I just booked my flights round-trip to Madrid, arriving on an early a.m. flight on Jan. 31 and leaving on a late night flight on Feb. 21. How does this plan sound? Cordoba - 2 days Seville - 4 days Jerez - 4 days (including day trips to Arcos and to Cadiz) Rent a car for 6 days to southern Portugal, Ronda and Antequera (El Torcal + Pink Lagoon) Granada - 2 days
Madrid - 2.5 days This is my first trip to Spain. Because of the timing, I'm concentrating on the south. Am I allocating the time well? Budget hotel recommendations for Granada, Cordoba, Jerez??
Posted by
Tulsa, OK
355 posts
One thing that sticks out to me is the 4 days in Jerez. We drove through a couple of years ago and didn't really see much that interested me. However, Arcos is a lovely town. Also bear in mind that 2 nights in a place really means one day and while one day might be enough for Cordoba, we spent 3 nights in Granada and I could have stayed another night. Ronda is a lovely town but it very far from Portugal We also flew all the way through to Granada when we arrived which saved a lot of driving. We rented a car after our stay in Granada, then drove to Ronda, Arcos and other white villages - then drove to Sevilla where we turned in the car and after Sevilla and took the train to Madrid. The high speed trains in Spain are great - you might want to include them in your travels.
Southern Spain is lovely - especially the Alhambra and Mezquita in Cordoba. Good luck with your planning.
Posted by
Bloomington, IL, USA
9371 posts
I would take a day away from Jerez and add it to Madrid. In Cordoba, we stayed at Hotel Riviera. It is easy walking distance from La Mezquita and the old town. There is a little bar right across the street where we ate breakfast, and about a block away is a bocadillo place where we bought sandwiches and took them to the park a couple of blocks away. Free wifi. My single room was 45 euro. In Granada, we stayed outside of town in Publianus at a beautiful modern place called Hotel Sidorme. Great breakfast buffet, and it's right next to a Carrefour and a little mall. My single room was 45 euro with breakfast. Also free wifi.
Posted by
Ottawa
1446 posts
I agree that the extra time in Cordoba and Jerez can be cut (but in Jerez, don't miss the horses, maybe a flamenco show, and a bodega or three...). Both are small and easily visited in a day. In Cordoba, we snagged a super price at the Hesperia (chain hotel), In Jerez, we were in a small hostal (Villa des Artes?, not far from the Tio Pepe Bodega). Check your dates, but there may be a flamenco festival in Jerez in February... We had just missed it when we went. When you rent a car to head into Portugal, have you thought of looping with Evora and Merida? I would recommend it. If so, then you may want to start your itinerary with Granada; then Cordoba, Sevilla... Evora is my favorite Portugese town. From Merida to Madrid, you can easily take a couple of hours for walking the medieval center of Caceres. Merida has interesting very well-preserved Roman ruins, and the road north (A66) travels alongside an ancient Roman road and pilgrimage camino (Via de la Plata). Along this route (Evora-Merida-Caceres), we saw the famous black bulls, nesting storks (you will be there at the right time for that!), lots of ancient olive and cork trees, and no tourists to speak of. South of Caceres, near a castle, we stopped to take photos of these precious bulls by a fence. Within 3 minutes, a pick-up truck full of armed men showed up, as the fence was under video surveillance (for thieves), and we had been deemed to have come too close to the fence for the guards' comfort. The bulls were just curious and one had approached the fence for his photo op :-)