RalphR

My wife and I are traveling to from the USA to Spain late next month to visit our son, who is spending a semester in Granada. This will be our second trip to the country, having spent a week on the Costa Blanca (Denia) in 2007. We fly in and out of Malaga and have a total of 11 nights, 2 of which we plan to spend in Malaga (the night of our arrival and the night before we fly home). We plan to get around by rental car. Our son will meet us at the airport in Malaga to join us for our driving holiday.

Looking for suggestions for an itinerary. Would prefer to take it easy and not try to cram in too much. It would seem Seville, Cordoba, and Grenada would be the top city destinations within range. What about Cadiz and Gibraltar? Would a side trip to southern Portugal be feasible in our time frame?

Also, any suggestions for mid-range accommodation would be appreciated. We would prefer places with a local flavor. We are fairly adventurous and would love opportunities to for short hikes to enjoy natural attractions.

Robert2533

It appears that you will be in Spain during Holy Week. If you don't already have hotel reservations in places like Sevilla, Granada and Malaga, you may be in for a bit of a surprise. Hotel prices during Holy Week are generally the most expensive of the year, especially in Sevilla.

Cowboy1968

Some ideas for short hikes or visiting places besides the three "big ones" you mentioned:

El Torcal Natural Park, near Antequera, nice short hikes
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torcal_de_Antequera

Almost all the roads going through the Alcornocales Natural Park offer spectacular vistas and options for hikes short and long.

Ronda is probably on most people's list of "must see" places.

Roman ruins at Baelo, on the coast between Tarifa and Vejer
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baelo_Claudia

Pueblos blancos, e.g. Vejer, Medina-Sidonia, Arcos (and many, many more also in Eastern Andalucía, e.g. Frigiliana near Nerja, East of Málaga.

The delta of the river Guadalquivir and the Doñana National Park, with the village of El Rocío
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donana
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Ca...ADo?uselang=en

A trip to Southern Portugal/ Algarve is quite possible when you are in Western Andalucía. The harbor town of Tavira, close behind the border, is very scenic. Faro is also worth a visit. But the famous Algarve beaches with the stone archways are only on the Western part of the Algarve, probably too much for a day trip.
In general, I think you should focus on Andalucía since you seem to prefer not to rush to too many places.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tavira

kimhe

As suggested by Cowboy1968, I think you should focus on Andalucía. If you want to visit a smaller town, Antequera - the so-called heart of Andalucía - would be my recommendation. Close to Torcal Natural Park mentioned above.
http://www.andaluciacoastandcountry.com/antequera.html

Semana Santa/Holy Week is from the 28th of March to 4th of April. Spectacular celebrations, perhaps especially in Sevilla and Málaga, but this is the most important celebration of the year in every little village throughout the region.
http://www.andalucia.com/festival/easter/home.htm
http://www.andalucia.com/magazine/en...mana-santa.htm

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

Here are a listing of Hotels in Sevilla with vacancy during Semana Santa. Excellent site with hundreds of guest reviews etc.
http://www.booking.com/searchresults...r_month=2010-4

RalphR

"Robert", "Cowboy" and "Kim"...thanks so much for you excellent advice and suggestions. Will get down to it right away! It's going to be a fun trip!

Ralph

walksntalks

You can make short hikes in Torcal de Antequera as mentioned above. This little resort is worth visiting thanks to the very special rock formations. The walk is very easy: http://www.topwalks.net/en/torcal/torcal.htm

I cannot recommend the Alcornocales nature park though. The roads are nice, but you must apply for permission beforehand to the most interesting walking routes. Instead I would visit the Nature park of Grazalema and only drive through Alcornocales on the way to Cadiz for example.
Grazalema offers quite easy but nice walks. See: http://www.topwalks.net/en/sierra_grazalema.htm
Grazalema is located in the area of "white villages". Grazalema, Benaocaz, Zahara de la Sierra, Arcos de la Frontera and Ronda are the most charming villages/small towns over there.

yorkshire

If you will focus on Sevilla, Granada, and Cordoba, then a car will be an impediment. If you choose those places, I recommend using trains and buses to get from city to city, and renting cars for day trips as needed. Ronda would make a nice addition to that itinerary.
First you must sort out the Semana Santa issue.
If you want to just drive and hike, then I would first head north to Antequera, then toward Ronda and stay in the Grazalema area.

nytraveler

I would focus on the big 3. Gibralter is a whole lot of not much (big rock, nasty monkeys, tacky shopping is about it).

But I do agree a ar is the best way to go - roads are in good condition and parking in downtowns is easy (this is why they make garages in/near hotels). Having a car gives you the luxuty of traveleing when you want as well as stopping to visit a white town or two if you like.

mike1728

bookmarking........

Egbert

Skip Gibraltar, spend as much time in Seville as you can. Ronda and Cordoba and Cadiz are all great for daytrips. Cadiz is worth an overnight too. I love the idea of Antequera, off the beaten tourist path.

RalphR

Thanks to everyone for your valuable help!

Ralph

amsdon

All Gibraltar used to have gping for it was that it was cheap and a fun place to shop. Now it even more expensive than in Spain proper...I agree with Egbert.