pittpurple

Hi,

I am planning a two-week trip to Spain with my husband in October. We are on an extremely tight budget so I've done a lot more detailed planning than I typically do and would really love your opinions on this itinerary for our first week. We are spending the second week in an apartment in Nerja (with a day trip to Malaga to see the castles). We're both 28 and love castles, architecture, beautiful views... we don't care about nightlife when we travel and are planning to eat at cheap cafes and supermarkets.

Day 1: Arrive in Malaga
Ryanair flight arriving at 17:10 from Edinburgh - take bus to hostel, Overnight in Malaga

Day 2: Sevilla
9:00-11:45 Bus to Sevilla
Have lunch, find hostel
Casa de Pilatos in afternoon - open 15:00-19:00
Overnight in Sevilla

Day 3: Sevilla
9:00-11:00 Alcazar
11:00-13:00 Cathedral of Sevilla and Giralda Tower
17:15-19:15 Bus to Cordoba
Overnight in Cordoba

Day 4: Cordoba
10:00 Mezquita (although I found something on a message board that the Mezquita was free before 10:00?)
12:00 Alcazar de los Reyes Christianos
Long lunch / siesta
15:30 Synagogue
Walk back past Puente Romano and Templo Romano
Overnight in Cordoba

Day 5: Cordoba
10:00 Bus trip to Medina Azahara from tourist office
12:30 Return to Cordoba
Free afternoon... any thoughts?
Overnight in Cordoba

Day 6: Granada
9:00-11:30 Bus to Granada
Drop off bags and wander about the Albayzin - get to the top to see the views of the Alhambra
Anything else fit well with this or will the Albayzin fill an afternoon?
Overnight in Granada

Day 7: Granada
Free time to sleep in a bit and do some wandering
14:00-20:00 Alhambra afternoon tickets

Day 8:
Free morning - anything missing in Granada?
13:00-14:49 Bus to Nerja

I really tried to leave some free time in this week so we aren't exhausted but if there's anything fabulous I'm leaving out I would love to have extras in case we feel motivated. We do have a full week in Nerja to do pretty much nothing so I'm not worried about running around a lot in the first week. We tend to arrive home after a holiday more exhausted than when we left so we definitely prefer a frenetic pace

Any thoughts? Thanks so much!
PittPurple

josele

Which hostel in Malaga?

lincasanova

you must see the carved crypt of the reyes católicos and their children in the cathedral in granada. it is beautiful.

i hope you decide on your accomodations beforehand.. so you donīt waste valuable time in these towns.

www.madridman.com has some suggestions for most of spain.

yk

A few comments and answers to your Qs:

<i>Day 4: Cordoba
10:00 Mezquita (although I found something on a message board that the Mezquita was free before 10:00?)</i>

That is correct. One can enter the Mezquita for free between 8:30-10am. The audioguide booth actually opens at 8:30am, so you can still get the audioguide (which is a must). Tour groups aren't allowed to enter until AFTER 10am, so the best time to visit is actually 8:30-10 when the place is quiet.

<i>Day 6: Granada
9:00-11:30 Bus to Granada
Drop off bags and wander about the Albayzin - get to the top to see the views of the Alhambra
Anything else fit well with this or will the Albayzin fill an afternoon?
Overnight in Granada</i>

The view of the Alhambra from the Albayzin is even nicer around sunset time.

<i>Day 7: Granada
Free time to sleep in a bit and do some wandering
14:00-20:00 Alhambra afternoon tickets</i>

FYI, you can enter the grounds of Alhambra before 14:00. You can visit the Charles V Palace (free) anytime that day. What time is your entry to the Nasrid Palace?

<i>Day 8:
Free morning - anything missing in Granada?</i>

The Cathedral and the Capilla Real (Royal Chapel) next door are both worth visiting.

If you're interested, you can read my trip report (I went in FEb 2008):
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=35111933

pittpurple

Thank you for your comments - yk, i will definitely read your trip report.

I will be booking accomodations beforehand and actually have them chosen already from hostelworld.com

Ilans Apartments in Malaga
Hostal Zurbaran in Sevilla
Hostal La Fuente in Cordoba
Hostal Alcazaba in Granada
And I have an apartment booked in Nerja

Thanks for the information about the Mezquita and the Alhambra yk - I'll adjust my itinerary accordingly and add in the other sites.

indiancouple

IMO you are spending too little time in Seville, which we found to be the best city in Spain. In any case, it looks like your bookings are done, and you are not in a position to move them around. Otherwise I would have definitely suggested adding a night at Seville, and reducing one night from Cordoba.
I think your plan of fitting the Seville Alcazar within 2 hours, and then the Cathedral plus Giralda in another two hours is ambitious. On the other hand, the trip to Casa de Pilatos is entirely skippable. Would suggest you spend that time covering either the Alcazar or the Cathedral, so that you have more time for the other attraction the next day.
During the evening at Seville, do visit &quot;La Carboneria&quot; for wonderful wonderful free flamenco shows.

pittpurple

Nothing is booked yet - just our flights and the apartment in Nerja.

I was wondering about the time split. I originally picked 1 night Sevilla / 3 nights Cordoba as I was having trouble finding accomodation in Sevilla in my price range. I have found a place that seems suitable so I could switch to 2 nights Sevilla / 2 nights Cordoba. Would that work better in everyone's opinion?

indiancouple

Even better if you could make it 3 nights Seville and 1 night Cordoba. We spent 4 nights in Seville, and did Cordoba as a day trip, which is extremely doable.
I agree that Seville is a little pricey, but well worth it. There is so much to do there, that even 4 days is not enough.
You could click on my name and search for my trip report on Spain, to get some ideas. All I can say is that you will not regret spending more time in Seville.

indiancouple

Here is a link to our trip report, if you are interested.


http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...amp;dirtyBit=1

Revulgo

Best views of the Alhambra from 'Mirador de San Nicol&aacute;s' where Bill Clinton said: I have seen the most beautiful sunset in the world.

lincasanova

the casa de pilatos SECOND floor ( separate ticket) is the gem.

go to casa de la memoria for a nice flamenco show in a courtyard. very limited seating. two shows a day.

looks like you have a nice trip well planned out. enjoy!

yorkshire

&quot;I think your plan of fitting the Seville Alcazar within 2 hours, and then the Cathedral plus Giralda in another two hours is ambitious. On the other hand, the trip to Casa de Pilatos is entirely skippable.&quot;

Just to be contrary--Casa de Pilatos was one of my favorite things, and I could have done without the Cathedral entirely. You will want more than 2 hours at the Alcazar however. Make sure the synagogue in Cordoba will be open when you plan to visit.
Cordoba is small, but I really liked it as well--especially just walking around. You may want to subtract one night there and add it to Sevilla however.

cova

Actually, for me Casa de Pilatos is extremely interesting.

And regarding Cordoba, I wouldnīt do it on a day trip. They would miss on the early entrance to the Mezquita and also on Medina Azahara.

We spent Holy Week two years ago in Cordoba, and we did manage to go to Sevilla only one day and have plenty to do during the rest of the week in Cordoba. I seem to remember that the Archeological Museum in Cordoba was free for EU members, and it has plenty of interesting roman and arab artifacts.

Rgds, Cova

Viajero2

pittpurple-- you wrote &lt;&lt;We are spending the second week in an apartment in Nerja (with a day trip to Malaga to see the castles). &lt;&lt; Malaga is not really known for its castles... other than the Alcazaba, there isn't a lot on that area. If it was me, I definitely would head out to see the Castillo Velez-Blanco; http://www.phototrails.eu/slideshow/castle1.jpg

kja

Hi, pittpurple -

Sounds like a great trip!

If you found a place that you can afford in Sevilla, the idea of switching one night from Cordoba to Sevilla makes sense. But I loved Cordoba, and found more than enough to keep me very busy there for close to 2 full days. For example, I loved the Museo de Viana and the archeological museum there has some interesting pieces.

For Granada, I'm one of those who found the Nazrid Palace particularly magical at night, so you might want to give thought to that. And again, I found more than enough to keep me very busy in Granada for more than 2 days, including the Cathedral and Royal Chapel (which others have also mentioned). And I second Revulgo's recommendation for the Mirador de San Nicol&aacute;s.

Hope that helps!

josele

Lina, about Casa de Pilatos I think it is the ground floor and gardens what you cannot miss. I found the top floor average. Though the tilework in the stairs is superb.

lincasanova

there must have been something i was impressd with up there! i was so glad we had read about not missing the second floor! anyway..

...so many beaiutiful places and corners. plenty to see and do.

impossible to be disappoionted in andalucia IMO!

pittpurple

Thank you so much for everyone's advice.

YK - I realised that I had read your trip report and saved it, the information about the Alhambra is really, really helpful - I found it all a bit daunting to understand as well!

So I've changed a few little things but am sticking with the plan of 1 night in Sevilla and 3 in Cordoba - otherwise I will give up either Medina Azahara or our chance to save money by doing the Mezquita early in the morning (and the Alcazar de los Reyes Cristianos is free on Friday which is a great coincidence!)

I think there are probably a million different things I want to see in the area so I'm trying to focus on our &quot;must-sees&quot; I really wanted to find a way to fit Italica in there as well, but it worked out to being a choice between Italica and Medina Azahara - and I've never seen Moorish ruins before so Medina Azahara won.

In Day 2 (Sevilla)
I have the entire afternoon to play with - I'm thinking if the weather is great, we can see the Cathedral and Giralda Tower on that day along with Casa de Pilatos. That way, if we do end up dragging our backpacks around the next day at least we won't have to carry them up the tower! Although hopefully we'll find lockers at the bus station.

I have a full day (bus at 17:00) on Day 3 in Sevilla to see the Alcazar and possibly the Cathedral. I see everyone agrees the Alcazar will take more time - the morning hours are 9:00-12:45 so I'll have the full time.

Day 4 in cordoba
has turned into a very cheap day! We'll get to the Mezquita first thing to get free entry and I found out the Alcazar is free on Fridays so it works out perfectly. Nothing else changes.

Day 5 in Cordoba
I've added the information about the Cathedral and Capila Real - it seems the consensus is that I should get to San Nicolas in the afternoon/evening so my plan is to see the Cathedral first thing and then leisurely walk up to San Nicolas for dusk/sunset.

Day 6 is now all about the Alhambra - I hadn't put it together that I could see so much of it before our tickets. We'll have the whole morning to explore the free parts and then have afternoon tickets without any need to rush. Does anyone know if you can bring food into the Alhambra? I guess if it's free we could just come and go as we wished, but just checking for planning.

So with just a few little details to work out I think I'm almost 'done' planning! At least I have a plan going, thanks everyone for their help!

yk

<i>Does anyone know if you can bring food into the Alhambra?</i>

Yes. There is also a kiosk right by the entrance to the Alcazaba where they sell drinks and sandwiches. But best is to bring your own food if you're on a budget.

gruezi

dear pittpurple,

another contrarian point of view at the risk of getting myself in trouble...

We spent 8 days in Andalucia, with 3 nights and 4 days planned for Seville after our time in Granada to see the Alhambra (we went for the night tickets and then again the next day and absolutely loved this site).

Maybe it's just us, but we just didn't warm up to Seville. If you are not a drinker and into the whole tapas on dirty tables scene, it may disappoint. There are some charming areas and I think we may have chosen our hotel location poorly, but after 2 days my husband said, &quot;we're out of here.&quot;

I will say my teenagers liked it a bit more, but my older one did say, &quot;I know what you mean mom, Seville is a bit spring-breakish.&quot; We were there in March/April so maybe that was bad timing - I dunno...

Sadly, we had sacrificed Cordoba in our intinerary so we would not have a frenetic pace and I think it might have been a better choice for us.

I did absolutely love Alcazar though, and also a lovely museum of fine spanish art in Seville - sorry can't remember the name. My family got into a spat at Alcazar because after 2 hours they had seen enough. I definitely could have stayed at least another hour.

Hope this helps...

gruezi