Christmas trip to Spain

Weather: Temps are typically in the mid to high 50s during the day in Seville around Christmas, topping out about 60 or low 60's in the afternoon--so not bad (but these are averages), Seville is at a low elevation. However, as you go east past Arcos de la Frontera and El Bosque towards Grazalema and Ronda--on Andalucia's Route of the White Villages--you start gaining elevation as you get into the Sierra de Grazalema Nat'l Park--normally a highly recommended itinerary in Andalucia--but what I don't know (I haven't done it) is what weather and travel conditions would be between, say, El Bosque and Ronda in late December-early January. In warmer months the Ruta de Pueblos Blancos would be highly recommended. Of course, there's always Granada, but not the concrete jungles of the Costa del Sol (oh horrors!).

I've spent the last 2 Christmases in Spain and really enjoyed it. We stayed on the coast in Estepona, where we found a really cheap hotel and went half-board for a month. We then made trips from there to different places including Granada and Gibraltor. Seville, Cadiz, Morocco, Tarifa and Jerez are all within easy reach. If we go again I would stay in either Marbella or Malaga because they are more central for public transport.
Best wishes Maggie.

We are planning a 12 day Christmas holiday in Nerja Spain this year. We have rented a 1 bedroom apartment for a great price and found it thru Holiday Lettings. We plan to have a rental car and explore the area. Have never been to Spain and looking foward to our holiday. We hope to drive to Gibralter and cross over to Tangiers. Any information about the drive, crossing, would be appreciated by anyone else answering this post. Thanks

Joanne....you won't be able to drive to Tangiers...first of all....streets in the interesting part of the city are impassable to cars, and secondly, your car rental firm won't allow you to take it over there. Gibraltar is about 2 hours from Nerja by car, as long as you don't get caught in the traffic going around Malaga (much of the route is a toll highway). So visiting Gibraltar is a day-long trip, and visiting Tangiers is a day-long trip. For Gibraltar, park in La Linea on the border and use Rick's self-guided tour. Traffic in Gibraltar is very busy, parking is difficult, and they drive on the wrong side of the road! ;) Here's a convenient undeground parking garage right near the border...go to maps.google.com and copy and paste these coordinates (36.158273,-5.348695) and you'll be right at the entrance. Then drive to Tarifa (about half an hour), stay the night, and take the fast ferry to Tangiers for a tour the next day. Or, of course, you can make the trip to Tarifa-Tangiers another day. I assume you're also considering Granada, old Malaga, and Ronda?

I just returned from Spain and our favorite was definitely the beach towns around Nerja and east to Salobrena. We loved the Best Western in Salobrena! We had a suite over the sea and watched dolphins swimming and a castle that was lit up at night across the water. It was unbelievable and if you want to see photos just email me. Seville was out least favorite city out of the 7 stops we made. Bon Voyage!

I don't know what made Linda hate Sevilla so much, it was my favorite city in Spain when I visited in 2004, and I've been still loving it as I've been living here the last month! Rick Steves also says that even on his shortest trips to Spain he always tries to visit Sevilla--it's a beautiful city, full of character and history, I would definitely visit there, especially if you're going in winter, since much farther north and it will be cold that time of year....