Hello!
My husband and I will be in Castilla and southern Spain together for 11 days in late May/early June. I will stay on after for work and could do some more sightseeing on my own in the following weeks, but I'd like to save the best stuff for the time we're together. We have the basic contours of our trip laid out, but have some questions and are trying to figure out how to include some nature sightseeing and/or hiking. Here's our current plan, along with our questions:
- 4 days in Madrid, including the day we arrive (from the states) since we get in very early. We plan to do day trips to Segovia and Toledo; is there enough time for El Escorial? We were thinking that it wouldn't take all day and could possibly fit it in.
- 2 days in Granada. I'm thinking we'll fly from Madrid to save time, or is the drive worth it? We plan to spend one day to see the Alhambra and the market, and I'm thinking we'll spend the second day doing some kind of excursion in the nearby mountains (Parque Nacional de Sierra Nevada). Has anyone been to this park and maybe done some hiking there? If so, what did you think?We can tolerate moderate hikes.
- 2 days in the white hill towns of Ronda, Arcos, and Zahara. We plan to rent a car in Granada to enjoy the mountainous countryside on the way to these towns since it's only about a 3 hour drive and we could leave early. Which one would be best to spend the nights? We were also thinking of visiting the Sierra de Grazalema Natural Park while we're here. Is there much to see there, and how long should we spend there vs. the towns?
- 1 day in Gibraltar. We're not sure whether to continue with our rental car or take a bus from Ronda, and not sure whether to spend the night in Gibraltar or come back to Ronda, or even move on to our final destination, Sevilla, that night, since I imagine accommodations in Gibraltar are more expensive. Also, would it be worth it to cut a day from something else and take a day trip to Tangier?
- 2 days in Sevilla. We will be spending our anniversary here on our last night and would appreciate any suggestions for nice restaurants for a dinner celebration. My husband leaves on the 12th day.
Our last question is whether this itinerary sounds reasonable. As our first trip to Spain, we want to make it memorable, but we realize we're fitting in a lot and could consider cutting something (i.e., one of the days in Madrid, one or both days in Granada, or maybe one of the days in the white hills) since we know we will be back to see other parts of Spain. We appreciate any comments or suggestions!
Danny