choc2

In May we spent just over two weeks in the Andalusia region of Spain. I would highly recommend this time of year to go. The weather is warm but not unbearable, and there are fewer tourists. We flew in to Malaga from London on Easy Jet. Our plane was delayed and by the time we got to the Malaga Airport our car rental place was closed, not a good start but from there it was a great trip.
Day 1-2- We spent two nights in Mijas, just 20 min drive from the Malaga airport. It is one of Andalusia’s white villages. Very pretty village and we really enjoyed wandering around the old village. Lots of tourist trap restaurants so food was a challenge, but we managed to find a great place for tapas.
Day 3 - Drove to Vejer De La Frontera about 2 hours west of Mijas. We stayed at a lovely boutique hotel in the middle of the old town - Casa Shelly. The streets are very narrow and not easy to navigate but the hotel gave us excellent directions and even met us to help with luggage. This town is charming to wander around and we found some great authentic food and lovely sherry places.
Day 4-6 - Drove up to Jerez on our way to Ronda and spent a few hours wandering around the city. Then had a beautiful drive through the park natural sierra de la grazalema to our B&B just 15 min west of Ronda. Lovely B&B called Cortijo Las Piletas. Ronda is stunning and even if you do a day trip you need to check out the Puento Nuevo and natural landscape of the area. We also did a drive through the park that meandered through 5 of the white villages characteristic of Andalusia.
Day 6-8 - Cordoba - the Patio Festival was just getting under way in Cordoba, if you can visit during this event I would highly recommend it. Locals have a competition for the best patio flowers and invite the public into their patios to look at their displays. There were several different routes you could choose. We also did a tour of the Mosque (you need to see this Mosque! ), the alcazar and the Jewish Quarter. I would recommend a tour for the mosque and alcazar, not necessary for the Jewish Quarter as you see more on your own.
Day 9-11 Granada - We visited Granada to see the Alhambra and it did not disappoint. We took a 3 hour tour and still didn’t see everything. It is incredible walking through the Alhambra and the Generalife gardens. I would go back to Granada just to spend more time there. We stayed in the Albaycin area which was challenging to navigate as it has very narrow streets and is on a hill.
Day 12-17 Malaga - Loved Malaga’s relaxed feel. Great art galleries and museums - the Picasso Museum is a must visit. We really enjoyed just wandering around Malaga, looking at the street art, a bit of shopping and great food choices.