Spain Itinireray in October
 

Well wanderlust has returned and I am going to be doing a trip to Spain in October.

Rough trip ideas - please comment. Will weather be okay to go to the beach in Costa Del Sol in October? I have already been to Barcelona which is why I am not including it in this itinerary.

October 8 fly miami to madrid
3 nights in madrid
High speed train to seville
2 nights in seville
Train to costa del sol (marbella, malaga suggestions for a base?)
8 nights in base area on costa del sol.

Will rent a car so that we can explore Ronda - any other suggestions welcome. I am just beginning my research.

Fly From Malaga back to Miami via Madrid

Suggestions greatly appreciated. I need to find marabels madrid files. Will be with 2 kids (4 and 7) so would like to get a little beach time in the south of spain but not too much since I live in Florida and have the beach year round.

All suggestions welcomed.
Thank you.

We did something similar a few years ago - a few comments:
Unless you are going to spend a day in Toledo, I wouldn't do 3 nights in Madrid. If anything I would add a night in Seville.
If you are not particularly interested in the beach, why spend so much time on the coast? Much of the coast is 'concrete jungle' highrises with lots of partying Brits. Instead I would do 3 nights in Nerja (a very nice seaside town) doing a day trip to Granada to see the Alhambra, which is a must. I would spend the rest of my time in the very beautiful white hill towns near Ronda, using Ronda as a base.
You might want to try doing an oppen jaw into Madrid and out of Malaga.

I don't think you can do an open jaws booking for Madrid/Malaga when you're coming from the US, because I think it's only UK/Irish carriers that fly direct to Malaga. However, you might be able to fly US-London-Madrid, Malaga-London-US (e.g. maybe with American Airlines and then BA?)

Regarding the open jaws there is an american air flight that goes nonstop from miami to madrid and then returns malaga to madrid then miami. Regarding zootsi's comments firstly zootsi thanks for commenting. This is not the first time I have heard of references to concrete and british pubs when speaking of costa del sol. Anyone else agree with this? Will start researching Nerja right away. What about staying in marbella or porto banus?

Just been reading through Rick Steve's Spain book. If I stretch the trip to 15 days I might be able to do the following. (this is in October 6 - 22)

Fly into Madrid

Madrid 3 nights
Train to Lisbon

Lisbon 2 nights
Train to Seville

Seville 2 nights
Rent a car

Arcos or Ronda 1 night
Tarifa 2 nights (with a daytrip to Tangier).

Marbella or Nerja 5 nights
Fly back from Malaga

How does this sound?

topping

Hi Lex, We're taking a trip to Southern
Spain around the same time. If you have small children it certainly helps to not travel around too much, but I have a suggestion. Instead of so much time in Nerja why not look for an inland location the kids can enjoy too.
If you're using Rick's book take a look at the Olive Farm he talks about in one of the smaller White Hill towns, I think the one that begins with a Z. I looked at it on the web and when my son was that age I think he would have loved it.

Hola

Madrid is a sensational city. I would not cut any time off from there. Toledo is a must as a day trip.

Adios

open jaws do not need to be non stop flights. try it to keep from backtracking unless you already have the tickets.

thanks for all the responses. Will look into all of them.

Update:

Madrid 3 days
Seville 3 days
Arcos de La Frontera 1 night
Ronda 1 night
Marbella 4 nights (visit surrounding beach towns like Estepona.
Nerja 4 nights (maybe daytrip to granada or las alpujarras. Visit Frigilliana.
Fly out of Malaga.

Does this look good?

Just a 'heads up:' Thursday, 12 Oct is a National holiday in Spain (also la Virgen de Pilar - big time in Zaragoza and probably all of Aragon). Lots of people will be taking a 'Puente,' especialy if the weather is nice. Be sure to make your Renfe reservations as soon as you arrive Madrid.

I wouldn't plan on going to the beach on the Costa del Sol in October. The weather may not cooperate. Instead I would possibly use Cadiz as a Base to explore other parts of Andalucia (i.e. el Puerto de Santa Maria, Jerez de la frontera, Arcos de la frontera (one of the Pueblos Blancos)).

For me the Costa del Sol is just an extension of Gibraltar. My plan would hinge more on things like visiting Zaragoza and seeing the young people dancing Jotas Aragonesas. That's just my idea of a visit to Spain.

Maribel's Guide is:
www.maribelsguides.com.
From that site you can pick various PDF files she has written for different cities.

October is not really a beach month and I would not be surprised if it were too cold to get in the water. That said, you might want to reconsider your extended beach time. I would never go to Marbella even if paid (way too touristy and boring), but if you want a relaxing beach place, that and Nerja might do the trick. I would not miss a trip to Segovia (add a day onto Madrid so you can do a day trip), and if you re in Nerja, definitely go to Granada for the day.

There is just nothing like Spain in October, though. Nothing.

My wife and I returned two weeks ago from a three-week vacation in Southern Spain. We flew to Frankfort and from there directly to Malaga. We spent two days in Malaga and then to a timeshare about 30 miles west of Malaga, near a beach town called La Cala. The beaches were warm, but the water was fairly cold (but not as cold as the water off the coast of Oregon, where we're from).

The Costa del Sol was not overly crowded in late April/early May, but most of the beaches are solid rows of high-rise condos. Marbella (and Puerto Banos) is a beautiful area, but not a place I'd want to spend several days (too touristy). Surprisingly, Malaga is a wonderful city. The Alcazaba (palace) and the fortress on the mountain above it are wonderful, and the nearby cahtedral is spectacular (we attended church there). The new Picasso museum is surprisingly good, with hundreds of examples of his life's work. I'm not sure why people say to avoid Malaga.

The day trips to Granada (to see the Alhambra), Sevilla, and Cordoba are easy to do from the Malaga area. The beaches east of Malaga (and the town of Nerja) are much less crowded and have fewer high-rise condos. The "white villages" (expecially Ronda and Mijas) are worth visiting, and a day trip to Gibraltar is much more interesting than I had been led to believe. We even took a group tour to Tangier and found it to be an intesting experience.

I guess everybody has their own preference for what to see and do in Southern Spain, but I would encourage you take in as much as you can. It was our second trip to Spain, and we'll be going back many time in the years ahead.

Yes, indeed, the Costa del Sol is touristy and there a lot of high rise hotels. So what? There are also beautiful views while driving in the area, there are good beaches,(October not exactly beach weather) nice restaurants and lots of friendly little pubs. I personally do not mind "partying Brits." It depends what you want. After a lot of sightseeing in Madrid, Seville the Costa del Sol is a fun place. It also makes a good base from which to do day trips. I prefer the western section, Torremolinos, Marbella as opposed to the eastern section. It is easier to do day trips to Ronda. Antequera, Granada, Cordoba,the city of Malaga, Nerja, Mijas, Benalmadena Pueblo even very touristy Gibraltar. I see a lot of recommendations for Nerja which is a nice town but it is also touristy and a bit more inconvenient.
I guess I must be easily satisfied because I do not find Marbella boring. I like wandering around the old part of town and I like looking at the yachts in Puerto Banus while eating an ice cream cone. Heck, some of the best fish I have ever eaten was at a seside restaurant on the Bajondillo beach in Torremolinos.
And, hey, Florida is touristy too.. I know I live there.

Puente Romano is one of the most beautiful hotels in the world in Marbella. My wife and I loved it, and Marbella is gorgeous. I did not find it to be too touristy either.

Thank you so much all of you for your feedback. Each of the towns, hotels mentioned by all of you will be researched thoroughly before my trip to incorporate some of them. Regarding beach weather in October according to the weather site I visited it is in the low to mid 70's during the day and the mid 60's at night. I don't think that is too cool although the water might not be so warm. I have read some posts from people who said it was in the 80's in october. We purposefully tried to find a month when it is not too busy and hot (like July and August). I made the mistake once of visiting the French Riviera in December which was a big mistake since it was definitely too cold and we could not really experience the beaches. However Costa Del Sol is south of that so should be warmer and also this is october not december. I hope that it will still be pleasant weather and not too crowded. Out of the 8 days on the costa del sol I will probably want to only have maybe 3 on the beach. Will have a car so want to explore the region. Sounds like there is a lot to do so I don't think we will be too bored.

Any recommendations for paradors or hotels or restaurants?

I´m a Spanish boy. I think 3 nights in Madrid and 2 nights in Seville are ok. Have you considered 2 more nights in Granada in your way to Costa del sol.

Just one more thing. Do you kow that costa del Sol is the most touristic area in the spanish cost? Cadiz region could be a better option if you want something less touristic.