My husband and I will be visiting the following places for one day each on our end of April transatlantic cruise from the states to Barcelona: Azores Portugal (12pm to 7pm), Malaga Spain (7am - 8pm), and Cartagena Spain (7am - 2pm). What would you recommend for our very short time at these stops? I read a rec to take an open topped bus tour on Malaga. Other than that, not much else. We're on a tight budget but would love to experience as much as we can within the few hours we have. Oh, food recommendations would be greatly appreciated as well. Bring on the Tapas.
Posted by
Branford, CT, USA
20 posts
Just returned from Barcelona. Bad news: a pickpocket got my camera in the subway.... Good news: We never had a bad meal... Here are the Tapas spots we found:
At La Boqueria Market and in the RS guidebook-Kiosko
Bar Lobo: http://grupotragaluz.com/rest-barlobo.php (we really pigged out here...fantastic! near la Boqueria)
Taller de Tapas: http://www.tallerdetapas.com/
The port of Malaga is right accross the street from a good shopping area with restaurants and (!)bakeries.
Enjoy your cruise....
Posted by
OP
CA
61 posts
Thanks for the recs Jodi - they sound great. We are very excited for tapas.
Posted by
Orlando, Florida
676 posts
Jessica, where exactly do you stop in the Azores? There are several islands there.
Posted by
OP
CA
61 posts
Elaine - I just checked. We cruise into Ponta Delgada, Azores.
Posted by
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
172 posts
Jessica, four of us did this type of cruise two years ago on NCL. In Ponta Delgada we took one of the ship's Island tours. Stopped in a couple of small towns, drove by Nellie Furtado's home village, stopped at a very interesting tea plantation, botanical gardens, etc. and saw lots of the island. Pricey, but we thought worth it as we prob. will never get there again! After the tour we decided that the Azores would be a great place for a holiday. In Malaga I took the ship's tour to Ronda and sent the rest of the group to the Nerja caves via local bus (I had been a yr. earlier). They really enjoyed themselves and none of them spoke a word of Spanish. Tapas everywhere was good, if you don't understand the menu and nothing is on display, look around at what people are having and if it looks good just point those dishes out to the bar tender (using whole hand not just pointer finger). Sit down meals are drowned in olive oil in many places and very hard on the digestive tract!!! Barcelona is a beaut. city, we wandered everywhere mostly on foot as well as used the hop-on hop-off bus. Have a great time!