Spain

[Anonymous]

Early phase of planning a trip to Spain with a friend- no kids. We have both been to Madrid and Barcelona, so we want to focus on Southern Spain. Gathering all the intel. Hits and misses. Favorite spots. Must do. What to skip. Etc. We will be going in September. Right now thinking 8-10 days. May need to fly in and out of Madrid, depending on flight options. We both love a mix of all the stuff. Food, culture, history, outdoor activities, active pursuits, lazy/relaxing moments, etc. Basically, throwing everything at the wall to see what sticks.

[Anonymous]

Seville 4, Rhonda + Hill Towns 3, Granada 2, Cordoba 1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Seville 4, Rhonda + Hill Towns 3, Granada 2, Cordoba 1

I’d probably add a day to Granada and do Cordoba as a day trip from Seville.

Antequera is a nice reasonably central town if you a base or a stopping off place.

Could also add Malaga (or maybe Marbella).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Seville 4, Rhonda + Hill Towns 3, Granada 2, Cordoba 1

I’d probably add a day to Granada and do Cordoba as a day trip from Seville.

Antequera is a nice reasonably central town if you a base or a stopping off place.

Could also add Malaga (or maybe Marbella).

PP. 4321 starting point and agree with that suggestion.

[Anonymous]

If you can hop over to Mallorca, I highly recommend. The island is absolutely beautiful, and perfect in September. So many places to explore and/or relax.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Seville 4, Rhonda + Hill Towns 3, Granada 2, Cordoba 1

I’d probably add a day to Granada and do Cordoba as a day trip from Seville.

Antequera is a nice reasonably central town if you a base or a stopping off place.

Could also add Malaga (or maybe Marbella).

Yep. Cordoba is an easy train ride from Seville.

[Anonymous]

I liked Seville and I think three days was plenty there. We stayed in Marbella on the beach and drove to Ronda and Gibraltar from there as day trips. We also took some break days there and boy that was great. Eating breakfast on the Med coast is always a treat with those warm morning breezes. We stopped in the mountain towns on the way to Granada from Marbella. Three nights in Granada and two in Cordoba, then our final stop was a couple nights in Toledo. Toledo was quite awesome too.

Overall, southern Spain is definitely a top destination for me... just a fantastic place.

Note: the big spots get visitors from certain places... time your visits accordingly as we had to leave a certain castle because of them.

[Anonymous]

You might consider flying TAP and flying through Lisbon. We did this, Lisbon ---> Sevilla is a short flight.

Sevilla is a favorite. Definitely visit the Alcazar and gardens and the Cathedral/La Giralda. And Plaza de Espana. The We loved spending down time in Sevilla just walking around, it reminds me of a less crowded Florence.

Agree with others on Cordoba (Alcazar!) and Granada (Alhambra and Generalife). Be sure to eat salmorejo soup if that appeals to you--it's an Andalusian specialty that's sort of like gazpacho. Yum!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You might consider flying TAP and flying through Lisbon. We did this, Lisbon ---> Sevilla is a short flight.

Sevilla is a favorite. Definitely visit the Alcazar and gardens and the Cathedral/La Giralda. And Plaza de Espana. The We loved spending down time in Sevilla just walking around, it reminds me of a less crowded Florence.

Agree with others on Cordoba (Alcazar!) and Granada (Alhambra and Generalife). Be sure to eat salmorejo soup if that appeals to you--it's an Andalusian specialty that's sort of like gazpacho. Yum!

We bought these tickets and then the Lisbon border officials went on strike so we missed our connection and we had the choice of sitting in the airport for 4 hours or driving to Sevilla for four hours so we decided to rent a car and drive.

[Anonymous]

I agree that Seville is a very nice city and its not far from rugged, rural walks if you can find a good guide.

[Anonymous]

Tolox is a cute town on the way to Rhonda. dont forget to explore the 19th century parts of Sevilla and Granada- especially Grenada, everyone focuses on the moorish parts but the classical 19th century European area is super charming as well.

[Anonymous]

We also took the train from Seville for a day trip to Cordoba and that was enough time there for us. You could also just make Seville your base, get an airbnb for a full week, and then take an early train to Grenada and come back the following evening and just take a small overnight bag (when you arrive you can just drop you bag at the hotel as your room probably won't be ready).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You might consider flying TAP and flying through Lisbon. We did this, Lisbon ---> Sevilla is a short flight.

Sevilla is a favorite. Definitely visit the Alcazar and gardens and the Cathedral/La Giralda. And Plaza de Espana. The We loved spending down time in Sevilla just walking around, it reminds me of a less crowded Florence.

Agree with others on Cordoba (Alcazar!) and Granada (Alhambra and Generalife). Be sure to eat salmorejo soup if that appeals to you--it's an Andalusian specialty that's sort of like gazpacho. Yum!

I would do anything to avoid flying in and out of Lisbon. It is a disaster of an airport.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Seville 4, Rhonda + Hill Towns 3, Granada 2, Cordoba 1

I’d probably add a day to Granada and do Cordoba as a day trip from Seville.

Antequera is a nice reasonably central town if you a base or a stopping off place.

Could also add Malaga (or maybe Marbella).

Yep. Cordoba is an easy train ride from Seville.

Funny because it was famously “lejana y sola”. But now a quick easy train ride!

My sisters loved Malaga and Sevilla. I do think Granada is a can’t miss with the Alhambra.

[Anonymous]

On the southern part of our Spain trip we spent 2 nights in Nerja, a family friendly beach town. Our hotel had a roof top pool that was a big hit with our kids. One day we walked the Nerja River - we still talk about how awesome that hike was. We did Granada, Seville, Cordiba, Gibraltar (Rock only), but the more relaxed days were more memorable for our kids.