As suggested, this trip is doable. Many times I will ask myself if we are returning to this country. If not, perhaps an itinerary with just an overview of the country, works.

This August will be our fourth trip to Spain and spending 16 nights north and west of Madrid we will have just touched the surface of wonderful places to visit.

If I were to plan this trip using all the places you suggested, Ithis is what I would do.

1. Madrid [3] Fast train to Malagna 2 1/2 hours. Rent a car and drive to Nerja, perhaps 30/35 miles.

2.Nerja [4] Drive to Granada, perhaps 30/35 miles.

3.Granada [2] Drive to Seville with a stop in Cordoba. We have done this in the opposite direction and it is a long day. I had found a guide for a visit to the Mosque and that took over two hours.

4.Seville [4] You could drop off the car before entering Seville. We have driven into the city twice, but it is difficule driving.

Now fly non-stop to Bilbao 1 hout and 20 minutes.

5.Bilbao [1] Guggenheim museum. Then bus or train to San Sebastian. Two hours or less.

6.San Sebastian [3] Then bus, train or fly to Barcelona.

7.Barcelona [3]

So you would have 2 1/2 days in Barcelona. On a fast trip like yours, that may be enough.

Actually, it was for us. We were in Spain for only five nights on one trip. My wife's February vacation. Stayed in Tortosa 2 nights and Barcelona 3 nights. Much fun.

Good luch and whatever you decide will work.

iris. Great suggestions. Will we have enough time in Seville to spend a day in Cadiz or should we spend a night there before dropping the car off in Seville. That would give 3 nights in Seville. I like the idea of doing it in reverse. What about Ronda ? My husband thinks we should spend less time in Madrid . But having grown up in NYC it would be like visiting the East Coast USA and passing through New York City and not stopping. You know, giving Madrid the respect it deserves as the capital.


As a good friend said walking out your door for a new adventure is good enough!

I think if you consider driving, Granada to Cordoba to Seville, that's most of the day and the first night in Seville. I don't think you want to drive furthur to Cadiz.

Leaves you with three full days in Seville. If you decide to go to Cadiz, that's easy, but you lose more time in Seville.

So, decisions, decisions.

For Madrid, if you think three days is too much, keep in mind the towns CathyM mentioned. These are great places to do a day visit, Toledo or Segovia.

If you have 3 full days (4 nights) in Sevilla I think you'll be hard pressed to find time to take a daytrip to Cadiz. But I'd like this better than planning a 1-nighter to Cadiz. The good think about using Sevilla as a base to do the daytrips is you have flexibility and are not married to an itinerary of moving hotels.

The brilliant flamenco dancer Rocío Molina from Málaga performs in majestic Gran Teatro Falla in Cádiz on June 13. This spring she's in New York, Washington, Miami, London, Moscow, Paris, Toulouse, Barcelona, Madrid and several other Spanish cities. http://www.rociomolina.net/agenda/

"one of the finest solists in the world today", New York Times

"Molina has genius: irresistible, all-consuming, all-powerful"
Financial Times

I would have to agree with the majority of responses you are getting. Spain is huge and a lot of the roads are very mountainous and not conducive to covering a lot ground quickly. I spent two weeks in Andalucia last year (and got some great advice here) and this was only enough time to properly see Seville, Cadiz and a white village area. It is such a fantastic country, why rush.

Specifically, I would exclude the Basque Country on this trip.

Why 4 nights in Nerja? If it is beaches you are after I would hit up Cadiz, that way you get fantastic beaches with some proper Andalucian old charm, amazing food (esp if you like seafood) and a very enjoyable working class port atmosphere.

If you are still set on Granada then, you could assign a full day to drive from Cadiz-Granada and go via Grazalema and stop in Ronda for lunch and a few hours sightseeing. It would be an intense day (albeit a lovely drive) but if you've had a few days chilling on Cadiz's lovely beaches then maybe it wouldn't be so bad.

In 20 days, something like the following could work but I wouldn't even recommend this much:

Madrid - 3 days
Seville - 4 days (minimum)
Cadiz - 3 days (add a day and visit a bodega in Jerez DLF, very worthwhile activity)
Granada - 3 days
Barcelona - 4 days
Travel days/unforeseen issues - 3 days

Decided.

Madrid. 3. Nights
Cordoba. 1 night
Seville. 3 nights. Need. Hotel and restaurants - centrally located. $$$.140.00 per
Cadiz. 2 nights. Need hotel & restaurants. - centrally located. $$$
Ronda. 1 night
Granda. 2 nights
Nerja. 3 nights. Need hotel close to beach & town $$$
Barcelona. 5 nights

hotelalminar.com Great location and very decent hotel.

Cadiz - try Hotel Monte Puertatierra, it is in a lovely location, 10 minutes from the old town but is a lot closer to the beaches.

Seville - Murillo is a good option, either the apartments or the hotel. Right in the heart of Barrio Santa Cruz.

I still think 8 locations in 20 days is too much but it's your choice. For example, spend some extra time in Cadiz and skip Nerja. Beaches in Cadiz are the equal of most places on the coast.

Stop in Ronda en route from Cadiz to Granada but don't overnight (not a fan of one-nighters).

Either way, enjoy!!

Thanks, was very impressed with the cite about Ronda and the sunset over the gorge. Still fighting that one out with my husband. But we are flying out of Malaga into Barcelona so we figured Nerja after Granada was a good bet. We also just found out that our son while touring Spain stayed in Nerja for a week and loved it.

Depends what you're looking for - Nerja's quite pleasant but "real Spain" it ain't; choc-a-bloc with foreigners. If you're just looking for sun and over-priced bars, go there!

Iberiophile is right about Nerja..All of the Costa del Sol seems to be the same..You will hear more English and German than Spanish there. Don't know about you and your DH but my DH and I don't go on a trip to rub elbows with neighbors. Looking for more "real Spain"? Head into the back road country and enjoy, enjoy , enjoy..That said Rhonda is awesome IMO..as are the white villages if you can find any without the infusion of holiday condos.. Really have to look.

Maybe Cabo de Gata, less visited, will also appeal to you. It's near Almeria. Beautiful coastline. Out of this world and not very developed.

http://www.parquenatural.com/

Nerja is very popular with tourists for various reasons, but it has also retained much of its Andalucian laid-back charm if you know where to look and where to go.

Nice old town in Nerja, and loads of tapas bars popular with locals that are anything but overprized. Excellent free tapas to choose with a glass of wine/beer in most bars for some 1,50-2€.

Some of my favourites:

La Marina is as good as you get a seafood freiduria in all of Andalucía and extremely popular with locals. Have splurged here on several occasions, highly recommended: http://www.guideofnerja.com/pages/gu.../marina_en.htm

Top tapas grilled on the spot (conchas finas, mussels, clams, prawns, monkfish, whitebait, baby-squid, sausages, pinchos morunos, mini-burgers etc.) and great atmosphere at El Pulguilla in C/Cristo, just off Balcón de Europa. A glass of wine and a tapa would be 1,60€.
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restauran...Andalucia.html

Traditional La Puntilla, very laid-back, but fabulous food and the best vibe. And of course, free tapas with every drink in the bar here also. Lots of other local feel bars around this part of the old town: http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restauran...Andalucia.html

Old town street in Nerja: http://www.minube.com/fotos/rincon/131879/629455

And, when in this part of the world, you must have some conchas finas, pure sea and to die for! All good places in Nerja serve superb conchas finas: https://www.google.no/search?q=conch...iw=935&bih=486

But no bad idea to go inland and explore, Andalucía is an adventure!

Cadiz?... What about the beach in Cadiz ? Hotels and restaurants too please? I will look into cabo de Gato too. Possibly stay there an extra day and do Nerja for one night before heading for Barcelona .

In Nerja, I wold recommend staying in seafront boutique Hotel Carabeo, located on the cliffs in the oldest street in town. 3-4 of Nerja's nine beaches within five minutes walk, and you're on the edge of the beautiful old town and four minutes walking away from landmark Balcón de Europa in the absolute center. http://www.hotelcarabeo.com/

Or you can stay in the modern and tranquile parador 300 meters west of Hotel Carabeo. Have stayed her myself and found it almost to quiet, but great standard and gets excellent reviews: http://www.booking.com/hotel/es/para...-nerja.en.html

Several very good restaurants in Nerja of another category than the the local atmosphere places "de siempre" I mentioned above:
Local cuisine with gastronomy ambitions at Sollun:
http://www.sollunrestaurante.com/
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restauran...Andalucia.html

Great Andalusian food at Restaurante 34, the restaurant at Hotel Carabeo: http://www.hotelcarabeo.com/boutique...staurant34.htm
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restauran...Andalucia.html

High standard Thai/Lao cuisine at Lan Sang: http://www.lansang.com/
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restauran...Andalucia.html

Consistently excellent pizza and pasta at Italian run Vitaliano: http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restauran...Andalucia.html

Spain really is not a beach destination with the exception of the North coast the beaches don't compare to the U.S., Cape Cod, Carolinas etc. I do prefer beaches in Cadiz because I think the water is cleaner than in the Nerja area. Malaga and Cadiz are more Spanish. Nerja is a resort town for British, Irish and Germans.

To be fair, Nerja (the 8th century and forward al-Andalus town of Narija/Naricha/Narixa) is popular with tourists, but a completely different thing than the the high-rise resorts west of Málaga city.

Already in the beginning of the 19th century the town had a population of about 7-8000 inhabitants, and the economy was based on wines, raisins, wood and sugar. Still excellent local wines that people take great pride in (especially from close by Frigiliana and Cómpeta a bit inland). The discovery of the famous Nerja caves in 1959 put Nerja on the tourist map, but still some 75% of the about 25 000 residents are Spanish.

Photo of Nerja. Hotel Carabeo is situated along the cliffs almost exactly in the middle of this picture: http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2622/...de6a8146_o.jpg

well.. I haven´t been to Nerja for awhile but no one who I have sent there has ever complained. It is a lovely place.

Seville hotel: El Rey Morro -- check out pictures on Trip Advisor, rooms all overlook pretty courtyard, and it is so quiet-- last April did 19-day Spain trip. Restaurants: San Marco (3 minute walk from hotel), with great Italian food and situated in ancient Arab bathhouse; even better was Vineria San Telmo, (5 min walk from hotel). Wish we had gone to Cadiz and skipped Jerez DLF, we were not there day to see the horses, but did enjoy Tio Pepe tour. We loved Arcos and Ronda, and of course the Alhambra. We picked Marbella as our final 'chill out' instead of Nerja, from which we drove to Malaga for flight back home from Madrid. Think 3 days in Madrid more than enough; Barcelona more interesting w/ Gaudi architecture-- don't miss the Picasso museum either. Cordoba worth one night as well, think you have fine-tuned well. We did flamenco show in Madrid which wildly exceeded our expectations on food and performance @ Corral de la Moreria; resv required. We used trains from Barcelona-Madrid-Cordoba-Seville and rented car for Jerez, Ronda, Granada & Marbella only. You will love it.