Trip to Andalusia and nearby, possibly Morocco, this March

Having COVID does NOT make you immune from getting it again (just ask any of the people who have got COVID more than once). Please don't go around as if you are bullet-proof. We all need to continue to be careful and responsible.

Andalusia will be lovely in the spring. With two weeks, I'd stick to Spain -- there's no shortage of things to see.

I would urge you not try to squeeze in a day-trip to Morocco. Morocco is a wonderful place with lots to see and do, and just like Italy, France, or other large countries, it deserves more time than a quickie day-trip or overnight (especially from a ferry across from Spain -- that's like taking a few hours to visit Tijuana and thinking you've been to Mexico; when you have time to see Morocco, skip the ferry, skip the "bordertown" experience, and fly in to Marrakech or Fes, to see the good stuff -- those flights are dirt cheap, but wait until the pandemic is over before planning a trip there).

David, we plan to be very careful - just as we were before we got breakthrough infections.

Thanks for your input about Morocco.

Any suggestions for Spain?

There's a pretty obvious (popular with folks here, and for good reason) sack of great locations in/around Andalusia, you can't really go wrong with those:

• Seville
• Cordoba
• Granada
• The white hill towns (Ronda, Arcos de la Frontera, possibly others depending on how much time you have)
• Other nearby great spots that aren't technically in Anadalusia, but are worthwhile if you haven't been there:
• Toledo
• Madrid
• Avila
• Segovia

There's more, but that's a good starter list. Add/remove as your tastes and available time dictates. Then the task becomes how to string the together (some work by train, some are better by car), the order you do them in, etc.

I'm sure others here have additions/subtractions from that list, but it's not a bad list to start from.

In southern Andalucia you also have Cadiz and Malaga. If you are interested in sherry or horses, consider Jerez. The Renaissance towns of Ubeda and Baeza in northern Andalucia are quite different from the Moorish-influences places elsewhere in the area, but it's likely to be quite a bit cooler there than in southern cities like Seville.

If you'd like to see a variety of places but don't relish changing hotels too often, there are some nice day trips to less-touristy spots like Carmona (from Seville), Priego de Cordoba (from Granada) and Vejer de la Frontera (from Cadiz).

The aforementioned Ronda and white villages (including Arcos de la Frontera, Grazalema and Zahara de la Sierra) are a great reason to rent a car for a couple of days and make stops along the way between Seville and Granada. Of those four places only Ronda has rail service. It's probably impossible to see more than one of them on any given day if you're using public transportation. However, Arcos works as a day trip from Seville (or from Ronda).

The popular tourist cities have been mentioned. Andalucía is huge and it would be easy to spend a month in that region alone. If you want to see Roman acqueducts, there are Acueducto Carcauz in La Gangosa and Acueducto romano de Sexi in Almuñécar. Just outside of Sevilla is the Roman retirement city of Itálica. We enjoyed Almería further east and on the coast. If you like castles there are a number of them, such as, Castillo de Vélez-Blanco, Lanjarón, La Calahorra, Castillo Almodovar del Rio, and Castillo de Salobreña. A few miles outside of Córdoba is Medina Azahara - Conjunto Arqueológico Madinat al-Zahra and its ruins. Also outside of Sevilla, in Carmona is Alcázar de la Puerta de Sevilla. If you like nature, then you might like visiting El Rocio near Huelva and Doñana National Park. Not in Andalucía, but less than 2 hours away are Zafra for walking around) and Mérida (for its Roman ruins). In that same area is Castle Nogales and Jerez de los Caballeros whose old town is surrounded by a Moorish wall with six gates.

For a once in a lifetime hotel, I suggest the Parador in Granada. A really modest and basic, no frills hotel is next door to the Parador; Hotel América. Both are right at the Alhambra complex.

With about two weeks, you won’t run out of things to do or see. The problem is just the opposite.

First, you don't need - and probably won't want - a car for most of the top places in Andalucia. Would you fly R/T Sevilla or return from some other city (Madrid and Malaga are usually the best options since they are largest airports in the region). Have you checked into flight options and prices? Sevilla's airport is small, so there are no direct flights from the US.

The only hotel recommendation I have is Amadeus in Sevilla. I fear that this close to your trip it may be sold out.

I would only go to Granada if I had reservations for the Alhambra which always sells out. I wasn't able to access their website just now so do check on availability for your dates. You may have to plan your trip around the date you can still get tickets.

A car is really only useful for visiting the hill towns, pick the car up in one city and drop it in another. Which cities depends on the rest of your itinerary. Day trips from Sevilla are best by train. The hassles of driving and parking only add time and headaches.

Two weeks really isn't a lot of time for Andalucia.

Here's a couple of ideas for Morocco: one is to take the ferry from Tarifa, Spain to Tangier, another is to fly from Seville or Malaga to Marrakesh.

I would really discourage targeting Tangier. Wait for a real opportunity to visit Morocco on a later trip. There are flights to Marrakech and Fes (as well as Casablanca and some other cities) from many places in Europe. Morocco doesn't necessarily have to be combined with Spain.

YES, do not waste one second going to Tangier. Morocco is a great country to visit, if you go to Rabat, Marrakesh, Fes, and some interesting places in the south on the edge of the desert.

If you like nature and want to get away from the bigger cities, would highly recommend a stop in Antequera. Many less tourists than Ronda. And you can get a guided trip & hike through El Torcal de Antequera park. Was by far one of my favorite places in Andalucia, and we practically had the entire park to ourselves. Booked it through the tourist office in the center of town.

Also if you are looking for cute towns when driving in/out of Granada, we stayed in Alhama de Granada. It's also built on a gorge. Very cute town and some walking there too down into the gorge if you want. We stayed at La Seguiriya, they have a lovely back patio overlooking the gorge. https://laseguiriya.com/

Early one morning we arrived in Tangier by train from Marrakesh and then took the late-morning ferry over to Spain. I rather enjoyed walking around the old medina talking with the locals as the businesses were opening up while the streets were still empty of tourists. I was able to pick up some cool souvenirs and prices significantly lower than in Marrakesh. I even ran across "Jimmy" - who Rick Steves wrote about in the 2011 guidebook (and perhaps others). The ferry ride was short with great scenery. Our days in Marrakesh were more fulfilling but Tangier certainly wasn't a waste of my time. If you know how to travel you can have a good experience no matter where your journey takes you.