12 night itinerary help

Looks fine.

I agree, this looks pretty good. Don't forget to book your Alhambra tickets well in advance.

Check your itinerary for day-of-week. We were in Malaga on a Monday, and several museums, etc. are closed on Mondays. (We still had a good time there.). We really enjoyed our time in those locations last year!

Here’s my trip report if it’s any help:
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/1st-time-to-spain-trip-report

We visited this area last fall and your itinerary looks fine. Below are a couple of comments based on our experience:

• Ronda, Seville, and Cordoba are great
• trains are very efficient
• we were not overwhelmed by the Alhambra and found Granada to be okay
• we stopped at Jerez, not Cadiz, and it is a nice place to spend an afternoon
• we also picked up a car upon leaving Seville, dropped in Malaga, and it worked well

Enjoy!

David - I'm curious about your comment on the Ahlambra and Granada. Why did you prefer Ronda, Seville and Cordoba? I'm headed to Spain next month and can't decide whether I should try and get to Granada or stick to the places you mentioned. I posted a question yesterday but in short my 13 year old son & I have 4 or 5 days in the area while also visiting Madrid and Barcelona.

I have to say I am a bit in agreement with David about his comment on not being overwhelmed by the Alhambra. To be clear - I would not skip the Alhambra as it is one of the most important sights in Spain and it was really amazing. How can I feel both amazed and also not overwhelmed at the same time, you ask? Well, the big thing for me was that it felt a bit commercialized. We'd be strolling past these amazing medieval ruins and turn the corner to find a shop selling postcards, hats, and sunscreen. And that happened several times, so it was just a bit off-putting for me. As for strolling through the Albazyin, I'm not big on shopping (ducks for cover! lol), so the lower portion of the Albayzin wasn't super enjoyable as it was all shops selling all manner of touristy items - magnets, clothes, purses, etc. But I did very much enjoy the upper portion where we found good places to eat, and to sit, people watch, and listening to street musicians.

Anyway, those are my two cents for what they are worth. Enjoy planning!

I think it is similar to what Morgan stated, we did not find anything wrong with Granada but it just seemed more 'commercialized'. I am not sure if this is the right term but we found it very busy. It might be the area we stayed in but even after walking to many places it still seemed very busy most everywhere in this part of the city. I am not sure what we expected from the Alhambra but for us it did not live up to the hype it receives.

I listed the places we stayed below

• In Granada we stayed on Campo del Principe, right on a small square and a 20 minute walk to the Justice Gate of the Alhambra. We did not find anything wrong with this neighborhood but just did not fit the right 'vibe'?
• In Cordoba we stayed on Calle San Fernando just a couple of blocks from the Guadalquivir River. It is less than a 10 minute walk to the Mezquita and we enjoyed strolling the neighborhood, getting off the main streets, and stopping at the small restaurants and bars. Pretty nice area.
• In Ronda we stayed on Calle Almendra, less than a 10 minute walk to the old bridge. Again we mostly avoided the main streets and had a great time strolling and enjoying. Another nice area and our host recommended some wonderful tapas bars.
• In Seville we stayed on Callejon Menjibar, a five minute walk to the square on Alameda de Hercules (wonderful area) and less than 20 minutes to the Alcazar. This was also a cool area, close but far,

We also visited Madrid and Barcelona on a separate trip and really enjoyed Madrid, stayed near Plaza Mayor. We found that Barcelona is not for us, hard to put a finger on the reason but it just does not resonate with us the way other places did, similar to our feeling with Granada.

I think your itinerary look good. I did something similar, but it I was driving the whole trip.

I do have one suggestion for you... Include Caminito del Rey in this trip! It's pretty easy to get there from Ronda, with a car.
If you like hiking, trails, cliffs, canyons... you'll love it! Have a look at this

George - thanks! Hubby would definitely be interested.. I have a fear of heights, so I'll have to see if I can brave it :) We thought about driving because we love the freedom, however, paying for the car and to park it (which isn't easy in Europe) just didn't appeal for the whole trip.

On day 2 consider taking the coach ("bus") run by Alsa rather than the train. There are direct services from the airport and more services if you go via Malaga city itself. There is no direct railway service from the airport to Granada and even services from Malaga city to Granada involve a change and take longer at the moment (you might need to use a bus anyway for the final section as the permanent way is being upgraded and it's still not open, perhaps by next March it might be? But I'd still take the bus)

Nick - thanks! I think we have decided on the bus to Granada since we can go from the airport. The bus station seems pretty far outside town in Granada, are there usually taxis around to take us to our hotel?

Yes, Granada bus station is some distance from the centre. It's a major station and I'm sure there will be taxis on the rank outside. Proper taxis in Granada are white with a green stripe and will have a logo and number on the doors. My guess is the fare into the centre is less than €10.

Itinerary is great - good job not trying to cram in Barcelona. I will join the chorus of being underwhelmed with Granada. For us 2 nights was perfect, allowing time for Alhambra without a 1 day blitz. We were surprised by Cordoba and were really glad we had 2 nights there. We did a great evening tour with Artes de Cordoba. We loved Cadiz, and plan to return there for a longer stay. ARcos is pretty small and will be very quiet! Enjoy Andalucia!

Kathleen,

Do you think Arcos will be too quiet? Our last trip to Italy in late Nov we didn’t think about how much would be closed in the tiny towns and we were a little disappointed (still had a great trip though).

Jennifer, we also used ALSA bus to go from Cordoba to Granada, and then from Granada to Malaga, and I highly recommend the bus. It is modern, comfortable, and air-conditioned. There are plenty of taxis waiting outside the bus station in Granada. You can also take ALSA bus from Granada to Cordoba.

We loved the Alhambra! It is magnificent and outstanding, and one of the highlights of our travels. We spent all day there. Our timed entry ticket to the Nasrid Palace was for 9 or 9;30am, and we arrived about 30 minutes early. We took our time in the Nasrid Palace, enjoying the ambience, and taking photos. We had lunch on the grounds sitting on a bench (we brought sandwiches). Then we slowly walked to the Generalife Gardens, and took our time there. On our walk back to the Alcazaba, we stopped at the Hotel America for drinks and snacks, so we didn't leave the Alhambra until around 4:30pm. The Alhambra is not a place to rush through. We also took the evening tour, which I recommend. It is less crowded, peaceful, and beautiful, and you can hear the water flowing and bubbling. The lights highlight the intricate carvings and tile work on the walls and ceilings.

We really like Granada. Architecturally, it is very different from Seville and Cordoba. We stayed 2 nights, but I wish we had 3 nights. I agree with the poster who said the bottom of the Albaycin is touristy with lots of tourist shops. I wish we had the time to wander through the upper part, which is why a 3rd night would have been nice.

We also loved Cordoba! it was one of our favorite cities on our trip during September 2017, and it is much less crowded than Granada and Seville.

You will have a wonderful trip!

Sounds amazing! I already have a reminder in my calendar for when the Alhambra tickets open up for purchase.

We've done a bit of tweaking and decided to leave Cadiz for another trip. I really just wanted a little more time in the hill towns.. so next time! I think we're also going to make a stop in Marbella (on the way back to Malaga) to walk the old town so that will still give us the beach town vibe we wanted from Cadiz.

I think we are going to take the bus from Granada to Cordoba.. it's faster and cheaper!