Spain Booked! Now the hard part-need help!!
 

I am arriving in Barcelona late at night on Sept. 24. Will fly to Seville night of Sept. 27. Then fly out of Malaga on Oct. 9 to go home. It's the in-between bit I'm having trouble with. I'm thinking perhaps 4 nights in Seville with day trip to Corboda. The Ronda for 3-4 nights, doing day trips in the area from there. Then Granada for a night with Alhambra visit, Nerja for 2 nights and the last night in Malaga for an early flight home. Would appreciate any suggestions to tweak this loose itinerary. Nothing booked yet. Thanks.

I would cut a day or two from Ronda, add to Malaga and daytrip from Malaga instead. Malaga is a much more friendlier home base; going in/out of Ronda can be rough if you are not used to mountain, steep roads (a safety factor if returning from travels late at night). This brings me to an important question crtical to any itinerary in Southern Spain; Do you have a car?

Thanks Chatters...We are planning to pick up our car when we leave Seville. Good thought to cut the time from Ronda-hadn't thought of the difficulty travelling to and from there especially at night. Would Marbella be better than Malaga? Just haven't heard great things about Malaga - big, sprawling etc. Is there a more charming place we can daytrip from?

Marbella - or specifically Puerto Banus will be a better choice than Malaga. The latter is less built up - and a lot of what's there is low-rise and more resort like versus big city towers. Also, a bit more upscale then Malaga - fewer large groups of tourists.

canuckuphereathome:

Depends...Marbella, Puerto Banus is totally upscale and can put a serious dent in your travel budget.

This place is called: The Gold Mile...

Even on a day trip your parking cost are going to be expensive/valet style.
This is a resort destination and the playground for the very rich.

You also need to "dress" or you might stick out.

We really liked it.

Malaga is "SPAIN"...to us. It is casual and we liked Malaga too.

So, as I say...depends on what you want to experience.

Happy Planning,
Oaktown Traveler

Two reasons I mentioned Malaga; 1) you had it in your original post, and 2) Malaga is a good home base with good value hotels for the traveler who is only going to the hotel to have a good sleep. Your itineray tells me you guys are active and interested in sightseeing and hitting the road(s). I typically recommend Marbella for the golfer-foodies-shopping-lay by the pool kind of vacationer. I think Oaktown is right on his assessment about Marbella.

I really like both Marbella and Malaga, but they are very different, so it depends on what you like. Both are good for day trips and in Malaga don't miss the Museo Picasso and the Castrillo de Gilbralfara--great views of the entire area. The old city and cathedral are also great for walking around. The Parador is quite nice--just a few minutes from the Castle, and is reasonably priced (and had parking).

Have a great trip.

Thanks for input. Can you recommend a place in Malaga that is good value that will give us good access in and out for day trips to the white villages?

I stayed in a great hotel in Torremolinos (concrete jungle, but it was convenient for day trips) called APARTHOTEL COSTA LAGO. It was a three star hotel, we got it as part of a package (about $100/night). The room was actually a small apartment, the hotel was beautiful and very close to the ocean. You can see a picture at

http://www.infotu.com/toingles/htcoslag.htm

canuck, I forgot to mention the site http://www.vrbo.com for rentals by owners. Tons of places available in Malaga/Marbella.

Check out Bancotel.com or Petrabax.com (they sell the Bancotel coupons in the U.S.) for good values on all the places you will be visiting. Also, Petrabax can book you at Paradors. Not sure what the most convient place would be, (we have a timeshare in Marbella at the Marriott),but make sure they have parking if you have a car.

canuck
I don't think Malaga is a good base to visit southern Andalucia, at seems to be your intention. You will be much better of in a place like Benalmadena, Fuengirola or Estepona if you want to avoid Marbella.
Staying in Malaga will force you to drive in and out of a relatively big city with lots of traffic lights and inconvinient parking.
Somewhere on coast with easy access to the highway that surrounds Malaga is better. From there you can go to the White towns of Cadiz, which I think are the ones you want to see, as must of the villages in Andalucia are white painted. And again you will have a much easier move towards, Nerja and Granada.
At the time of the year you are going beaches are at its best, with nice weather and less people. So way not take the advantange of staying by the
sea.
From Sevilla I will move to the coast, for example Estepona, nice port, with a few good fish restaurants.
And then cover Ronda, White towns of Cadiz, Malaga, Nerja and Granada.
For Cordoba it is better if you do it as a day trip from Sevilla by fast train.

thanks very much everyone...I have been pouring over map and it would appear that Estepona might be better for me. I am considering now doing - three nights Barcelona, 4 nights Seville, one night at parador in Arcos, 2 nights Ronda (I know it might not be others first choice because of accessibility but we're really interested in spending slow, days exploring white villages and they all seem so handy to Ronda) and then go to Nerja on the sea for 4 nights with a day trip to Granada. Am I on the right track?
One more question...can you get a better Parador price dealing with anyone other than directly with the Parador? Thanks everyone.

canuckuphereathome,
You've fine tuned your intinerary well.
I'd just like to echo (strongly) car's suggestion to use Estepona rather than Malaga as a base. Malaga is a very big, sprawling city with heavy traffic which will be a hassle to navigate every day when leaving for or returning from day trips. I would stay somewhere less congested on the coast, such as Estepona, which is a nice compromise-not as "concrete jungle" as the Torremolinos-Benalmadena-Fuengirola triangle, yet not quite as ritzy as the "Golden Mile" which is the area WEST of Marbella to the tony yacht harbor of Puerto Banus. Estepona, however, is NOT the quiet, undiscovered place it used to be, as there's been heavy hotel/villa construction there lately. However, it's still easier to negotiate than downtown Marbella, which has become extremely congested!

I do think you really might want an overnight in Granada for your Alhambra visit, staying somewhere on the Alhambra hill (the Alhambra Palace or the tiny Hotel America, which because of its size and popularity may already be booked-the Parador fills up 6 months to a yr. in advance). With an overnight from Nerja, you can do both a day and night visit (separate tickets-the night visit is only to the Nasrid Palace section) and also have time to visit the Cathedral and Royal Chapel where you'll find the tombs of Ferdinand and Isabella and take a taxi up to the Mirador de San Nicolas in the Albaicin for wonderful sunset views of the Alhambra with the Sierra Nevada in the background-also some tapas bar hopping. So I would take a night away from Nerja so that you can see Granada in greater depth. I think the rest of your itinerary is fine, flying from Barcelona to Seville and flying out of Malaga and day tripping to Cordoba from Seville. I understand the reason why you want 3 nights in the pueblos blancos area, having spent wonderful days meandering around there last April. There's great beauty to explore and areas for terrific walking/hiking.

I always deal directly with each Parador, or if I have a number of Paradors to book, I call or email the Central Reservations Office in Madrid and have them do them all my bookings . You won't find prices lower through another agency. Marketing Ahead, the official US booking agency, doesn't have lower rates, as the rates are official. MA does sometimes bundle the breakfast with the room rate. Petrabax is another source that sometimes has good Parador packages with rental car.
We save money at the Paradors by using the 5 night coupon book or the 20% discount on room and half board with the 2 night plan. Because we're members of their frequent stay program, Amigos de los Paradores, we get notices of specials such as 2 nights for 1 (snagged this for Merida in March) and in '04 several Paradors have a 75th Anniversary rate available to "amigos" only. We're not old enough yet for the "Golden Days" plan. All these savings plans are explained at
www.parador.es

Hope this helps.

Dear Canuck,

We went to Spain for the first time last November and ended our trip in Nerja - (3 nights, would've loved a 4th night) absolutely loved it. So charming, clean and with magnificent mountain views. (Frigliana - a small and picturesque white village is ten minutes away - lots of ceramics and a leather shop)

I don't know what your budget is but ... the Hotel Balcony du Europa was a treat and not too expensive. 120 euro per night (I think) in November. Great oceanfront Hotel right on the balcony promenade. Irish bar next door :)

I'm not sure how early your flight is - but the drive from Nerja to Malaga airport was about an hour - so maybe you could do Granada before ending your trip in Nerja.

I also highly recommend the flamenco show at "El Arenol" in Seville. My favorite church in all of Spain was the Basillica of the Macarena in Seville - Pay to see the Easter processional floats.

Go across the Bridge and visit the Triano section - we had a delicious lunch over there.

Have a great trip.

Tam

P.S. Eat at Maribel's favorite restaurant in Cordoba - "Casa Pepe". Fried eggplant with a honey sherry sauce - Yummmeee

From Seville you can take a bus to Marbella. It takes about 3 hours to get to Marbella and the bus ride is pretty cheap. Then, you can stay at Gran Melia Don Pepe hotel which is a 5-star property not too far from the bus station. The hotel is oceanfront and has a very nice pool area. In the evening, you can stroll into the old town of Marbella and enjoy all the restaurants. You can also take a taxi to Puerto Banus where all the nightlife is. With Petrabax and their Bancotel coupons, you can get a good deal on Melia don Pepe.

Thank you so much everyone. Maribel.. - you get asked hundreds of questions and you are always so forthcoming and kind with your answers. Thank you for that!
I am wondering if we are going to stay a night in the parador in Arcos and 4 nights in Nerja - would it be a good idea to buy a 5 night pass and stay in the Nerja parador for our 4 nights and then just pay the difference to our Arcos parador as they don't have the special at that time of year. Would the Nerja parador be a good place for accessing some of the villages in the area? We have heard back from the Hostal Central in Barcelona (thanks Lesli) and the Amadeus in Seville and both have vacancies for our times. Would you recommend them as good places to stay? And finally, would you still recommend the Hotel Miami for a last night before a 7am flight out of Malaga? Would we be wise to return our car the night before and cab it back to the hotel and cab it to the airport in the morning. Or is the Malaga airport easy to deal with early in the morning?
And finally (for now :) - you have said we should pick up our rental car in Seville at the Junta Railway Station. We want to drop it off in Malaga when we leave. Best size car for two people and price we can expect to pay? Thanks again for all your replies...I am so happy that things are falling into place with our plans.

canuckupthereathome,
First, about the rental car:
I would pick up it at Seville's Santa Justa train station and drop off at Málaga airport the night before, as you've planned.
I would also rent the very smallest car that can accomodate the 2 of you and your luggage.
If you're light packers, then I'd go for a Group B compact , like a Ford Focus, Fiat Punto, Opel Astra, Seat Ibiza, Volkswagen Polo.
If you need a larger trunk, the Renault Megane (Group C compact), but not an inch larger than that or the car won't pass through the narrow streets of the white towns, like Gaucín. And Arcos is an incredible pain to negotiate in a larger car. We almost got our Megane stuck in Gaucín!

We have an upcoming 10 day rental, Madrid-Madrid, and we're suffering from severe sticker shock. I've called Kemwell, Auto Europe (sister companies, but they quoted me different rates), Hertz, Avis, Europcar and haven't found a rate I can live with yet, so I continue to search. So far, the lowest quote I have is $400 with VAT and CDW for a Megane. You might check with www.carjet.com and others that have been reommended here other than the multinationals. I'd also start a thread entitled The Most Economical Car Rental, Seville-Málaga, or something like that to see what rates other posters have found recently.

About the 5 night pass:
I see that Ronda and Arcos aren't availabe at all on the 5 night coupon plan in Oct. but Nerja is available Sun,-Thurs., so you could just buy the booklet and use the value of the 5th coupon and pay the difference in Arcos.
That's the trouble with Sept/Oct. in the south and the 5 night coupon. The most popular Andalusian Paradors (Ronda, Arcos, Ubeda, Jaén, Málaga) either don't accept it or restrict its use to Sun-Thurs., as in the case of Nerja. The Nerja Parador may charge a supplement for an ocean view with the coupons. I would reserve with the Parador directly by email rather than use the
www.parador.es booking system, as the onling booking system charges your c.c. in advance for the first night's stay. plus there's a 6 euro cancellation fee. By emailing the Parador directly, you must guarantee with a c.c., but you're not charged the first night in advance. Also the online system has only a small # of rooms available for the 5 night plan, whereas if you email the Parador , they usually will accept your booking with the 5 night booklet without question, if they accept the coupons during those dates.

The Nerja Parador would be a good base to explore Frigiliana next door and Cómpeta further north and also the Berber-looking, laid back, kind of mysterious villages of the remote Alpujarras (Pampaneira, Capileira, Bubiòn), but my favorite white towns are grouped around and between Arcos-Ronda.

I'm so glad you've reserved at the Amadeus in Seville. It's cute and the staff very nice, plus it has that terrific Santa Cruz district location. And besides the flamenco at El Arenal (www.tablaoelarenal.com), there's very authentic flamenco right around the corner on Ximénez de Enciso 28 at the newish Casa de la Memoria.

I'm afraid I know nothing about the Hostal Central in Barcelona, and I can't find it in my Official Hotel Guide. Where is it located?

In Ronda, I love the sweet little Hotel San Gabriel in the heart of La Ciudad, the old Arab quarter. The family who runs it is very nice, and the rates (82-92 for a double) are a real bargain given the quality.
www.hotelsangabriel.com
But I was also impressed with the Casona de la Ciudad just a few blocks away, another seignorial mansion run like an elegant B&B with a very friendly and helpful lady manager who works hard to make her guests feel welcome.
www.casonadelaciudad.com
Rates at the Parador for a room with balcony on the backside overlooking the valley (they carry a supplement) run 140, while the standard rooms on the side or facing the square run 120, plus 8-9 euros for garage parking.

For a 7 a.m. flight from Málaga airport, I'd return the car the night before (since you won't need it that evening) and taxi back and forth. The Málaga Parador de Golf, although not accepting 5 night coupons on that date, has doubles for only 113 and is very near the airport. But if you need something less expensive, the Hotel Miami is a very good bet, and it runs half the price of the Parador.

Hope this helps a bit more!

It is so very helpful! Lesli on this board recommended Hostal Centrale after staying there..here's what she says about location..
"Its location on c/Diputacion, about 7 blocks west of P. de Gracia is not right in the center of things, yet I did walk nearly everywhere. The Tetuan metro stop is only a block away, and from there it's only one stop to P. de Gracia, where the airport bus stops - very convenient."
Does this sound like a good spot for us?
Re. the parador..just to clarify, do we buy the 5 day pass from the main Parador.es sight or once we book say Nerja and Arcos, would we buy the 5 day pass from one of them when we book directly with them?
We will definitely get a very small car-we have travelled in Tuscany and know those small towns can be brutal with a larger car.
Many thanks for all your input! Once I get our accommodations looked after, I'll be searching out restaurants! I received both your Barcelona and Seville files and am looking forward to spending lots of time pouring over them.

To help all with car rentals, I'd suggest you try Nova as well. Even though we ended up going with Autoeurope, we were able to get a much better price because I got a much lower quote form Nova, then called Autoeurope back and they checked it out and sure enough, matched it. I think it was $350 for 18 days, lest expensive compact diesal.

Even with this DH got stuck (!!!) in Gaucin and a very helpful young man had to back us out! What an adventure. DH thinks my Spanish lessons are what saved the day--LOL!! So, I'd recommend parking in the lot OUTSIDE of town and walking in.

Good luck.