Hi Travel experts.
I would love some advice on traveling in south Andalusia. Late May for 14 - 17 days.
Three of us will be starting in Seville (4 1/2 days) and ending in either Madrid or Barcelona.
We don't have a strong desire to visit Jerez but would like to see one or two hill towns. Thinking Acros and Ronda.
Other destinations are Granada, Madrid, Cordoba(we'll see that while were in Seville), and possibly Barcelona. The difficult part is that we want to do a day trip to Tangier and also see Gibraltar. The trains don't take you that far and the bus schedules are hard to figure out. Plus there is the question of where to leave our bags.
Car rental is a possibility although not our first choice because it would be for several days. As far as I can see Algeciras is the best place to drop a car off and walk into Gibraltar.
I have the Rick Steve's Andalucia guide book and the one for Madrid and Toledo.
I would appreciate any of your thoughts and possible itineraries.
Thank you in advance, this forum has already been immensely helpful.
Shelley
Posted by
Washington DC
28085 posts
Setting aside Barcelona and the Gibraltar/Tangier side-trip for the moment, I would consider these to be the minimal nights required for visiting the destinations you mentioned:
Seville 5 (since it's your first, jetlagged destination). That covers a day-trip to Cordoba and one day for Ronda. That's probably not enough to include Arcos as well. So you probably need 6 nights there.
Granada 2 (difficult to reach; this just gives you one day there plus maybe a few hours)
Madrid 2 for the city by itself. Add 1 for Toledo (which I would not skip). Add 1 for Segovia (also very worthwhile). So up to 4 nights, and that doesn't allow full coverage of the Big 3 art museums, which would mean on extra day.
Depending on what you decide concerning Arcos, Toledo and Segovia (not to get into the Madrid art museums), we're now up to at least 9 nights and more likely 12. I would not omit the time needed to see Arcos and possibly other white villages while you're in Andalucía, and I would not omit side-trips to Toledo and Segovia while you're in Madrid, so I've counted to 12 nights already. How many more do you have?
I would not go to Barcelona for less than four nights. It has a lot of sights, and quite varied ones. A visit to the city is complicated by the need to buy tickets (often timed tickets) in advance for a lot of the most popular sights, so you end up having to guess how much time you'll spend at each place, and tossing in extra time willy-nilly to be safe. It's not the sort of place where a blitz trip works well.
Tangier is not a day-trip. I think you'll find it will take at least 48 hours days by the time you get to the ferry port and return from it. Public transportation makes that jaunt a real challenge, and even with a car I think it will cost you a chunk of time one day, all of the next day, and quite possibly a chunk of time on the third day. And I would argue that it is not worth it. Leave Morocco until you have time to visit several of the great Moroccan cities rather than just a port town.
I suspect that Gibraltar might require yet another day, in addition to the 2 for Tangier, if by public transportation. How much time a car would save you there, I do not know.
Posted by
Rick Steves' Europe
16895 posts
Continuing with the timing issue for Tangier:
The first bus of the day leaves Seville about 9:00 to arrive to Tarifa about noon (www.tgcomes.es and portillo.avansabus.com), and then you might catch a ferry departing at around 14:00. A very tight connection to the ferry usually doesn't work with their check-in procedures. So then you need to stay a night in Tangier. Or you can take a later bus and sleep a night in Tarifa before the ferry. If coming from Arcos, you probably have to change buses in Jerez.
Trains run to Algeciras, but bus schedules are usually better and Algeciras itself doesn't have the best ferry connections.
Buses from Tarifa via Algeciras to La Linea de la Concepcion(for Gibraltar) take 1-1.5 hours. And then more buses to Ronda.
A rental car would give you more freedom in all these connections. If you pick it up in Seville and drop in Granada, you could also consider flying from Granada to Barcelona (www.skyscanner.com).
Posted by
OP
27 posts
Thank you acraven.
Great idea about Ronda trip from Sevilla, I did not know you could get there by train. It looks like 2 1/2 hours each way.
I think you misunderstood my comment about Tangier as a day trip. I did not intend it to be a day trip from Seville, but rather a day trip from Tarifa. I got the impression from the RS guide book that it was a nice day trip. Just have to get there and then get over to Gibraltar.
My other thought was to head north from Algeciras and see Ronda on our way back to Madrid?
Thanks again for all your advice.
Posted by
OP
27 posts
HI Laura, thanks for the info. I tried both bus websites and also the https://www.venta.avanzabus.com/ site.
I cant seem to find any routes. I've been entering dates toward the end of this week but that doesnt help either.
So far the only bus information Ive been able to get is in the RS guide book which is pretty general.
Posted by
Brisbane, Australia
7175 posts
Have you booked flights? Madrid and Barcelona are the twin gateway points in Spain. It’s best to fly in to one, and out from the other.
If it comes to a choice between Barcelona and Gibraltar+Tangier, then it’s not really a fair contest.
Day
1. ARRIVE Barcelona (4N)
2. Barcelona
3. Barcelona
4. Barcelona
5. Fly to Granada (2N)
6. Visit the Alhambra
7. Pick up rental car ... Drive to Ronda (2N)
8. Day visiting pueblos blancos
9. Drive via Arcos to Seville (4N) ... Drop off rental car
10. Seville
11. Day to Cordoba for the Mezquita
12. Seville
13. Train to Madrid (4N)
14. Madrid
15. Day to Toledo
16. Madrid (or day to Segovia)
17. DEPART Madrid