Figure on 2.5 weeks in Spain. Here's my possible itinerary and would love feedback before I book anything...Arrive Barcelona, stay in Barcelona 2 nts., Fly to Seville, and stay two nights; pick up car. <BR>Drive to Jerez or Arcos de la Frontera <BR>and stay one night. Drive to Ronda and stay one night in paradore. Drive to Nerja and spend one night in paradore. Drive to Granada and spend 2 nights in paradore. Drop off car and fly back to Barcelona. One week at a timeshare with friends on Costa Dorada. Renting a car and doing day trips. Re-visit Barcelona on a day trip a possibility. Please make any suggestions, cuts, add-ons...would really appreciate it!<BR> <BR><BR><BR>

You do realize you will spend more time packing/unpacking, checking in/out and driving then you will actually be sightseeing? 7 different hotels? No way! Barcelona 3 days. Fly to Seville for 4 days. Easy day trips to Ronda and Jerez. Rent the car at the end of the Seville stay and drive to Granada for 2 days. Day trip to Nerja. Fly back to Barcelona from Granada. The rest seems fine.

How about flying into Madrid driving to Andalucia region, and then flying back from Barcelona?

Thank you, thank you, just tired!! I hate packing and unpacking but wasn't sure if the distances to these places would allow a day trip easily. If we do take your advice and stay in Seville for the 4 days and you say to take our day trips from there, according to your plan we won't have a car until the end of our Seville trip! So how would we do these day trips? Would we be better to stay somewhere "quieter" for the 4 days, do a day trip INTO Seville? Maybe by train or bus or something to avoid traffic? If this makes sense, any suggestions on where would be a good location for the 4 days? Thanks again!!

You need to study the map of Spain a little more in detail.It seems to me you willspendmore time coming/going than actually seeing /appreciating Spain.Nerja is on the coast why drive all that way for one night and then back track to Granada and miss Cordoba.I'm dizzy thinking of this trip.<BR>Look up a map w/mileage.

Point well taken. How about it we started in Seville and spent our two nights there with no car..rent a car and drive to Ronda which it would appear is 3.5 hrs. drive. Stopping at Jerez along the way. Spend 3 nights in Ronda doing some day tripping from Ronda. <BR>Then drive to Granada for the last two nights. Does this make more sense?

ok,here we go,Ronda is upin the mountains and the driving is a little ? to use it as a base.<BR>On the way by train from Barcelona,stop off in Cordoba for a few hours,continue on to Sevilla. Pick up car,visit Jerez,then on to Ronda,continue down to Marbella,Malaga and Nerja.From Nerja you can go to Granada and then back to Barcelona.<BR>Divide your days as you see fit but at least this way you're not backtracking and cutting down on driving the challenging mountain roads!<BR>It's a pity you have to go from Barcelona,Madrid would work so much better.People often misjudge the distance-Barcelona is way off up there,away from much of the rest of <BR>Spain.I always suggest to visit Barcelona when in Southern France but .....Hope this helps.Get a good map of Spain from the Tourist office of Spain-try not to pick up/drop off the car at the airport-you'll save quite a bit!

Thank you zig..actually I had planned to fly Barcelona to Seville and leave from Granada back to Barcelona. I guess I am trying to get from Seville to Granada by car, hitting the high points and not killing myself (as pointed out!) by staying at a different place every night. Knowing this, and knowing now (thanks to you) that Ronda might not be a good place to do day trips from, can you suggest another? I am looking at a map but don't really know the driving conditions as you have mentioned. Thanks for your input..just what I am needing to sort myself out!!

I would give myself a couple of nights in Barcelona at beginning and end of trip.Continue on to Sevilla,forget about Cordoba since you're flying.Spend three nights in Sevilla,.You really don't need a car to get around Sevilla,pick it up when you're ready to leave.You could try to do Cordoba by train,using Sevilla as your base.When you're ready to leave ,pick up the car and drive to Jerez,enjoy the sherry and either spend the night there or try to get to Algodonales.Get an early start to Ronda,spend the night or drive down to the coast to Marbella.Spend acouple of nights there or in Malaga.Try to get in the Parador there,take a trip to Mijas or any of the white villages perched upon the mountain,take a donkey ride ,not the car!Continue along the coast to Motril/Nerja,enjoy the fabulous cavesSend acouple of days there to just relax and then get an early start for Granada.Try for the parador there but tough to get in.Turn in the car,enjoy the Alhambra(get your tickets before you get there),some flamenco dances( it's touristy but I like the ones in the caves,go w/a group.Adjust the nights between here and Barcelona.<BR>Hope that makes sense to you.Driving in Spain is all defensive!Don't drive the mountain roads at night and don't even think of competing with the trucks and tour busses.Just relax and let them pass you!<BR>

Zig..I love all your suggestions EXCEPT the one about the donkey ride...brings back an awful experience in Santorini..but I digress!! If I absolutely can't, won't, would never, take a donkey ride, can I still visit the white villages in the mountains..please??!?!?

Sure,just have a photo taken w/one and say you did!Leave the car at the highest point where you can park and then walk up.See the other post about the white villages

You may want to consider two seperate trips to Spain. Cataluna and the Basque country are beautiful and would save you the trouble of flying back and forth.<BR><BR>If that's out of the question, would you consider Madrid as a starting point rather than Barcelona. Is Barcelona essential? Andalucia may warrant a trip in its own right. If you're travel plans are fixed, then here are some ideas. <BR><BR>I agree that Ronda is a lousy homebase for daytrips as it is surrounded by mountains and the roads are difficult. If you base yourself in Seville, Cordoba, Carmona, Arcos de la Frontera and Jerez are easy daytrips. Downtown Seville is difficult to negotiate by car so I would stay in the outskirts (not picturesque, but practical) or consider staying somewhere more central when you are actually visiting Seville and moving your base of operations for the daytrips. Or just cab it downtown. Grenada is too far for a daytrip and merits an overnight stay. I have not been to Nerja, but have heard nice things. The Parador in Grendad is nice, but a bit overated. Its in the Alhambra and quiet, but somewhat removed from the action (which is good for some people, but I like to have my hotels in more lively areas). Arcos de la Frontera is nice and quaint, but I'm not sure its worth a detour, especially since it is very similar in feel to Carmona or Ronda. Definitely take in Cordoba. Half a day should be enough. <BR><BR>One last word of advice about travel in Spain. Leave some laxity to your schedule as many things close down in the afternoon. Mornings and late afternoons are the best times to walk around. Early afternoon is best for driving or eating.

Thanks Paul...I hadn't considered using Seville as a home base - I really want to visit the white villages and thought they were in and around Ronda. Any advice on Seville "outskirts" place to stay? Perhaps we could stay in the Seville place for 5 nights visiting Seville proper and doing day trips, do one night in Nerja with a stop in Ronda on our way and finish with one night in Granada before flying back to Barcelona?<BR>

Wherever you decide to start spend 2 days in Seville. You don't want to drive in Seville because parking is very difficult, pick up the car when you are about to leave Seville then drive to Ronda with brief stops at Jerez or Arcos (I skipped Jerez last year and picked Arcos instead) but don't feel too bad if you miss it. It's better to spend your time in Ronda and spend 2 nights at the Parador. Ronda is very small but it's a good place to relax and surely don't miss a dinner at the Parador. Leave early for Granada which is only 2.5 hours from Ronda, you will pass some white villages and you can do your own exploring. Spend 2 nights in Granada but definitely purchase a ticket to Alhambra way in advance and stay within the city. After your tour of the Alhambra, stop by the parador and have lunch there. If you want to see Flamenco, you may see it in Seville. I've seen the gypsy Flamenco shows in Granada but I preferred the ones in Seville. From Granada you may drive to Nerja. Or from Ronday you may decide to base in Marbella. There are several day trips from there, even a white village tour to Ojen, Monda and Istan. From Marbella you can easily go to Nerja.

Still hoping to hear from Paul (or anyone) re. a hotel on the "outskirts" of Seville. Preferably one where you can get public transport into Seville centre easily but also drive to other places in the area from this place? Any recommendations?

My personal experience is with NH Plaza de Armas. Its a modern hotel that's not really in the outskirts, but its has easy access to the highway that wraps around the city. It is near the river and near one of the bridges out of the city onto the highways. You'll probably get lost the first time you try to get on the highway or get to the hotel (the signage is poor), but you'll figure it out for the next time. Get yourself the best map of Seville that you can find. The hotel has underground parking with elevator access to it (you have to pay extra, but its not very expensive). Its also located next to a small mall (including a McDonald's if thats your sort of thing)which has ATMs, public phones, a supermarket and a dry cleaner. There's also a laundromat about a block away. The hotel serves a good breakfast buffet. The hotel is also an easy walk (about 3/4 of a mile) from the cathedral and Real Alcazar, about two blocks from the Fine Arts Museum, about 5 blocks from the bull ring. There are several restaurants and bars in the area. On the down side, the neighborhood is noisy and, because its near the bus station, a little seedy looking, and not particularly quaint. There are so many people around there that we never felt unsafe, however. The bathrooms and rooms are up to american standards.<BR>Its part of a national hotel chain called NH Hoteles that has a website in english. I think its www.nh-hoteles.es, but you can try a search on "NH Hoteles". You can make reservations on line.

I have a similar question - after two days in Madrid, we are taking the AVE to Sevilla. We have two nights there before we pick up our car. One night in Ronda. One night in Granada. Three nights with our friends on the coast. Finally, a train ride from Valencia to Barcelona for another three nights. <BR><BR>Are we crazy or does this sound ok?<BR><BR>We want to drive so that we can stop here and there. I did that on my last trip and really got to see and eat and some special places that were not all full of tourists. But, after reading this post, I feel nervous. Should I be?<BR><BR>Thanks.

We did an Andalucia loop about a year ago. We flew into Madrid and took the AVE to Seville. Spent a couple of nights in Seville, then rented a car and drove to Ronda. Spent the night in Ronda, then drove to Granada. One night there, saw the Alhambra, then back to Seville where we returned the car. The driving distances worked out well. I would increase the number of nights in all three of the cities. I was not impressed with the parador in Ronda, too sterile for my taste. Others seem to like it, though. The AVE service between Madrid and Seville is great. You might want to try to work Madrid into your itinerary.

We will be staying at the Casa de Carmona (in Carmona 37 miles away according to mapquest)and catching a ride to Seville - then a similar drive around to the rest of the sites.<BR>http://www.casadecarmona.com/<BR>Have fun!<BR>And thanks to Zig and Paul for the great advice!

Although i love Barcelona, I can't imagine visiting Spain without seeing Madrid! (unless you've already been there so purposely avoided it). It sounds like a lot of packing and unpacking to me as well.