crosscheck

We're going on a family vacation to Prague and Croatia with our two adult sons the last 10 days of August. Mr. Crosscheck and I have 6 free days for a train/road trip before we need to be in Madrid for 5 days. We know the weather might be brutal, but we're thinking of 1-2 nights Sevilla,1 night Granada (just to see the Alhambra), then relaxing for 3-4 nights in Ronda or another relatively temperate rural destination. We speak fluent Spanish and have both traveled often to Spain but neither of us has been to the south, and it's high on our list.

Turns out the Pedro Romano Festival will be going on in Ronda. It culminates in a famous bullfight, which we would miss, but a few days earlier there is a parade with Goyaesque costumes, music and other merriment.

Would appreciate feedback about this festival from those who have attended. We spent a month in Catalonia several years ago and loved the various ferias - will the Ronda one be too rowdy? We love merriment, but we also were looking forward to a relaxing rural retreat.

nytraveler

Can't comment on that festival - but at that time of year I wold be relaxing at the beach - which can be substantially cooler - esp with pool and sea - versus Ronda - which was incredibly hot when we were there in late April.

crosscheck

Hmm...We will be coming from the beach in Croatia (and we live at the beach in CA, so we're leaning toward mountains). We did consider Nerja, but thought of Ronda because the average high for early September is 78, with a low in the high 60s. Apparently it's much cooler than Sevilla and Granada.

Other than the heat, how did you like Ronda?

kja

I would recommend at least 2 nights in Granada IF you can still get tickets for evening admissions -- in addition to going during the day (when it can be mobbed, but you can use an audio guide and visit all open parts of the Alhambra), during the evening, you would be part of a very limited number of attendees and would see EITHER the spectacular Nasrid Palace (which I recommend seeing AFTER your day-time visit) OR the gardens. For even one of the evening admissions, you would need to spend 2 nights in Granada.

I thought Ronda spectacular and was very glad to see it. Just under 24 hours was enough for me -- I actually left a bit earlier than I originally planned, as I had seen and done everything I wanted to do there. A stay of 3 or 4 nights would have driven me to distraction! But then, I didn't have a car when I visited Ronda, and maybe you will find enough things to do in the area to keep you happily occupied.

Also: I thought the Mezquita of Cordoba among the most stunning places I've seen anywhere in the world, and I found enough to do in Cordoba to keep me fully engaged for nearly 2 full days (and 2 nights). You might want to consider a visit....

crosscheck

Thanks again for all your attention on both of my threads - checking out Cordoba right now.

crosscheck

Reporting back. Apartments lined up in Prague, Hvar and Madrid. Boat rides booked. Istanbul almost canceled. And now I'm now really looking forward to Spain. Apparently other crazy people are not put off by the blazing sun because accommodations all over Andalucia are close to sold out. We also have some great recs/set ups from Spanish friends. Still working on a flight home...that's the hardest part.

Here's what we have planned:
4 nights Prague (with our young adult kids, one living in Madrid)
4 nights Croatia (with kids)
1 night Madrid (kids depart, train to Sevilla)
2 nights Sevilla (get car, drive to Ronda)
2 nights Ronda (relax, hike, check out fiesta)
2 nights Granada (drop off car in Cordoba, train to Madrid)
5 nights Madrid (visit our son)

So, kja, my question for you is what time to visit the Alhambra. We're thinking of 5:00pm on the day we arrive in Granada. They close at 8:00. When in Europe we are not morning people and I fear we would not get there on time the next day if we book an early slot. How does that sound?

kja

> So, kja, my question for you is what time to visit the Alhambra. We're thinking of 5:00pm on the day we arrive in Granada. They close at 8:00.

I think I already mentioned that I recommend both day AND evening visits. FWIW, I did an afternoon visit -- got there in plenty of time for the 2 p.m. opening, and hadn't finished my exploration of this magnificent place before I was booted out at 8 p.m. I came back for my evening visit of the Nasrid Palace -- one of the the most magical experiences of my life. When I was there, they didn't offer evening visits of the gardens. I would definitely have done that if I could have! And FWIW, I strongly recommend visiting that your evening visit to the Nasrid Palace FOLLOW your daytime visit to the grounds. JMO.


Re: the rest of your time in Andalusia: The problem (IMO) is that you are trying to fit a 10-day place into 6 nights. 2 nights is really VERY little for magnificent Sevilla (worth at least 3 full days IMO, just for the highlights) and Cordoba easily merits at least a full day, if not two. I must admit that I thought 1 full day sufficient for Ronda, but I didn't try to visit any of the other towns in that area. (I went into Las Alpujarras for a day instead.) And you don't need a car for Ronda -- you can reach it by train from Madrid and by bus from Sevilla.

I realize that your time in the area is limited by your very understandable and admirable plan to spend time with your son. So, if you think there is any chance that you will return to Spain, here's what I recommend: Lay out your wish list for Andalusia and then -- because you can NOT see it all on this trip -- "lop off" the things that will be easiest to see on a future trip. So (for example) Sevilla is easy to access by frequent high-speed train; Ronda is harder to reach whether by train, bus, or car. So by this logic, you would trim your time in Sevilla to make time for Ronda (which seems to be what you have done). But you might go even further, for example, by adding time to Cordoba or Granada....

If you do NOT think that you will return to Spain, then you need to really think through all of your priorities for the area, because you can NOT cover the region with the time you have.

Congrats on your progress with the other parts of your trip!

crosscheck

Of course we'll return to Spain...maybe we'll retire there! We both get there for work, speak Spanish, and spent a month living in the Catalonia area. But we've never been to the south - and it's time (especially because we live in a Spanish house and we're on a mission for design ideas). The purpose of this trip is a) relaxation, b) photography, c) eating, d) flamenco, e) shopping with type A sightseeing lower down on the list.

Sevilla: We do have almost three days because we're arriving early and leaving late. (This is where we'll be taking photos of every courtyard for inspiration for our landscaping project.) Not sure how much we'll traipse around in the heat - hoping for lots of siesta time after our active Croatia vacation.

Ronda: Our time to chill in the countryside. If there's nothing to do other than a nice hike, that's fine with us. However, we love festivals and we think there will be a lot going on.

Granada: Sadly, we have mild ADD when it comes to sightseeing w/ crowds in the heat, so I'm not sure I can convince Mr. C that we need two Alhambra visits. (He refused to go back to the Taj Mahal for sunset after we'd been there for sunrise...although he was a trooper during multiple visits to Angkor Wat.) I was thinking late in the day (5-8pm) would be best for heat/crowd aversion and golden time photography, but there is a night/morning option for tickets, so I might go with that.

Cordoba: Sadly, this is where our trip turns into a greatest hits tour. Will have just a few hours on the way back to Madrid to check out the Mesquita, grab lunch and return the car. But we WILL return - te lo juro!