Hi,
We are retired and thinking about spending two months in the south of Spain during January and February. We would love some recommendations for cities to stay in and make one as a base for our stay. We would like to get some recommendations for companies that lease/rent apartments, especially ones that are near the ocean.
Do you plan to rent a car? Thst will affect people's recommendations. And what are you interested in doing in Spain? I think it will be far too cold to swim.
Take a look at Seville. It's a spectacular place with much to enjoy but also central to other places you may want to see on day or longer trips by train, bus or car. Regardless of where you decide, be prepared for cold. Spanish apartments generally have single pane windows, marble or tile floors and are not insulated. While it may be warmer than your home it will not be warm. Pack a winter coat, hat, and scarf. January and February are the coldest months of the year. On the positive side, there are fewer tourist and rental rates are lower.
Thanks for your replies, we won't even consider swimming but love to golf. We can rent a car but would prefer to use busses or trains if possible. I hadn't considered Seville but are open to recommendations in the area.
Cheers
I suggest starting with a guide book that covers Andalucia so you can build a list of places you definitely want to see and other spots that sound interesting if a visit turns out to be convenient. You'll need to check on transportation links from any possible bases to at least your must-see spots. I'm concerned that any coastal location you pick as a base will be a messy bus or train ride from most of the key sights in Andalucia, because those are mostly in the interior.
You can use ViaMichelin to figure driving times, bumping the estimates up somewhat since the consensus here is that VM tends toward optimism. Use the Deutsche Bahn website to check on train times since it's a bit easier to use than Renfe. You'll need to go to Renfe eventually to check prices; it's also guaranteed to have unbeatable ticket prices when you're ready to purchase. For buses you can probably find schedule info and fares (usually less than train fares) by Googling something like bus Seville to Granada (as one example).
Two months is quite a long time to spend in a city without much to do, so be sure your spot is known to be lively in the winter.
