Andalusia trip - November help needed

This would be my suggestion for an itinerary

Day 1: Malaga Airport to Antequera
Being that its close to Christmas. Antequera is the place to go as they are famous for 'polvorones' (traditional powdered cakes popular at Christmas in Spain, great gift for Christmas and travel well in luggage). Nice old town with good restaurants.

Day 2 Antequera to Ronda
Ronda, famous for its bridge and bullfighting. Great for a day trip with good museums. For hotel I suggest staying in the Parador, Ernest Hemingway stayed at this hotel.

Day 3 Ronda to Villaluengo de Rosario and Ubrique

Villaluengo de Rosario is the highest of the white towns and famous for the local Payoyo Cheese. They also make cork here as well
Ubrique, a white town also famous for Bullfighting by local Jesulin de Ubrique but good for a day as it is also famous for its leather( used by many big brands)
Stay overnight in Ubrique

Day 4

Ubrique to Medina Sidonia

Medina Sidonia is one of the only Moorish looking villages in Spain and has been unspolit for centuries. This is a short stopover just to visit La vista de Medina restaurant for lunch on route to Cadiz

M.Sidonia to Cadiz
Cadiz, famous Spanish port famous for its 'pescadito frito ' (fried fish) great views from Tavira Tower and a great cathedral. Stay overnight.

Day 5
Cadiz to Puerto de Santa Maria
Another place to taste Sherry apart from jerez( Jerez in Spanish is Sherry) is Puerto de Santa Maria. Osborne in 7 Los Moros street does a tour in English at 10:30am at 12€ per person. Fino Sherry is the local alcohol. Fish is also a must as this is a coastal town.
Day 6
Puerto de Santa Maria to Gibraltar

Gibraltar, an British Overseas Territory which has lots of things to do. See wild Monkeys, St Michaels cave views of Africa and Spain from the last point in Europe, cross a live runway and go on a cable car to the top of the Rock of Gibraltar. Day trip is sufficient cheaper to do a DIY tour in the Car. Passport is needed to cross the frontier between Spain and Gibraltar

Day 6 Afternoon- Gibraltar to castellar de La frontera

Castellar, a castle town where you can stay in the castle. My parents had their honeymoon there. A good town to look at if you like castle walls and old towns
Stay overnight

Day 7 Castellar to Mijas

Mijas, another small white town similar to Ronda. Great place to visit on a day trip with the miniatures museum and the local museum really good attractions. Please do not use the donkey taxis as recently(5 years ago) the owners weren't treating the animals right in the summer so I would stay away. It was a great attraction when going to mijas but now not.

Day 7 Afternoon and Day 8
Mijas to Malaga(Malaga 1 Day)

After coming back from Mijas enjoy a Flamenco show in Teatro Liceo in Beatas Street which is Andalusian traditions which starts at 8pm and finish at 11:30pm. Also enjoy some tapas before the show.

Day 8 Malaga
Malaga famous for its wine and artist Pablo Picasso. Visit the Wine museum in plaza de los vineros to see how Malaga wine is made and how is tastes. Book in advance. Tickets are 5€.
Visit the Picasso birthplace museum as Picasso was born in Malaga in plaza de la merced. You can also visit Muelle uno and la rosadela( Malaga cf soccer stadium)

Hope you have a great trip in Andalusia

Matthew

I would leave sevilla and Jerez as a separate trip as you need 4-5 days to complete both and doesn't give you much time to see the real Andalusia even though Sevilla and Jerez are nice places to visit.

I haven't been to Marbella, but I was in Malaga for part of Semana Santa and enjoyed the time doing 'regular' sightseeing too.

Ronda is a good choice, but you may want more than just a few hours to sightsee there. The bull ring has an excellent museum, and there are several quirky fun museums too (Centro de Interpretacion del Vino is one). Stop in the Chocolat Cafe for hot chocolate it the chilly evening.

You can visit Arcos by bus or car from Jerez. The old town of Arcos is perched on a steep hill. It's hard to drive the narrow streets or to find parking. Most people park in the large lot below (where the bus stops) and then either walk up or take the minibus shuttle. That makes it a less-than-ideal place for day trips. Jerez is a better choice to stay. Check the schedule for the Royal Equestrian School horse shows - they used to be on Thursdays in off-season. If you're staying in Jerez you could take a 1/2 day trip to Cadiz by train and a 1/2 day to Arcos by bus. Or keep the car (Jerez is flat and not usually crowded so you should be able to find easy parking) and use it for those jaunts, then return it before you leave for Sevilla.

Matthew – thank for proposed new itinerary. I don’t think this will work for me. I like to visit Seville for sure and not sure if I like to go to Gibraltar. You indicated that Jerez needs multiple days. Is it has nice old town?

Chani – thanks for advises. For Arco, I plan to stay in hotel near old town that has parking. I know it is very hilly but I think we could manage walking or we will take shuttle. In Jerez, if we stick to our schedule we plan to go to horse show. It is has nice old town to walk around? Should I make it overnight stop?

I like the white town you selected to visit. Personally i don't see much value in returning to Arcos after a day trip to Jerez unless you just want to spend another night and not move your suitcases. Or, if you got in late the day before and didn't get to see the town.
Jerez in about a 40 minutes drive from Arcos and another 30 or 40 to get to Cadiz. From Jerez, Sevilla is only an hour drive. If you plan to take a tour of a bodega, you may want to choose to stay in Jerez rather the return to Arcos after drinking. Visiting both Cadiz and Jerez would make for one long day which is another reason to stay in Jerez. Also, unless you do the Osborne tour in Puerto de Santa Maria, that town has very little to offer. I was last there in 2011.

Thanks for advice. I am thinking more and more to have 1 night in Arcos and spend next one in Jerez or Cadiz. I do not mind one night stand at all. Where to better spend late evening and morning Jerez or Cadiz?

Jerez would be my choice for an overnight because you could then rent the car there and head to Arcos. It's easy to day trip to Cadiz. The old town of Jerez was pleasant and pretty, but honestly nothing to compare with the other towns you're visiting. The sights of Cadiz are more interesting than those of Jerez and then there's the ocean . . . If the logistics don't favor one more than the other, Cadiz might be better.

It's definitely doable to walk up to Arcos's old town from the parking lot, it's just not advisable to drive it if you don't have to.

Hi, the reason I added Gibraltar is because its a good stop in the middle from going from west to east than going back on yourself on the same road to get to castellar. But you can do it going via Jerez where you can see horse shows and try the Tio pepe Sherry. Maybe swap the night in Cadiz to a night in Jerez instead. You could also swap Puerto de Santa Maria with San Lucar de Barrameda

Jerez can be done in a day but seville you need 2-3 to enjoy it properly, so if you wanted to visit the white towns as well it could make the trip feel rushed.

Jerez's old town is a nice, that is where the Alcazaba is, so it has a lot of history and thing to do.

After all your input I changed my plans to:
Nov 4- Malaga Airport 14.30 – rent car and drive (1 hour) to Marbella. See old town and spend night.
Nov 5 – morning Marbella and before lunch drive (1.5 hour) to Ronda, spend half day and sleep in Ronda.
Nov 6- Leave Ronda in the morning and drive (1.5 hour) to Arcos with stops at Grazalema & Zahara. Arrive at Arcos late afternoon. Evening and night at Arcos.
Nov 7 – Leave Arcos in the morning for Jerez De La Frontera. (1 hour driving). Drop car at airport and take train to center. Drop bags. See horses show @ 12. See old town, tasting. Night at Jerez.
Nov 8 – Train to Seville
Nov 9 – Day in Seville. Sleep in Seville.
Nov 10 – Day in Seville. Sleep in Seville.
Nov 11 – Morning in Seville and take train to Malaga. Half day and sleep in Malaga.
Nov 12 – All day in Malaga.
Nov 13 – Flight 6.45 am from Malaga to USA.

Rather than x4 single night stays first up, I would suggest 2+2. Plus also find room for Cordoba.


Nov 4 – Arrive Malaga 14:30.
Pick up car. Drive to Ronda (2 nts) 

Nov 5 – Day for Zahara & Grazalema 

Nov 6 – Drive to Jerez (2 nts) 

Nov 7 – Day for Arcos 

Nov 8 – Return car.
Day by train to Cadiz, then to Seville (3 nts) 

Nov 9 – Seville

Nov 10 – Seville

Nov 11 – Train to Cordoba (1 nt) 

Nov 12 – Train to Malaga (1 nt) 

Nov 13 – Depart Malaga 06:45

Matthew Your plan to Andalusa seems like it will work for us as well...Thank you for taking the time to put it together. Any thoughts by anyone regarding travel during the actual holidays...arriving on December 22 until January 2? Any special churches for Christmas Eve mass or places for New Year's Eve celebrations?

David, thanks for recommendation. Couple of things, I been before in Cordoba and this time plan to skip. My understanding that Marbella has nice old town is it? I do not mind 1 night stay but I need to think if change to two night stays with day trips will be better.
Is evening in Jerez better that Arcos?

Hi linda, any of the churches will have mass on on Christmas eve, try the village of Benaojan near Ubrique as the church is the biggest building in the village and it will have a very local feel for Christmas eve even though the mass will be in Spanish. As my intineary does not cover all the days. I suggest going to Seville for New years as Seville is the Capital of Andalucia and would be a great time to spend it there. Hope this helps
Matthew

Each town and village will have their own calendar of events for Christmas which lasts until the 6 January which is when the Spanish gives the presents.