Four of us are planning to spend time in southern Spain in January and would like to hear from others about favorite towns and trips to North Africa
Posted by
Washington DC
29289 posts
The three key destinations in Andalucia are Seville, Cordoba and Granada, though there are many other interesting destinations. How many nights will you be spending in Spain, not counting the night on the plane? That will allow us to understand how much actual time you have.
Very, very few of us would recommend a trip to Tangier, which is where you're likely to end up if you try to squeeze Morocco into such a short trip. Morocco has many wonderful cities; Tangier simply isn't one of them, and you'll spend considerable travel time just getting there. Ferries to Tangier do not depart from ports where travelers typically go until they've seen higher-priority Spanish cities.
The cities of Fes and Marrakech are far better destinations in Morocco. There are flights to those cities from many places in Europe, so it's easy to spend some time in Morocco as part of a trip elsewhere in Europe. There's no need to settle for a quick visit limited to Tangier just because you happen to be going to Spain.
You can see some of Rick's top sightseeing suggestions in Spain on this website in the Explore Europe section. Choose Spain, then after clicking on Cordoba, Granada, Seville and White Hill Towns (separately), choose At a Glance. However, I highly recommend buying his guide book for Spain. It will save you time and money.
Posted by
Detroit, MI
1117 posts
How many nights do you have? How much time total do you have including the your trip to and from Spain? You don't have time for Morocco. Previous repliers are right. You have time for Seville, Cordoba, and Granada. Rick Steve's guide is good for first timers. Otherwise I like the Rough Guide series. The Lonely Planet and Fodors are 3rd and 4th in my guide book ranking. I don't like Eyewitness guides because the text is too small and there are too many unnecessary illustrations. I would have added Malaga and/or Nerja if I had had extra time. I spent 4 nights in Seville, 2 in Granada, and 2 in Cordoba but maybe I could have cut Cordoba down to just 1 night.
Posted by
2119 posts
I had a distinctly different experience in Tangier than acraven.
Tangier has a reputation of being dangerous, seedy, dirty, and crowded. But the Moroccan government has done an amazing job of cleaning it up. I found it very pleasant.
No, it's not as special as Marrakesh or Fez or Chefchaouen. But if you are interested in adding it to your itinerary, I say go for it if time allows. (It would be helpful if you told us how much time you will have on the ground and where you're flying into and out of.)