Cadiz and/or Ronda

We enjoyed Cadiz, claimed to be Europe’s oldest city. The historic core was very interesting. It is on the water but I don’t recall seeing a beach.

The one side of the city running the entire length of Cádiz is a beach, but I can’t imagine spending much time walking along it in February. I know when I lived in nearby Rota decades ago, very little time was spent walking along the beach that time of year.

To me, both Cádiz and Ronda are worth a full day. I’d lean towards Cádiz if only choosing one for a 3-day stay, only because of its size. Personally, I prefer Ronda.

Cadiz has a nice bay with a sandy beach right in the heart of the town, not very long, but pleasant to sit at and watch the ocean. Further out along the coast, there is a long beachfront where you could walk for miles. As you implied, February is not prime beach weather, but you do get some sunny pleasant days, perfect for a walk.

Cadiz certainly has lots of history, and while it gets busy, it does not seem overtly touristy. Cadiz has a great food scene, lots of local specialties, a thriving tapas culture, a very good market. I would be tempted to just spend my three nights there.

Ronda has spectacular views, and is pleasant enough, but two nights would be more than enough, a day would cover almost all there is and it is much more overtly touristy, lots of bus tours from cruises stopping at Malaga.

I probably would not do just one night in Ronda, unless you arrive very early in the day, or have a car, just due to public transport taking so much time getting there and on to your next stop, and to do 2 nights in each really short changes Cadiz.

I would also choose Cadiz. We had a 7-night stay there last February and thoroughly enjoyed the city, being there while they were celebrating their huge, festive Carnaval. We also took a day-trip from Cadiz over to Jerez de la Frontera to see the horse show performance- easy transportation by train. Here’s the details of what we did in Cadiz. And enjoy that special gelato shop! I have tasted a lot of gelato over the years, and that’s a special one!

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/feb-2024-3-week-southern-spain-trip-report

"Ronda has spectacular views, and is pleasant enough, but two nights would be more than enough, a day would cover almost all there is and it is much more overtly touristy, lots of bus tours from cruises stopping at Malaga."

Since Cadiz is also a cruise port, I would think it also has bus loads of tourists. For this reason, I have chosen to stay in Ronda on my upcoming trip in February.

Thank you all very much; we are going with the 3 nights in Cadiz, with Ronda as a one-night visit on the way to Granada.

Since Cadiz is also a cruise port, I would think it also has bus loads of tourists.

Cadiz does get some cruise traffic, but to be honest, most barely see Cadiz, since it is the "stop" for Seville, so they are off on buses or trains heading North.

The best thing about Ronda is the proximity to the El Caminito del Rey. The walk is amazing! Do it if you possibly can.

mml, thanks for the recommendation! I had never heard of the Caminito del Rey, but it looks absolutely great. Just the kind of thing DW and I would go for, except that she is getting over long covid and, though much improved, can't do more than modest hikes for now. But it is now on the list :-)

I have been to Cadiz several times. You can see pretty much all of it in a day. It's kind of on a peninsula, as you head south. At the far right is the cruise port. Then there are various nice seaside walks and parks with colorful tiles and trees. Eventually you get to a beach which is not too bad. There is a unique walkway which extends a long walk way with stones on either side to protect from waves. Then if you continue walking to the right, there is more of a sea wall somewhat like Siracusa. It's a nice walk but different. From there you can see that the coastal area extends several miles and there seem to be some resort hotels further down. Each time I have been there, it's been somewhat windy.

But I spent most of my time in the old town which is closer to the original entry from the train station and cruise port. There are many restaurants and shops. Also a few homeless. There are some little plazas embedded within. I also found that they have some really nice restaurants - however, never got to eat at any of them because they book up so fast.

In conclusion it's nice. But I would not stay 3 nights. One night is fine. I think Seville and Granada are places to spend longer times.

We were in Cadiz in January of 2022 for 4 nights and loved it. We'll be back. Here's a cut/paste from my trip report:

Cadiz: January 2-6. Weather 60s day, 50s night; sunny with a couple of brief rain spells
Lots of walking – especially on the promenade around the coastline. Beautiful.
La Caleta beach, walked in the ocean
Lots of gelato on Calle Ancha, just down from our apartment. Very convenient.
Tavira Tower
Shopped for dinner at the Central Market. Bought clams, fish filets (don’t know specific species; some kind of whitefish), fish gills, roe sacks, and chicken (for the cowards who wouldn’t eat the seafood).
Roman Theatre ruins
Christmas Market in the Plaza de San Antonio (including toboggan rides!)
Three Kings Parades (super fun)
More walking
Just a note that although it looks like there’s nothing to do in Cadiz, we absolutely loved it. It is very low key but beautiful for strolling around, lots of wonderful places to stop for food, lovely gardens, many pedestrian-only streets with great window shopping, and of course, the beach. It was a wonderful, relaxing place to be, and we would have loved to stay longer. Next time.

Full trip report here:
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/2-lovely-weeks-in-spain

@DebVT, I think you were the one who was so helpful when I was planning our trip to go to Cadiz last February. We loved it! I would include it again on my upcoming trip next February except that I will just be in southern Spain for two weeks this time.

Jean, happy to share! We loved it and can't wait to go back. We have our trip to Puglia planned for this December (your trip report is full of great info, so thank YOU!!) and then I think we'll head back to Spain for our next trip, including a long stay in Cadiz.

Railrider and DebVT, thank you for the tips. Sounds like there will be more than enough to see and do. Having said that, we actually like the idea of a lower-key destination, since at this point in the trip we retirees will be looking to recharge for a couple of days.

BTW, dear wife is from VT, also a nice place :-)

Joel, alas I have lived here only 28 years and therefore still am and always will be a flatlander and my children mudbloods.

But I am sure your wife must be related to my husband, whose family has been here for generations. I have learned in the past 28 years that everyone in Vermont is related. Specifically, to my husband. LOL!!

Have a great trip!

LOL, thanks. I am reminded of an actual Springfield Reporter headline about a man whose VT mother crossed the river to give birth in a NH hospital, and who then lived in VT for 98 years: "New Hampshire Man dies."

In my case, I spent one night there the first time, and felt I saw pretty much everything over one afternoon and the next day. Other times have not even stayed the night - more of a day trip, and even during the day trip, pretty much saw everything, including the beach, old church, interior plazas. etc. For us, we would be bored with 2 nights there.

Part of the reason I did not enjoy it more was that there were plenty of touristy restaurants but not that many of the higher end restaurants which were booked up every lunch or dinner I tried to make a reservation. Also I had the hotel staff help me to find a good flamenco show. One place was a walk 3/4 of a mile, and it was suddenly closed that night for some reason. Then the other place they recommended, in the opposite direction, I could never find it, and the streets were pretty deserted at night, and I gave up. This is the reason why a place like Seville's preferable to me.

Joel, that is hilarious! : )