Help with Honeymoon Itinerary!

Thanks for the suggestions. Would you suggest cutting Madrid or Sevilla to par it down a bit?

Also - is Nerja a good choice for visiting the beaches in the surrounding area?

Oh, and I'm well into driving age...so no worries there.

For a Honeymoon this seems like an awfully busy itinerary.

I would definitely prune it down. Since you already offered Sevilla on the chopping block, cut it. I'd also cut out at least one of the day trips.

Seeing as much of Spain as possible is great -- and I LOVE Spain... but a Honeymoon should never feel rushed... beware of that.

Jennifer,

I agree with Jim, this seems like a bit of an "ambitious" Itinerary.

"Also, we were thinking of driving around a bit"

One question to consider for driving is your age. There may be restrictions for those under 25. Also, an International Driver's Permit would be a good idea, although I'm not sure if that's compulsory in Spain. This must be used in conjunction with your home D.L. You can obtain this at very reasonable cost at any AAA office.

Good luck with your planning!

I can't comment on Nerja as your beach destination, I've only done Barcelona for beaches in Spain.

I would prioritize Madrid over any of the other in-land cities.

Tough to say from there -- with the cut of Sevilla, and make the day trips tentative only (based on how rushed you are feeling) you could have a workable plan.

My best to you -- and my jealousy... We aren't going back to Spain until late 2011.

You're doing a fair bit of back-tracking in the early part of your itinerary. To make better use of your valuable time, may I suggest the following?
Thurs AM: Arrive Malaga, pick up car, visit old Malaga, drive to Nerja (about a 45 minute drive.)
Fri, Sat: Nerja:
Sun: Nerja - Granada (about 70 minutes...yes, the drive along the coast then up through the mountains is very scenic, with the Sierra Nevada looming off to the east.)
Mon: Granada (make sure you book your tickets for the Alhambra well in advance...admission numbers are strictly controlled. http://alhambra-tickets.es
Tues: drive Granada-Sevilla, visiting Ronda on the way (total drive Granada-Sevilla is about 4.5 hours...about 2.5 of that the first leg to Ronda.)
Wed: Sevilla (drop off car)
Thurs: Sevilla-Madrid by AVE, stopping off in Cordoba (book trai.n tickets up to 62 days in advance for 60% off at http://www.renfe.es..total train time Sevilla-Madrid, 2.5 hours)
Fri-Sun: Madrid, with one day set aside for trip to Toledo.
Mon AM...fly home.
The reason I suggest another day in Madrid is because it's a fascinating city with lots to do. However, if you decide you don't want to spend two days there, spend a night in Ronda....that'll give you a bit more time to make that drive and a bit more time in Sevilla...then just push the rest back a day.

Thank you, Norm! I agree - the first plan was pretty ambitious and might have been a little much. I think we're now thinking of cutting out Sevilla, altogher to give us a more leisurely pace - with optional side trips to Ronda and/or Toledo.

What do you think about this...?

Oct 14 Thurs AM – arrive Granada Airport
Oct 15 Fri – Granada
Oct 16 Sat – Granada
Oct 17 Sun – Granada to Nerja (drive, 1.5 hrs – bus 2.5 hrs)

Oct 18 Mon – Nerja
* side trip to Ronda? (optional)
Oct 19 Tues – Nerja
Oct 20 Wed – Nerja
Oct 21 Thurs – Nerja to Madrid (Malaga – Madrid AVE, 2.5 hrs)

Oct 22 Fri – Madrid
* side trip to Toledo? (Madrid – Toledo AVE train, .5 hrs - optional)
Oct 23 Sat – Madrid
Oct 24 Sun – Madrid
Oct 25 Mon AM – fly home

I've also found a couple of really nice looking hotels. But if you have suggestions for these, I'm all ears...!

Jenn

Frankly, if you're going in mid-October, skip Nerja...a nice place, but temperature then will probably be only in the mid-60s....not really beach-lying weather. And a day trip to Ronda from Nerja will be about 5 hours driving in total.
If you want to take a more relaxing pace....
Thurs: Arrive Granada
Fri-Sat: Granada
Sun: Granada-Ronda
Mon: Ronda-Sevilla (drop car) (this will also give you time to explore the white village of Zahara de la Sierra, off the road from Ronda to Sevilla)
Tues-Wed: Sevilla
Thurs: Sevilla-Madrid
Fri-Sun: Madrid (day trip to Toledo)
Mon: flight home
This means only 3 days where travel is involved....and all should be journeys of 2.5 hours or less, whether by car or by AVE.
I'd hate for you to drop Sevilla...it's the heart of Andalucia, and one of the great destinations in Spain. While Nerja is nice, I would not choose it over Sevilla.
As for hotels, I would suggest the Best Western Hotel Cervantes, in the heart of old Sevilla, so drop off your car FIRST. A lovely Spanish hotel where the rooms are all built around two courtyards...very romantic. In Madrid, I either use one of the Accor chain's Etap or Ibis hotels, or the Hostal Santa Cruz or Hostal Cruz Sol. Don't be fooled by the name...these are not hostels, but "hostals," a class of two star usually family-run hotels that provide excellent value. The two are in the same building on Plaza Santa Cruz, just up from Sol and not far from Plaza Mayor, but they're off the busy route between the two.Don't worry....once you experience Spain, you'll be back to explore more in the future!

I like Norm's first posting:

Thurs AM: Arrive Malaga, pick up car, visit old Malaga, drive to Nerja (about a 45 minute drive.)

Fri, Sat: Nerja:

Sun: Nerja - Granada (about 70 minutes...yes, the drive along the coast then up through the mountains is very scenic, with the Sierra Nevada looming off to the east.)

Mon: Granada (make sure you book your tickets for the Alhambra well in advance...admission numbers are strictly controlled. http://alhambra-tickets.es

Tues: drive Granada-Sevilla, visiting Ronda on the way (total drive Granada-Sevilla is about 4.5 hours...about 2.5 of that the first leg to Ronda.)

Wed: Sevilla (drop off car)

Thurs: Sevilla-Madrid by AVE, stopping off in Cordoba (book trai.n tickets up to 62 days in advance for 60% off at http://www.renfe.es..total train time Sevilla-Madrid, 2.5 hours)

Fri-Sun: Madrid, with one day set aside for trip to Toledo.

If I were to leave anything out of this itinerary it would be Toledo (save it for another trip).

We were in Nerja in late September and the weather was wonderful...we stayed right on the beach at the Hotel Balcon...we had a very reasonably priced suite with a balcony overlooking the beach.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g315917-d267217-Reviews-Hotel_Balcon_de_Europa-Nerja_Costa_del_Sol_Andalusia.html

I have been to Spain many times, and I can tell you that Nerja is definitely worth the trip...it is one of the last "beach towns" that has retained some of its character from the past...most everything else on the Costa del Sol looks more like Miami Beach than Spain.

My two cents:

We enjoyed Nerja but I'm not sure about October. I think it would probably be nice and I think you will want to visit the Spanish coast somewhere. We liked the Parador.

We were a month in Spain and Portugal. The highlights for us were Granada, Seville, Toledo, and Segovia. I encourage you to include Seville as a stop overnight and Toledo as a daytrip. In your shoes, I would cut Cordoba. If this allows you some free time, add it to Madrid.

As Norm has said, as soon as your itinerary is fixed, order your tickets for the Alhambra.