We are planning a 3-week trip to southern Spain in February and put together a very preliminary itinerary that I’d like to share with you for your suggestions. This will be our first trip to Spain and we generally have a very leisurely approach to travel. So for our first 7 days, we thought we would stay in Seville with, perhaps, a day trip to Córdoba. Friends have suggested that Santa Cruz would be a great base for exploring Seville. From Seville we think we will travel to Cádiz and stay there for about a week. I’d like to do a day trip to Gibraltar while we are in Cádiz. I’m not sure if I will need a car rental so any input here would be great. For the last week we will stay Málaga and explore the area. Does this itinerary sound reasonable? Any tips would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

So those are areas are great. You will be in Spain during Carnival time which will be a lot of fun. I have been living in Spain on and off for the past year and have seen pretty much all of Spain with exception of Valencia and Salamanca so I can provide you some insight on the places I think you should see while you are down there. Seville is beautiful city and great time to be there is February. I think a few days in Seville will give you a enough time to give you the all around vibe of the city. As for Cadiz, you really probably would need just a day or two. I was there in February and it was very windy and quite cool. It is very quite and small so you can cover it in about a day or two. The areas i would recommend is Malaga and the surrounding areas. Malaga is a great spot to bounce around to different areas like Corboda, Granada, and Ronda. You have to see Ronda. One of the most stunning places. From Malaga you also have some great towns like Marbella and Estepona. Beautiful. If you are based in Seville, take the train also to Toledo its not that long of a ride to do a day trip. I ended up loving it so much there I spent 4 days there. I like small towns the are much more appealing so it depends on your likes also. Anyway, thought I would give you some insight to the areas around there. If you have any more questions I would be more than happy to help.

A week in Seville sounds delightful to me!

Many people visit Cordoba as a daytrip, but I was glad to have 2 full (and VERY busy days) there.

I don't know your interests, but FWIW, I can't imagine going to Andalusia and skipping Granada. I thoroughly enjoyed 3 full (and VERY busy) days there.

You might also want to consider visiting some of the white towns, such as Ronda (easily worth a day or more.

I haven't been to Cadiz or Malaga, but not for lack of interest.

Enjoy!

Thanks for the quick responses! I will go over the suggestions and do a bit more research. It's early days so I expect I might have some more questions!

The Rough Guide is an excellent resource, IME.

Cadiz is beautiful and as you advise you may stay for a week, there are some very nice towns to explore woth easy access by both vehicle and public transport from Cadiz such as El Puerto de Santa Maria, Jerez, Medina-Sidonia, and Conil de la Frontera. Gibraltar can be reached by car in about 90 minutes but very lengthy (3-4j hours by bus.

Gibraltar is cool. Consider a ferry to Morocco for the day, we booked a one day tour it is a bit cheesy and they try to sell you rugs and spices but it checked off another box and you don't have to worry about the logistics. Could probably be done on your own if you are savvy and more experienced traveler.

I think it sounds great! I've been to Sevilla and Malaga and a week in each is fine. Lots to do in both places. We will be going back this winter and also planning on a week in Cadiz. Our intent is to do some days trips from Cadiz with and without a car. Have a great trip.

If I was going to cities then use the train. You can always do local car hire if you discover a country point that needs access. Malaga, Seville, Cordoba, Granada are all easy to access via train and bus. The cities themselves are easy walks.

We lived in Andalusia for around a year (plus a few other shorter periods) and visited all of those places several times.

I would have no problem with spending a week in Sevilla ,or perhaps a bit longer. It's a great city in itself and a good base for visting other places. Cordoba being one of themNice though Cadiz undoubtedly is, a week is way too long. I would consider just a day trip. Jerez is nice and great for flamenco and sherry and Cadiz makes for nice side trip from there,

Malaga is worth considering for a longer stay . Some great day trips from there. some good by train, other better by car. Antequera is v.nice and nearby El Torch has some incredible scenery . Caminito del Rey is also worth a look. People rave over Rhonda but I confess I don't get the attraction - there are other "white villages" I prefer (though teh parador there is a great place to stay. The other place I would strongly consider is Granada. The Alhambra alone is reason enough to visit. In feb the mountain will be covered with snow and will provide a nice contrast to other areas of Spain

Curious about day trips from Cadiz? I thought it might make a good launching off point.

From Cadiz….great day trips….Sanlucar, Zahara de los Atunes, Tarifa, Chipiona, Bolonia Beach, Jerez, Vejer…Rota, Conil…so much to see in a compact area

Cadiz may well make a good base for day trips. I just preferred Jerez and Seville. Jerez was great for its flamenco bars and bodegas, Sevilla for obvious reasons. Part of the reason I wasn't keen on Cadiz was that when first got there it was nice an quiet and it was great just wandering the streets, then a cruise ship arrived, then another... Once they disgorged their contents it became unpleasantly crowded. I was quite happy spending more time in Sevilla and using that as a base. The only negative was that having a car there is a PITA as parking is not easy to come by (though we did find a reasonably priced underground car park through our hotel.

having. Car with parking is a pain. Thanks for your thoughts. Maybe we should consider Jerez and just a couple days in Jerez.