Good morning, and Happy 2013, fellow travelers! My husband and I just confirmed a week, Christmas week, at the Marriott Playa Andaluza resort south of Malaga. We are still undecided on whether to fly only to Madrid and take the speed train down, or just fly directly in to Malaga. We will be flying from Dallas, TX. We are also planning to stay Saturday through Wednesday (January 1) somewhere else to help limit the day trips from our resort. Places we know we should visit: Ronda, various white villages, Gibraltar, Granada. Any itinerary advise and suggestions on what to consider as a day trip and where we should travel to for the final four nights would be greatly appreciated.
Posted by
Frankfurt am Main, Germany
2779 posts
My two must-see's in Andalucia are Jerez de la Frontera. It's the most Arab looking (and feeling) town in Europe. It's almost like across the strait in Morocco... Then Cádiz is a must-see. The old town is a peninsula and is an easy day trip from Malaga. During the day visit the Camera Obscura, in the afternoon visit the kite beach... Also we thought a couple of hours in Gibraltar were time well spent. There aren't that many sights per se, but just being in the old-fashioned English enclave, having to pay with old-fashioned English pounds instead of Euros like the rest of the Continent... funny. Personally I think after Ronda you don't really need to see any more villages...
Posted by
London, UK
68 posts
I would fly right into Malaga. If you decide to do the high speed train to Malaga you will have to go from the airport with all of your luggage and then get on the metro and make your way to Atocha so that you can get the high speed train. I think it would be a pain after a long journey from the states. Plus you will have to carry all of your stuff up the escalator and down and all around!! Dont get me wrong its easy enough to get to Atocha to catch the train but its just if you want the hassle of lugging everything around to get there. You are better off going through customs in Madrid or whichever major international hub you will go through to go through customs and then go straight on to Malaga. Also will you have a car once you are in Malaga? I would recommend visiting Granada and Ronda. I would give Gibraltar a miss but thats my opinion. There isnt much there to be honest except the rock and the monkeys. There are far better places worth your time and money!
Posted by
San Jose, California, U.S.A.
117 posts
Hi Theresa, I have found the fares to fly directly to Malaga(from San Francisco) to be quite high compared to flying to Madrid and taking the AVE to Malaga. In October last I flew into Madrid and took the airport express bus which after two stops ends up at the Atocha train station. A much better option than the Metro.
Your hotel is in Estepona which is quite away south of Malaga and the airport. I am guessing cab fare around 60 Euros one way. There are cheaper alternatives using public transport, such as the bus to Marbella from either points and then a taxi to Estepona. All this depends on how light you are travelling. Buen viaje.