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Day trip from Seville to White Hill Towns

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I love the photos I see of the white hill towns. I would like to rent a car in Seville and take a day trip to see some of these towns. There isn't anything specific I have to see. Just want to see something like the photos and the countryside. I have read RS Spain book and his suggestions. My questions are:
1. Is it difficult to rent a car in Seville? difficult to navigate on our own?
2. Which towns would be possible to see in a day? Should we head toward Arcos on the toll road and see Zahara on the way and then return to Seville?
3. Should I consider a night in one of the towns or is a day trip enough?
4. Should I consider using a tour guide to see the most in a limited time? If so, suggestions of guides?
5. Ronda looks very interesting but I am concerned about crowds from what I read on the forums. Thoughts?

Thanks in advance for any advice!

Posted by
61 posts
  1. You are probably better off to rent prior to leaving the US (better rates, etc...) Contact the team at www.gemut.com for a quote. They have a great download PDF guide about car rentals in Europe on their website.
  2. We went to several of them. Check a map for driving directions/distances. When you are actually in the town you can see it and get the flavor/feeling for each in a matter of hours. Hit as many as you can in a day. They all start looking alike IMO.
  3. We stayed in Arcos and enjoyed it, but we did not think it was really worth an overnight away from other places in Spain (like Sevilla.)
  4. Rick's guidebook is sufficient for all the info you will need IMO.
  5. Did not get there. We opted out of seeing Rhonda and instead drove to Med/Atlantic for a day trip swimming in/near Tarifa. It was 80 degrees out in October, and we had seen enough of the hill towns. Still glad we did that.
Posted by
8055 posts

We spent two nights in Ronda which gave us the full day to explore the town. But it would also be doable in a day trip. You can see our snapshots here:https://janettravels.wordpress.com/2013/09/15/ronda-the-most-romantic-town-in-spain/

I am of the view that one is better sinking into one than visiting a bunch of pretty similar towns. I'd pick one and head there for a day rather than trying to visit several. We loved Ronda. We spent a week in Seville (too long) and then took the bus to Ronda for two nights and the train to Granada for two nights (too short) and then the train to Madrid for a week. We wanted a white town without having to rent a car on this particular trip and Ronda was easy to visit that way and a really interesting place.

Posted by
7299 posts

Rick Steves covers Arcos thoroughly in his book. You have to decide if a night in Ronda is worth giving up a night in, say Seville. We enjoyed Carmona on our drive, although it isn't a white hill-town. We went to Gibraltar from Ronda (three nights there) and thought it was a long drive to a disappointing destination. Others disagree. We drove to Jerez from Seville, not for the sherry, but for the horse performance - which wasn't as good as the one in Vienna.

Posted by
27 posts

Thank you for these replies. It really helps to hear from those who have done this before. You confirmed my suspicions that the towns would begin to look all the same and we should just enjoy one or two. It was interesting to hear from Janet. I looked at your photos and recognized your blog photo from a trip I planned two years ago. Your information is always helpful. And thank you Tim for the hint to skip Gilbratar. My next step was to consider a town on the coast. Any opinions out there on this? Allan, I noticed your beach day was in Tarifa. What did you think? RS suggests taking the ferry from there to Morocco. Did you do this? Anyone out there taken the ferry for a day trip to Tangier? worth it? dangerous?

Posted by
61 posts

We spent time at the beach in Valdevaqueros, about 5km north of Tarifa on the Atlantic side. Very cool windsurfer beach with beach bars and snack shacks. It was laid back and fun.

http://www.andalucia.com/tarifa/beaches.htm

I also went swimming in the Med down near the southern tip in Tarifa.

Did not do the trip to Africa. Next time.

Posted by
46 posts

Hello- I too want to visit small towns while in the Seville area, and I am going to try to find a guide/ tour from Seville. I enjoy having some wine while on vacation and I don't want to risk any self-imposed trouble by enjoying my lunch too much. It will be worth the few more dollars for my peace of mind. As to beach trip tips, a windsurfing beach usually means a windy beach. Check the local coastal weather forecast before you decide, and have fun!

Posted by
16893 posts

A day trip to Morocco is exciting, not dangerous. If you have time for it, then that's the main reason to visit Tarifa. I also enjoy the old town of Tarifa, but there are no must-see sights. The beach is popular with windsurfers because it's windy, so blowing sand can be an issue if you're trying to just relax.

Posted by
7175 posts

This would be a very long day - about 290km.
From Seville head south to Zahara de la Sierra and Grazalema for brief morning stops.
Up to Ronda for lunch, then return to Seville with late afternoon stop at Olvera.

Rick doesn't give much information. Go to Frommers ...
http://www.frommers.com/destinations/pueblos-blancos-and-the-sherry-triangle/274728#sthash.9PeyQUIr.dpbs
http://www.frommers.com/destinations/pueblos-blancos-and-the-sherry-triangle/274729#sthash.DkTrToGz.dpbs

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