Suggestions for my Andalucia Itinerary
 

Family of 4, all adults, 2 50-year-olds and 2 20-year-olds. We'll have about 2 weeks to spend in Andalucia. I have to plan this trip at a somewhat more speedy pace than I usually do so looking for any suggestions. We like to experience some history/culture but break it up with more active endeavors. Right now, my quick scribbling has the following cities and potential things to see/do. Any suggestions of city/places/activities to add to the list or remove from the list?

SPAIN TRIP – Madrid to Granada to Malaga to Seville (stop in Ronda) to Madrid (stop in Cordoba)?
Madrid (2 days)
• Prado
• Running Tour?
• Churros con chocolate at Chocolateria San Gines
• Soccer game?
Seville (2 days)
• Segway
• Alcazar (Game of Thrones set)
• Flamenco dancing
• Cathedral/climb bell tower
• Mushroom structure
• Running Tour?
• Hot Air Balloon
Granada (3 days)
• Visit Ronda en route?
• Alhambra
• Paragliding
• Lucero hike?
• Ebikes?
Malaga (3 days)
• Beach
• Kitesurfing?
• Day trip to Gibraltar
• Alcazaba fort
• El Torcal Nature Reserve

Or should I rearrange...fly into Madrid and out of Malaga? Coming from the US.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

IMHO add time to Seville possibly cut back Granada one day and bag Gibraltar (nothing but big rocks with nasty monkeys and getting in and out an be a major PIA depending on local political situation),

I would also bag Gibraltar and add that day to Madrid and day trip to Toledo.

Stopping in Cordoba will take most of a day, but so worth it. You could also do it as a day trip from Seville. I would take a day from Granada (even though it is my favorite city in Spain), and add it to Seville for the day trip to Cordoba.

I would skip a Segway in Seville because Seville seems perfectly made for walking. I think you would be paying too much attention to the conveyance rather than what you are passing be.

It really depends on what you want to see and do! For me, 2 days would not be enough time for Madrid, but since your focus on this trip is Andalusia, I wouldn't necessarily allocate more time to Madrid for THIS trip since you can visit on a return that involves other parts of Spain.

I also think that 2 days is not much for Sevilla. JMO.

I think of Cordoba's Mezquita as one of the world's most amazing buildings, so you might want to fit it in. Actually, I found more than enough to keep me busy there for 2 full days.

I thought Ronda worth an overnight -- it deserves to be seen during daylight hours, but has a special charm after dark. Again, JMO.

"Or should I rearrange...fly into Madrid and out of Malaga?" You might want to mark things on a calendar, since many places in Spain are closed on Sunday afternoons and all day Monday.

For flamenco in Sevilla, I recommend Casa de la Memoria or La Casa del flamenco. Intimate venues, only top of the shelf artists and changing all the time. Many of them have performed as solo artists in the greatest theaters. No food, noo drinks, just flamenco and less than half the price of the traditional tablaos/flamenco restaurants. Every night include both guitar, song and male and female solo dancers.

Casa de la Memoria: http://www.casadelamemoria.es/
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractio...Andalucia.html

La Casa del flamenco: http://www.lacasadelflamencosevilla.com/
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractio...Andalucia.html

A fine video intro to wonderful Malaga city: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/de...pt-secret.html

Bookmarking for my upcoming trip! One month+ away!

Even though Granada was my favorite city in Andalusia, I'd spend 3 days in Seville and 2 in Granada simply because there is so much to see in the latter. I spent 2.5 days there and it still wasn't enough to see all of what Seville had to offer.

If you want to see Flamenco without all the extras, I'd also concur with Casa de la Memoria.

I'd also make sure to look at the attractions you want to see as most are closed one day a week.

In Madrid, I'd also recommend you go to the Reina Sofia gallery to see Guernica and Dali. Guernica in photos doesn't do it justice

So I'm starting on the advice to lay out each of the places I want to see day by day to make sure I don't schedule them for a day they're closed and the first thing I run into is that the Alhambra doesn't look like it closes...but ticketmaster only has tickets for it through the end of April and they're all sold out. Any idea when tickets for May would go on sale for it? Or if they're already on sale and I have to do something special in ticketmaster to see them.

Another question to decide which place to do a running tour...which "city center" area is flatter...Seville or Madrid?

Can you not buy tickets directly through the Alhambra website or one of their assigned, fee free reps in Spain?

Believe Seville is flatter, but do you really want to run in the heat ? It should be quite hot by then.

The Retiro park in the heart of Madrid is excellent for running and completely flat: http://www.esmadrid.com/en/tourist-i...ue-del-retiro/

I see an average high of 86 online...is that realistic or do you think it is usually hotter than that? Typically, the run would be in early morning and so I'd imagine it'd be 10 degrees off the high.

Is this the official website for the Alhambra:

http://www.alhambradegranada.org/en/...bratickets.asp

This is where I got the ticketmaster link.

"Any idea when tickets for May would go on sale for it?"

It seems that several Fodorites are looking for May Alhambra tickets -- watch each other's posts! Here's a relevant link that also includes some info about visiting the Alhambra.
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...m#last-comment

Tickets for May are now available on the ticketmaster site. I just got my tickets for the day and the night!

Thanks!

A general, not Alhambra question. Can I travel this route...Madrid...Seville...Granada...Malaga all by train (easily) or would a car be better?

There is construction around the Granada train station that will be extensive and going on for a while, so its not clear when trains will be going in and out of Granada. However, you can purchase bus tickets through the following website:

https://www.alsa.es/en