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Spain - BCN, Granada, Ronda - itinerary input

Hi Everyone,

I'm planning a short trip to Spain in October and would love input on logistics and any other suggestions.

We booked an open jaw ticket flying into BCN and out of Malaga

Day 0: Arrive late in Barcelona - sleep?

Day 1: Whole day in Barcelona

Day 2: Day trip to Girona &Cadaques/just to Girona/Stay in Barcelona

Day 3: Fly to Malaga, drive to Ronda & stay the night

Day 4: Spend few hours in Ronda before driving to Granada, stay in Granada

Day 5: Alhambra, Hamman spa experience and then drive to Malaga

Day 6: Depart from Malaga on an early flight.

I would love to get input from experienced travellers on the proposed itinerary.

About us: in our 30s, fluent in Spanish (as it spoken in the US), live in Southern California. We are not big on museums and prefer small town culture to big cities. We are comfortable with long drives. To give you a better idea on our tastes I can reference our last trip to France where we drove from Paris to Chamonix and then two days later, drove down to the Italian Riviera. That being said, we also do enjoy seeing one or two main tourist attractions in a big city. For example, in Paris, and this might sound sacrilegious, we went inside only the Notre Dame and Musee D'Orsay. We couldn't stand in lines anywhere else. The highlight of our stay was renting a scooter to explore different neighbourhoods that a typical first time visitor would not have known of and we don't regret not going inside the Louvre. I'm hoping this will soothe anyone who feels we are not spending enough time in museums, which Barcelona is known for. Me - I am just thrilled that we are finally going to Spain.

My husband is on the fence about the day trip to Cadaques being that we live in Southern California and have been to seaside towns like Nice, Mykonnos and Santorini. Looking back on our France trip, we both enjoyed small villages in Provence more than Nice.

Now, I dont know if I can even compare any of those to Cadaques and thats where I am hoping for input. From pictures, Cadaques is gorgeous and quaint and it doesn't have bustling big city feel. Would it be too cold mid October?

Are we better off not going to Cadaques and using that day towards Granada? Lastly, I'm hoping to plan out at least one or two foodie experiences in Barcelona and Granada. Or despite not wanting to go to museums, should we still spend two whole days in Barcelona (no day trips) before heading to Malaga on Day 3?

Any input is welcome. Thank you in advance!

Posted by
3150 posts

Last November I toured from Madrid to Seville and then to Portugal solo driving. Consider driving from Barcelona to Granada along the Med coast. As pretty and quaint as Cadaques is (and I've been there), I'm sure you'll find other small towns on the way though I have not driven this route. As far as Barcelona is concerned, 1 day isn't enough and I'd also consider the short rail trip to Monserrat. From Granada, you could easily drive to Ronda and perhaps through the very winding and scenically beautiful mountain roads to the white towns of Grazelema and Zahara and then to Malaga.

Posted by
12 posts

HI Philip,

Thank you for the input.

We thought to fly from Barcelona to Malaga to save time and also because renting a car in Malaga is almost half the price of renting a car in Barcelona. But we will review that part of the trip and see if driving from barcelona is better, especially if we stop by in small towns.

Have you also been to Ronda? if so, is it different or does it feel the same as Montserrat?