jessicam40

We must use our massive amt of ff miles before they expire. So, my hubby and I (maybe another couple) are planning on doing 9 days in Spain. A week of that in a villa. I'm thinking of something relaxing. We have 2 small children that we are leaving at home, and I'm not in the mood to do some crazy, break-neck speed tour of 10 cities in 9 days while in Spain. One catch - my hubby wants to see the uefa champsionship game in Madrid on May 22. We are flying into/out of Madrid. I have always wanted to see Seville, but I'm not picky. I've been to San Sebastien many years ago. I'm thinking we will fly in around May 13...do our full week in the villa and end with the uefa championship game before we fly out. Would love any suggestions (or warnings!) and maybe where we should rent our villa???? from what company? I would rather stay outside the city. (oh, and we are not wine drinkers....in case that helps make your decision). We are young-ish, pretty adventurous and in good shape.

Thanks for the help!

jessicam40

oops, just a small technicality - they aren't ff miles, but rewards miles.

Viajero2

Spain, specifically the Andalucia Region is a tricky place to rent villas. Oftentimes. the house looks magnificent and is...but the setting (environs) is dismal. Also, there are many developed sectors of Spain with deficient water conveyances and utilities working well above their operating capacity (I had had many utilities projects in Sourthern Spain in the last 20 years, so I am quite familiar with the hydrogeology and urban planning in many areas). That said, more often than not, you will, with careful planning, find an amazing spot because there are plenty of those as well.

I recommend holiday-rentals.co.uk, vrbo.com, and perfectplaces.com. Also look into casas rurales (casasrurales.es, rurismo.com) I ONLY rent from places with positive reviews. I do not bother otherwise and this is why; renters typically post reviews. If they LOVE IT, they wil say so.

Best of luck.

portuense

If you're talking about the Champions League final you'd better make enquiries now. Even at the Bernabeu with 80,000-plus tickets will be hard to get hold of and pretty expensive. Try Gullivers Travels, soldoutentertainments, roadtrips, keithprowse and of course get in touch with UEFA first to see which they recommend.
As for villas near Sevilla, you'll struggle I suspect. Villas tend to be in more rural areas or by the sea. You could opt for self-catering in the city (ie apartment) or go for a villa somewhere further south - say between Jerez, El Puerto, Chiclana, La Palma as far as Vejer. Train to Sevilla is 50 mins from Jerez, 1hrsomething from San Fernando not far from Chiclana. You could drive to Jerez and get train or even as far as Dos Hermanas and get the local train in (15-20 mins). If you take this sort of option you'll find a lot of villa options open up, esp near the coast which in theory will be warm and lovely and not busy in May

ribeirasacra

You may call them villas but by the Spanish they are called "Casas rurales -(alquiler íntegro)".
This is the best website to find such houses.
http://www.toprural.com/
Now all you have to do is find your perfect location.

portuense

actually you don't come across casa rurales much in the south. the costa de la luz has plenty of villas, not sure I can think of one casa rural in the area and there aren't that many further inland though you might dind some in the area north of sevilla - but, no sea no beach and no easy journey into the city

jessicam40

thanks for the info. We are planning on renting a car. I'm not locked-in to any one particular area...we are really flexible. Seville was just a place I wanted to see. I wouldn't mind doing it as a day trip once or twice. I will check out the websites

amsdon

Jessica I would peruse the old posts especially any done by Maribel...I think there were some there that might help you.

ribeirasacra

portuense
In the website I gave there are 36 (whole house rental) and even more in other areas, if you care to look at the website.
Casa Rurals are located all over Spain.

portuense

ribeirasacra
yeah i know a fair few of these places in the area i was talking about and frankly you wouldn't put your mother in law in some of them...sure casa rurales are great if you find the right one but there are a lot of basic properties out there and if i'm travelling from across the atlantic for a dream holiday i don't want to stay in a bunk house with put-up beds, small high windows, strip lighting and a tiled floor with no rugs. Not that they're all like that but I'm sure you see what i mean...

jessicam40

i'm thinking we might focus more around the Barcelona/Valencia region. I'm still interested in doing a self-catering rental with car. Unfortunately, we have to fly in/out of Madrid due to our airline miles....but we are willing to use the train or book connecting flights out of Madrid. Thoughts? My husband would prefer being near sights (not so much museums, but architecturally interesting areas). I'm wanting beach/quiet along with strolls in a small village and access to cafes. Thanks for any suggestions!!!!! (I've been researching/reading for the past 2 hours and feel even more confused at this point)

amsdon

Take a break. I know how it gets. Even though you have a limited time for those miles I am sure you can clear you mind for tonight or at least a few hours till morning.

Things may seem more clear then.

ribeirasacra

port, you seem to be thinking about some lower class hotsels or even hotels. Again I will ask you to read that website. There are 2 things I wish to highlight to you. One is that most houses have an *Official Number* If it does not than the house is considered illegal and operating outside of the law. So that is a good idea of how secure your booking is. The other is that properties have reviews written by guests. I do not know of any other listing website which covers Spain giving you these two items which helps you book with confidence. But it is your money and if you wish to book something that is either illegal or maybe , at worse, a scam then so be it.

Jess...the website I suggested is still valid where ever you go in Spain.

portuense

like i said, they're not all bad but i've seen some shockers. there's no real uniformity of standard in practice. Still, people can get lucky.

jessicam40

I've perused all the websites. The uk holiday rental one seems to have more appeal?

Honestly, the more research I do, the less likely it is that we will stay in just one place for a week *sigh* A touring vacation, it will probably be...

I'm thinking fly into Madrid.....2 nights in Madrid or Toledo, 3 nights in Seville, and then 4 nights in Barcelona, fly home. I really didn't want to city-hop that much....but now I want to see....Toledo, Seville, Granada, Costa del Sol, Barcelona, Costa Brava, Montserrat. I just would really like to park my butt somewhere relaxing and beautiful for 3-4 nights. Ideas? I really didn't want to stay in a big city, either. I'm still debating..... And, if we go to Barcelona, I feel compelled to visit a friend in Marseilles which then makes me cram even more into our 9 nights. My hubby is now thinking he just wants to be *in* Madrid for championship futbal game, since purchasing a ticket would possibly make us re-mortgage our home.

jessicam40

sorry about the typos!

jessicam40

Or...

We could do 3 nights in Granada (daytrips to Seville? or should we stay in Seville over Granada)
4 nights in Alicante (just watched herotravel video over it - wow)
and then end with 2 nights in Madrid (with daytrip to Toledo)?

If we stay in Alicante - would it not be possible to do Barcelona from there? could we go somewhere further north on the coast, but still as beautiful?

Would this type of itinerary give me access to staying in more relaxed/beautiful places with the ability to drive/train to sights/cities? I just really want to avoid staying in big cities...
Thanks!

ribeirasacra

With all of these options you are even confusing me...It is your vacation so you have to choose what is best. With just 9 days you could quite easily spend it all in in say BCN and forget about the rest of Spain.
Maybe time to slowdown take a breath and give us a list to help you hone your plans down a bit.
Toprural is not a website for rentals when staying in cities by the very nature of the site.

jessicam40

So, I have this thought in my head of staying in one place as long as possible and just day-tripping/driving places for the day. But, the more research I do...I realize that the places I want to see are spread out for just daytrips.

*Seville (architecture focused here)
*Granada, The Alhambra
*Coastline - specifically, the Mediterranean (never seen the Mediterranean). Would love to stay in a small village and just enjoy natural beauty
*Montserrat
*Toledo

Some of my favorite trips with my husband involved just driving - like the castles of southeastern England by car. Is it possible to localize myself to just 2 places to avoid hopping? We have to fly in/out of Madrid, but I would be willing to buy hopper flights or train in/out Madrid.

Viajero2

Jessica-- you need to recalibrate your expectations; you want to avoid big cities, but it is what you listed to visit. You also only have 9 days but want to go all over Spain (North and South). You cannot plan for a week in a relaxing villa in the outskirts of a big city and on the same vacation expect to visit North and South including big cities. Seriously, Montserrat? Toledo? Make up your mind.

I would not plan Granada from Seville, nor the other way around. Plan for two home bases for 4 days each; one around Seville, and the other one around Costa del Sol/Nerja. Northern Spain? That's another trip. There: start drafting a real plan.