Nerja as a home base for 1-2 weeks?

Posted by Bobby (Nashville, TN, USA) on 10/12/18 02:48 AM

A friend has offered the use of a condo in Nerja for up to four weeks, for a total cost of $450 USD. However, I can only go for two weeks, and it would still be the same price.

I was wondering if it made sense to go ahead with this offer, and use this town as somewhat of a home base, while taking a couple of day trips from there, and then eventually leaving altogether and going to Barcelona or Madrid ( so I would essentially only be in Nerja for a week or 10 days).

I’ve always wanted to go to Barcelona eventually, and never really thought about the coastal areas of Spain. I see Lisbon and even Morocco are not terribly far, would those be options to visit from Nerja? Or should I just forget this offer and make my own itinerary and reservations later, going from town to town like I typically would, and like Rick suggests.

I’ve been to many countries in Europe, including France, UK, Italy, Germany, Hungary, and more. Spain is one that I have not been to yet.

Thanks,
Bobby

Posted by David in Seattle

Seattle, WA, USA ☔️

10/12/18 03:16 AM

7480 posts

That would be like....

"Hey, buddy, I have this timeshare in New York that I need to use; I gotta pay $450 for it for a month...I know you really want to visit LA and Miami, so why don't you take it off my hands and it's a win-win for us both! Just use it while you do your short trips to LA and Miami, it'll be great! Thanks, pal!!!"

You get to pay for your actual accommodations in Barcelona, which you would have to pay for anyway, and you pay your buddy for the unused time-share in Nerja. If you do trips to Madrid, Lisbon and Morocco, you get to pay for your accommodations there, too - which you would have to pay for anyway.

Ask yourself this: if your friend wasn't offering you this oh-so-generous deal, would you want to pay $450 for two weeks in a condo in Nerja? That's really the only thing to focus on - the rest is misdirection.

Posted by acraven

Washington DC

10/12/18 03:26 AM

29786 posts

What David said. And:

Morocco's a great place if you have a fair amount of time and can see places like Fes and Marrakech. It is not a good destination from Nerja; it will take the better part of three days just to get to Tangier for part of a day, and then you'll just be in Tangier. Don't do it.

Portugal and Spain are surprisingly poorly connected by ground transportation. You'll waste a lot of time trying to get to Portugal from Nerja.

The top destinations in southern Spain are Cordoba, Seville and Granada. Only Granada is close enough to Nerja to be a really viable day-trip, and most people would prefer to spend a couple of nights there to enjoy more of the city than just the Alhambra.

What time of year are you thinking of making this trip? Hotel rooms in much of Spain can be relatively inexpensive outside of Barcelona, Madrid and San Sebastian. (I haven't been to Andalucía recently so am not sure about it, and of course the time of year matters.) You could spend a lot of nights in perfectly OK (clean, decently located, but possibly rather small) hotel rooms for $450.

Posted by MorganMurphy

Denver, Colorado

10/12/18 05:20 PM

215 posts

We spent about $550 USD total on Airbnb's for our stays the following cities: 2N Cordoba, 2N Granada, 2N Nerja, 1N Ronda, and 2N Seville. A bit more than you are saying for your base in Nerja, but I have to agree with the others that none of these towns are good as day trips from Nerja. You would be spending your whole day just getting to and from the cities by train or bus.

Now, there may be other nearby cities that would be good as day trips if you spent, say, one week in Nerja. There is Frigiliana, the Sierra de Tejeda natural park, , other nearby towns with beaches, Malaga (although most would probably say to use Malaga as a base rather than a day trip). But I think it would be a shame to visit southern Spain and not see Granada, Seville, etc.

Whatever you decide, have fun in Spain - it is lovely!