SPAIN in FEBRUARY - Planning help needed for Andalusia

Many posters may reprimand you for not staying more in Madrid. Although I liked Madrid, it did not sing to me like other cities did. Spain was my first European trip that I took in 2005. I was by myself having the time of my life for 17 days. Because it was my first trip (and I was having the time of my life), many errors were made. Nothing was booked ahead of time, I stayed too long in some cities, short changing other cities, and too much red wine and sangria was consumed; the Alhambra was great but I was thinking too much about how sick I felt. I do have to say my time in andalusia was incredible. It was almost the warmest; I was there in February and Spain was experiencing the coldest weather on record. It snowed where snow hasn't fallen in a 100 years. Granada was the coldest, Sevilla was the warmest, but the whole time I was wishing I had brought a winter coat. At one point, I had 7 shirts on to keep me warm. At night, in Granada, the hostel "heat" wasn't worth bragging about, I slept in my spring jacket and my jeans. I stayed in seville 2 nights. In late December, when I return to Spain, I will be staying 3 nights. This city was my favorite. Why? Sometimes andalusia requires no explanation. I stayed 4 nights in Granada. This time, I will only stay for 2. An error on my part by not reserving accommodation ahead of time, left me in the city one more night. Plus the day I was supposed to leave and rent a car and drive to Ronda, I was stricken by the consequences of "raving in a cave". Too much wine, once again took away my ability to leave.
Cordoba was on route to Madrid. It was just ok for me. I saw The great mosque, walked around a bit and was satisfied. But that is me.

Continued......
This time around, I will be visiting Ronda, Malaga, a small village called berchules for a 5 night mountain bike expedition, in addition to Granada and Sevilla. I too am flying into Madrid, but staying long enough to bring my husband to el prado museum. I end my trip in Barcelona for 4 nights, or 3. I too was curious about jaen. I plan on 2 nights in ronda. Malaga, wishing I had more time will only be for me to walk around, see a museum, and then be picked up for our mountain bike trip. Most cities you are going to are good for 2 night stays, IMO. So you could manage to see what you want, maybe minus gilbralter. And I too would rent a car, but I am a driving in Europe weenie. It scares me just thinking about it.....and I even drive a stick shift. Hopefully you have more driving courage than I do. Have fun planning.

Oh and PS.......i would fly into Madrid and then just get the heck out. 2.5 hours to Seville. Little nap on the train. Then you can add another day at the end and have 2 nights in Madrid.

If you rent a car, you can count on a full day from Madrid to the coast - either Malaga or Cadiz. The roads are brilliant - very clear and reasonably safe. the New autovia being constructed near Cordoba goes through some stunning scenery. South of Madrid at that time of year the weather can be a bit of a surprise - thick fog, rain etc, so you need to be careful. It improves the nearer you get to the coast. The roads around Cordoba and Seville are very busy. I would recommend a GPS, as the autovias change regularly and the signposts don't always keep up with the construction work. (There's one particular junction to Malaga that has caught me a couple of times!) Roger

Since you want to focus on Andalusia, look into flying to Seville or Malaga. Even with a plane change, it may not be more money than going to Madrid, and will put you right where you want to be.

We were in Spain in April and it was really cold, even in the South, but I think it was an unusually cold year this year. Madrid isn't my favorite because it's not old. The Prado museum is great, some time for that is worthwhile but there really isn't much of historical significance to attract me. It's likely to be quite cold too. Segovia, Avila and Toledo were more interesting as were the castles past Segovia toward Valladolid. Granada is well worth the visit for the Alhambra, plus lots more. Sevilla is great. I'm not sure it will be great in February, we visited during the April Fair, but it's worth seeing - as is Cordoba. In the area are white towns that are worth seeing. Jerez was a pleasant surprise, we enjoyed touring the bodegas there. If you travel between Cadiz and Sevilla, it's right on the way. Cadiz was disappointing. It's got great history but hasn't preserved it well. We avoided Costa del Sol so didn't visit Malaga which is a very large city in an already crowded coastal area. Jaen wasn't bad but probably not worth going too far out of your way for, everything there can probably be seen elsewhere (Arab baths were our top sight but they were closed).

On my trip to Andalusia in February 2011 (but late February), I flew into Madrid, took the AVE to Seville right away, spent two nights in Seville (included a day-trip to Cordoba), train to Granada, spent two nights in Granada (while I enjoyed it, that was too longwish I'd gone somewhere else with the second day), and then headed back for a night in Madrid for my whirlwind week (I'm a schoolteacher, so a week was all I had). With 18 days and a car, I would think you could see all the places on your list! Weather was cool in late February (but felt good compared to Michigan in February), crowds weren't bad, hotels were pretty empty.