We've never been to Europe and are planning a 7-10 day trip to Spain next summer - have researched some already but clearly need some more knowledgeable guidance . . . . will have a 15 and 20 year old along and have traveled extensively in the US and Caribbean. We don't mind temperatures in the low 90's and will want to spend a couple days in a beach town (Malaga, Nerja, or something better?) and have kind of settled on seeing Cordoba and Seville and Gibralter for sure. We would fly into either Madrid or Seville but need tips on transportation beyond that - what's the easiest/best, etc. Don't mind driving, but if it's just as easy getting to places via train that'd be ok too - we're not going to be doing a bunch of night-life activities so traveling in the evening might give us more time to do things during the day? I know it's almost sacreligious but we're not into art museums or beautiful gardens. But we do love historic castles and cathedrals, as well as other historic sights! (I'm a history instructor) . . . also, would somewhat prefer time in smaller cities/towns more so than big cities - tourist areas/shopping are fine, especially those with Spanish or historic 'flair' or ambiance (however my spanish is muy mal so that could be a factor in some places?). For those from the states, our favorite city is Charleston, S.C. and we'd much prefer the Florida Keys to Miami - if that helps any as far suggestions . . .finally, if there are unique or outdoor (water?) activities that would be a bonus too. Thanks so much for your insights!
Posted by
NC
398 posts
You don’t indicate how much time you will have, but this is what we did with 17 days last September:
Day 1 - flight to Malaga
Day 2 - arrive Malaga, pick up rental car
Day 3 - Malaga
Day 4 - to El Caminito del Rey, then to Ronda, stay at Arriate
Day 5 - to Arcos de la Frontera via white villages
Day 6 - to Gibraltar, then to Tarifa
Day 7 - to Cadiz via beach towns
Day 8 - to Sevilla
Day 9 - Sevilla
Day 10 - Sevilla
Day 11 - to Cordoba
Day 12 - Cordoba
Day 13 - to Granada
Day 14 - Granada
Day 15 - to Nerja via Frigiliana
Day 16 - Nerja
Day 17 - depart Malaga
Highlights for us were walking the El Caminito del Rey, the rooftop tour of the Sevilla Cathedral, and the Mezquita. If we did it again we would skip Ronda and Nerja: Ronda was super crowded and touristy; Nerja has a nice beach but is essentially an ex-pat community and lacks a Spanish vibe. Arriate, near Ronda, is a lovely, small, quiet town with an excellent locals restaurant, Taberna Malacana. Tarifa has nice Spanish feel and broad beaches. We happened upon a religious festival there which was fascinating and fun. We enjoyed Malaga, friendly and relaxing, and wish we had spent our beach days there instead of Nerja. Driving was easy except for Granada and we managed fine with little to no Spanish. Happy planning!
Posted by
Irving
3230 posts
How many nights will you sleep in Europe? It sounds like you want to spend all your time in the south of Spain, is that correct? If so, fly multi-city using the airports Seville and Gibraltar: https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Gibraltar. If that doesn’t work try Seville and Malaga, however, Gibraltar then becomes an outlier.
Sleep in Seville when visiting Cordoba that makes a great day trip by direct train (45m). Make sure you buy tickets in advance because these trains sell out: https://www.renfe.com/es/en.
There’s a direct bus between Gibraltar and Malaga, Nerja is further away so sleep in Malaga. Have you considered adding Ronda and Granada to your itinerary?
Posted by
Mid-Atlantic area
7162 posts
You say you like small towns, but most of the places you mention are decent sized cities.
If renting a car I’d be hesitant to do much traveling in the evening. Once you arrive in town street signs are difficult to see/find even if you know where to look for them. There are many pedestrian only zones and many hotels are not well marked. A small yellow sign with the hotel name and an arrow may be all you see when arriving in town. You then need to find parking. I’d hate to try and find someplace when it’s starting to get dark. On our trips, we try to stop for the evening no later than 6pm even though it may not get dark until 10pm.
I definitely wouldn’t recommend driving at night on unfamiliar roads. Oftentimes, sharp corners are not well marked and if driving in mountainous areas, there frequently are no shoulders and tenuous railings to keep you from going down steep embankments. The roads in Spain are generally in very good repair and pleasant to drive on during the day. Outside of cities and towns traffic is light,
Posted by
Central Indiana
272 posts
When exactly is this trip? Because temps in Andalucia, especially Seville, could readily exceed “the low 90s”.
Posted by
Washington DC
28100 posts
I'm afraid your weather expectations for summer in Andalucia are unrealistic. Coastal temperatures are likely to be somewhat more moderate, and Granada is at altitude so usually a bit cooler, but summer temperatures in much of Andalucia are typically brutal; I would not travel there in the summer.
You can use the website timeanddate.com to see actual, historical, day-by-day weather data for the places you want to visit. When considering my travel options, I usually look at the most recent five years' statistics. The monthly averages you see elsewhere are likely to be extremely unreliable for travel during months of the year when extreme heat is likely.
A look at July 2023 shows Seville had only five days when the high temperature didn't reach 95F. The temperature hit 100F or more on 15 days. I don't think that was unusual; there were 21 days at or above 100F in July 2022.
Use the pull-down box at the right, just above the graph, to change the month and year displayed. Use the Search box near the upper right to change the location.
Summer is a great time to visit the north coast of Spain between the Basque Country and Galicia. I had a lovely time in Andalucia during the month of April 2019, but it was getting noticeably warmer by the beginning of May.