Granada or Malaga with Mom?

I think you made a smart decision about the timing.

My attitude is that there are beaches everywhere, and the coast of southern Spain would be pretty far down my list of places to go. Unfortunately, Andalucía is rather large, and Granada is really too far from the other two highlights--Seville and Cordoba--to make good day-trips.

Would it not be possible to split your time between Granada and Seville? There are a lot of day-trip possibilities from Seville.

Thanks acraven - I hadn't really looked at the beach topic in quite that way. If I ask myself why I'm really coming to Spain, I have to admit that the beach isn't really the reason! I had been thinking that I might have to split the time in 2 places, as Andalucia is pretty large to attempt to do from one location. Thanks for the advice!

Our trip to Andalucia was in late October and we had very pleasant weather. Visiting the Alhambra IMO is a "must see" and we thoroughly enjoyed the city of Granada. Be sure to purchase your Alhambra tickets as soon as they are available, as they sell out quickly. I too, would suggest you consider visiting Sevilla. The city is charming; there are great restaurants, sights and shopping. Plaza de Espana was beautiful; we had a delicious tapas lunch at Lonja Del Barranco Gourmet Market, and we took a cooking class at Triana Market. All very relaxing! A day trip to Cordoba is very easy and the Mezquita is beautiful.

Lots of people make a beeline for the coast, and I know there must be some nice places there (somewhere), but much of that coast is unattractively built-up and awash in English pubs and German sausage joints. You really have to be selective.

I know Cadiz is pretty often mentioned as a possible side-trip from Seville, so that might be an option if you decide you want to see some water. It's about 1-3/4 hours by train from Seville.

And Malaga itself has a historic area, I believe.

You can potentially save quite a lot of money on your train tickets if you buy them early, but you must be sure of your plans because the super deals are on non-refundable/non-changeable tickets. The largest savings are on the longest trips, of course, so work on pinning those down first.

Round-trip tickets are often a really good deal in Spain, much cheaper than two one-way tickets, so always look at the round-trip price. Fares can be seen on Renfe.com, which doesn't much like US credit cards. PayPal reportedly works well.

A helpful site for gathering information about European trains is: The Man in Seat 61. https://www.seat61.com/index.html We opted to book all of our Spain rail tickets using Trainline because of the difficulties on the Renfe site. https://www.trainline.eu/

Jwells,
How long do you plan to spend on your trip?

My mom and I spent three weeks in Spain a few years ago and we loved visiting Córdoba, Granada, Sevilla and Toledo. My mom was 88 at the time and she was also pretty spry for her age.
We basically spent 5 nights in each location (except for 4 nights in Granada plus an overnight near the Madrid airport prior to our flight home). The most exhausting days for her were the travel days when we moved from one city to the next.
We always started our day with a good hearty breakfast and tried to do most of our sightseeing in the morning. We’d then return to the hotel after a nice lunch for some down time.

Sometimes I’d go off by myself for a couple of hours while she rested in the hotel. I’d have a list of things I wanted to accomplish during these two hours; such as going up church towers, or visit other places she wasn’t interested in visiting.

Do plan to travel light as you may need to carry or roll both of your suitcases.

We traveled in late September/Mid October and the weather was still rather warm. However it was a bit chilly in Toledo in Mid October. We did experience a couple of rainy days too.

Do take heed to TravelBug’s advice and book your Alhambra tickets up to 3 months in advance!

Please post more questions or send me a PM if you need/ want more information.

Have a wonderful trip!

Hi. Im not sure how long your trip is but would you consider Granada and Malaga? My husband and i just returned from a three week trip through southern spain and had a wonderful time. We loved Granada and Malaga. We spent four days in Granada and three in Malaga. We took a bus between cities and it was a short and easy trip. Keep in mind Granada is hilly. We loved Malaga and wished we had more time there. Enjoy your trip!

From Seville, you can easily day trip to ...
•Cordoba (with the Mezquita)
•Jerez de la Frontera
•Cadiz
Consider 5 or 6 nights in Seville.

From Malaga, you can less easily day trip to ...
•Granada (with the Alhambra)
•Ronda
•Nerja
Consider 4 or 5 nights in Malaga.

Malaga is a pleasant town with a few low key sights and some Roman ruins. It's nearly 2 hours by bus to Granada and then you have to get to/from the Alhambra. The Alhambra is the #1 attraction in Spain for good reason. It is huge, lots to see and fairly long distances to walk between the top sights there, including stairs and up/down hills. So if you want to see the Alhambra, you really need to stay in Granada. There are some other sights as well to occupy you for 2-3 days.

Indeed, Sevilla is the best place for day trips. In addition to those David's mentioned, you can get to Arcos without too much trouble - take the train to Jerez, then the bus to Arcos.

I should have added that becsuse of the time and distance I wouldn’t normally recommend Granada as a day from Malaga.
However if you are minimising locations, and considering more favourable logistics with flights thru Malaga, then I’d say go ahead, if it means you get to see the Alhambra.

Jewels,
I agree completely with Chani’s comment here:

The Alhambra is the #1 attraction in Spain for good reason. It is huge, lots to see and fairly long distances to walk between the top sights there, including stairs and up/down hills. So if you want to see the Alhambra, you really need to stay in Granada. There are some other sights as well to occupy you for 2-3 days.

My mom and I loved the Alhambra, and she was completely exhausted after walking all around the Alhambra complex; she made it all the way to the Summer palace! (uphill and several stairs)
She went to bed early that evening and slept like a baby!

Mind you, your mom is much younger than mine!

Enjoy and make wonderful memories with your mom!

jwells, we could give you better advice if you told us where your mother lives. Does she ever see a beach? After seeing the movie, "Sexy Beast", I decided I had no interest in the southern coast of Spain. (I have been to the Ballearic Islands, however. Although they are tourist-oriented, they are very attractive and very flat walking.) I would note also that we took an October cruise of the Western Med islands, and things were very quiet. Many seasonal businesses were closed. We even had trouble getting a cab (called by the TI, at that. She called four guys!) on Corsica.

My vote is for Granada. Even if your budget is low, there is good bus service up the hill to the Alhambra, and even to the popular monastery. But if you have doubts about your mother's stamina, I'd consider Madrid or Seville. That's because you might be able to get there on ONE plane (where are you flying from?), and there's SO MUCH to see and do in one place. I question the wisdom of a small town with character. The smallest place I'd consider for your mother is Palma de Mallorca. If your mother's energy will prevent you from doing any interesting excursions, you'll be frustrated there.

Hi guys - lovely responses and I do so appreciate them all. I’m beginning to rethink my “have to” do the Alhambra plan. I should have considered how much walking and stairs would be involved - it may be more exhausting than enjoyable for her. I’m just not sure. We are due to travel to Rome in 2 weeks, so I can see how she does while we are there. Just looking at a map of the complex it looks enormous. Now I’m thinking of basing ourselves in Seville as the options seem to be much better. Our previous European trips have been 8-9 days, so I’ll probably do the same this time as well. We live on the East Coast of the USA, about 3.5-4 hours from the coast, so it isn’t as though we never get to the beach. Another thing I’m thinking about is revising my travel to the spring instead of traveling in October. Has anyone experienced Andalusia in April or May?

Not April or May, but I've been to Spain in February (twice) and March (once), each time for 3-plus weeks. February weather was mild (high 50's-low 70's), a little rain, but lots of sunny days too. March was similar, a little warmer. In mid-March, the orange and lemon trees were blooming and the heady scent was everywhere.

October is a good time to visit, not hot but still sunbathing weather (not that I'm expecting your mum to be sunbathing but you get the picture).

The coast of Andalusia, Costa Del Sol, is very built up and is geared for British, German and other Northern European holidaymakers who visit mainly to spend a week or two sunning themselves on the beach or around the pool. As such it has become overdeveloped and in some areas quite ugly. We own a Marriott timeshare week there so when we visit we're mainly interested in hanging out in the resort, over the years we've done the usual trips to Ronda, Gibraltar, Tangiers etc but it's not a place I'd visit if I wanted to experience a nice, Spanish coast.

We also spend a lot of time in Mallorca and that has a much better coastline in comparison to the Costa Del Sol, particularly the hidden coves along the northern and eastern part of the island however not having a car would be relatively restrictive if you wanted to visit some of the more unspoilt areas.

Jwells,

I’m beginning to rethink my “have to” do the Alhambra plan. I should have considered how much walking and stairs would be involved - it may be more exhausting than enjoyable for her.

I hope my comments didn't dessuade you from visiting Granada and the Alhambra as that was not my intention.

If you do decide to visit the Alhambra, you can take a few steps to make it easier for your mom, such as:

1. Take the C3 minibus from Plaza Isabel la Católica to the Alhambra. I'd not recommend
   walking from the city center as it's all uphill.

2. Get off the minibus at, 'Puerta de la Justicia' (Justice Gate) which is closest to the Nasrid Palaces-- Click on map to enlarge

3. Visit the Nasrid Palaces, which are flat without any stairs involved.

4. Depending on how your mom feels, walk toward the Generalife, or skip it.

5. Return later, or another day (buy tickets for Generalife only), and start your visit at the main
   entrance as this involves walking downhill to the Generalife.

6. Another option is to borrow a wheelchair (at the main entrance), but keep in mind that you may
   be sore, from pushing it, the following day or two. [I did this when we visited the Greco Museum in Toledo]

When my mom & I visited the Alhambra, I presumed that she would not want to walk all the way to the Generalife, but we took our time admiring the beautiful gardens and scenery.

• Make sure you take some water and snacks with you, or plan to eat
  lunch there.

• You'll want to study the map and note where the restrooms are located (few and far between)

Sevilla is a beautiful city and you can't go wrong going there! Here is a helpful website Andalucia.com/Seville/getting around

If you decide to stay in Sevilla, make sure you visit Córdoba; one of my favorite cities in Spain!

Please post other questions or send me a PM if you want/need more information.

Enjoy your time in Spain!

We stayed in Sevilla for four days last October and had plenty to do, so your mom wouldn’t need to travel as far. We enjoyed several locations, but another one besides Cordoba as a day trip could be Ronda. It’s a bus ride from Sevilla.