Request Critique on Spanish Itinerary (South)
 

Dear fellow Fodorites,

Me and my 3 more buddies from Singapore are planning a trip down to the South of Spain upon completion of my military service to take a short breather before we go back to work.

About our interest

We are into ancient ruins, to check out the real cultural aspect of the south, the people and a bit of nature. It is a bit of a very ambitious trip , and we do not intend to be ambitious as Hannibal of Carthage of antiquity to cover too much ground but would like to cover a mix of small and big towns along the route of the journey.

About our logistics

Logistics wise, we arrive from Barcelona via speed train to Seville. We rent a car in Seville and return it in Seville after covering the south in a loop as per the itinerary mentioned below. Speed train back to Madrid where we fly off back home. Also to note we intend to stay out if possible in hostels or outdoors in tents and was wondering how the temperature will be like esp at night (since we are used to a temp of 25-32degrees back home).

About the plan

Tentative..
14th - 16th Barcelona (fixed)
17th - 18th Seville (here we want to rent a car on the 18th)
18th - 19th Codroba
20th - 21st Granada
21st - 22nd Marbella
22nd - 23nd Gibraltar
23rd - 24th Cadiz
24th - Visit Jerez de la Frontera enroute' to Sevilla
25th Return car in Sevilla
25th and 26th Madrid (fixed)

Appreciate your comments and critique on anything esp places and days we should drop or add as a reality check given the duration. Start point Barcelona 14th , depart Madrid 26th.

Thanks!
Darren

Hello Darren:

Your itinerary looks reasonable - with short and easy drives which will give you the opportunity to enjoy the landscape. From Marbella to Gibraltar I would recommend the detour through the mountains via Ronda, which is a spectacular town.

I personally found Cadiz not too exciting but strongly recommend a visit of a sherry bodega (with tasting) in Jerez. Gonzales Byass (Tio Pepe, Lepanto Brandy) is quite good, but there are many more. Reserve in advance.

If you want to stay in tents, it is mandatory to use campgrounds. Do you bring your own tent? Alternatively, you can buy a cheap tent in Sevilla. Many campgrounds have rental tents or bungalows, but they may require a minimum stay of one week. Better reserve campgrounds, especially on the coast. There are numerous internet camping guides, e.g.

http://www.camping-spain.net/
http://www.eurocampings.co.uk/en/europe/spain/

Especially for the Alhambra in Granada, you need an online reservation:

http://www.alhambradegranada.org/en/info/ticketsale.asp

Without reservation, you might not be able to visit Granada's main attraction!

You did not write which month you intend to travel. Between June and September, be prepared to encounter daily highs of 45° C (however dry heat, not humid). At night, it will cool down. Night temperatures will not drop below 20° C. On the coast, it will be more temperate.

Most attractions, shops and restaurants are not air-conditioned.

I was in Spain last week and if ruins are your thing I would suggest you add Merida to your list.

I would skip the train ride and keep the car for the whole duration of your trip. Rental rates are cheap, the Euro is tanking so gas is cheap as well.

Mark

I think you are counting some days twice and trying to go to many places. You can easily drop Gibraltar - it isn't worth any time at all - just a big rock with nasty monkeys. Nothing really to see or do. Agree that Merida is hte best place to go for Roman ruins - they were extraordinary - but this would require getting a car from Mardid down to Seville and probalby flying back from Malaga.

Also you are seriously shortchanging Seville - which really needs 3 days (4 nights).

Not sure what month you are going - but in the summer Southern Spain is hellishly hot (we go in April and that is beach weather - mid to high 80s). Seville is often more than 100 degrees - often for many days at a time. And modest places may well not have AC - which can make it quite difficult.

As for Marbella, it tends to be somewhat upscale - so not sure how many hostels they have. But Puerto Banus is definitely worth a visit (we stay right nearby) - it has the most gigantic luxurious yachts I have ever seen - even bigger than those in Monaco harbor.

Let me also agree that Merida is best for ancient ruins. But the Roman bridge in Ronda is impressive, as is the aquaduct in Segovia which they stopped using only about 15 years ago. Segovia is a bit more than 250 miles from Madrid.

For a first trip I would skip Marbella and Gibraltar, unless you drawn by the military there.

Wow - this itinerary is very fast paced and full of 1-nights. If I'm understanding correctly you have 12 nights and are allocating the nights like this: Barcelona (3), Sevilla (2), Cordoba (1), Granada (1), Marbella (1), Gibralter (1), Cadiz (1), Sevilla (1)and Madrid (1). That's 7 1-nighters in a row. Whew! With 12 nights and a desier to visit Barcelona and Andalucia (you don't mention alot of interest in Madrid) I'd do something very easy like Barcelona (4-5), Sevilla (4-5), Granada (2) and Madrid for your final night. Using Sevilla as a base you can visit Cordoba and perhaps one other daytrip (Jerez, Cadiz). I'd agree with skipping Gibralter. Marbella will be tight to squeeze in but I supposed you could do 4 nights each in Barcelona and Sevilla and do a 1-nighter in Marbella.

Hi Everyone!

Thanks for your feedback and thoughts,
much appreciate the same :)

After reading all, i have decided to :

1)add more days to seville
2)use seville as a base to cover jerez/cadiz
3)add ronda,merida
4)omit marbella/gibraltar

So the itinerary will look like this now.
14th - 16th Barcelona (fixed)
17th - 19th Seville (here we want to rent a car on the 18th)
20th - Cordoba (overnight)
21th - 22st Granada
22nd - Ronda (stopover)
23rd - Cadiz or Jerez (optional, stopovers)
23rd - Seville (overnight)
24th - Merida
25th-26th - Madrid (possible 1 day buffer)*

* If skip Merida and proceed an extra day to Madrid and
do day trips outbound to Segovia/Toledo

or
* Merida day trip / night overnight in Madrid.

Cheers!
Darren

You are doing a bit of backtracking. CathyM has a good suggestion for overnight stays in a good sequence. Fly Barcelona to Seville, non-stop on a cheap flight. www.kayak.com Then rent a car or train to the cities suggested from Seville. On to Granada. Then drive to Toledo for an overnight. Great place. www.maribelsguides.com for information.