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Malaga or Seville? which city to choose to stay?

Posted by on

We only have 12 days in Spain. The trip plan is:
Madrid, 2 nights (including Toledo) not really interested in Madrid, just stay there for jetlag
Madrid to Granada (via Cordoba), 3 nights in Granada
either
Plan A: Malaga 3 nights (wander around, Picasso museum; day trip to Ronda; wander around, or a day trip to somewhere)
Plan B: Seville 3 nights (I know there are lots to see in Seville, a day trip to Ronda)
Then Barcelona, 4 nights

I was always planning to stay in Seville, then changed to Malaga because:
1. From review, the tours to Ronda from Seville don't spend enough time in Ronda, like 1 hour only; but I found the tours from Malaga to Ronda will give you 4 hours.
2. After the first few days in Madrid, Toledo, Cordoba, and Granada, I might be tired of cathedrals, plazas, and castles, I may need a scenery change. Malaga provides a beach and I would like to relax a little there, before we head to Barcelona.

I am not sure if I will miss too much if not going to Seville.

Posted by
153 posts

Sevilla is my favorite city in Spain, so this is a no-brainer to me. But I'm biased, as I studied abroad there in college. I don't remember Malaga well from my quick visit 20 years ago, but my recollection is that it isn't a must-visit. But if you're looking for beaches, Sevilla doesn't have those. Despite both being in Andalucia, Sevilla and Granada are quite different.

Posted by
6920 posts

I think that Málaga is nice for a second trip to Andalucía, but otherwise I would focus on Seville. And Ronda is optional, in my opinion - 1-2 hours is actually enough to see the main sights there and I would rather do a day trip to coastal Cádiz, personally.

Posted by
27206 posts

I think you will miss a great deal if you don't stay in Seville. Ronda and Malaga are both secondary destinations in comparison to Toledo, Cordoba, Granada, Seville and Barcelona. (And Madrid, but if you're not interested in the art museums, that changes the picture somewhat.)

You only have eleven full, mostly-not-jetlagged days in Spain. That's really not enough time to add Ronda and Malaga into the mix. If you must go to Ronda, you might investigate the cost of using a service like DayTrip to connect with a driver who will take you from Granada to Seville with a sightseeing stop in Ronda along the way. You can get a quote from the website https://mydaytrip.com/

What time of year is your trip? Barcelona has beaches. Relaxing there would mean little extra travel time, as compared to what is needed to get to Malaga (or Cadiz).

Posted by
1625 posts

Another vote for Seville, too, even though we loved Malaga. I would not give up Seville for Malaga. Seville is beautiful with its architecture, plazas, fountains, parks, etc. And visually and architecturally, Seville is very different from Cordoba and Granada, so you won't feel like you are in the same or similar city. I would also skip Ronda, although we didn't go there. Seville really deserves 4 nights, so with only 3 nights in Seville, I wouldn't take a day away from Seville to visit Ronda.

Posted by
32 posts

Another option is to take the train to Sevilla once you land in Madrid. Recover from jet leg on the train. That’s been our approach when we don’t want to stay or start our trip in the city we land in and it saves you from “using” one of your days to simply recover in a place you don’t want to be.

Posted by
213 posts

Sevilla is my recommendation. I have not been to Malaga but I can say that Sevilla is a nice stop with a lot to see and do and a different vibe than Madrid and Barcelona.

I also think Madrid is great. Could have easily stayed longer. The art, Retiro Park, the palace, the architecture, the food. Nice place.

Enjoy your vacation!

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