations, I've been nibbling away from both ends. I've got reservations at our first three stops, and our last two, but Cordoba hotel and Seville apartment are yet to be resolved. For Cordoba, I've been hung up on whether or not we want to stay right in the Juderia, where there are some very appealing hotels, or a bit outside. At the moment I'm leaning toward the latter, and (just after writing the first two sentences in this paragraph) made a cancellable reservation at the Hotel Cetina Casa de Aguilar, which looks well situated, even if it may lack the charm of some of the other hotels I was considering.

I can write more about the other items we've reserved, but it will have to wait for another post.