# Early  trip planning for Spain



## dmorea (Dec 17, 2013)

We are  thinking of doing a 3 week trip to Spain in late  September/ Early October in another year. 

Heres my initial thoughts:

Fly into Barcelona spend 3 nights  train to Madrid spend 2 nights , train to Malaga rent car ...    then check in at Marriott Marbella for a week doing. While there take  a one night overnight  to  Granada to see Alhambra during the week, 
and probably another 2-3 days of day trip touring. 
At end of week one at Marbella ,  drive to Seville for an overnight then check in at Marriott's Playa Andaluza for a second week. 

Any thoughts ?  
My  biggest questions  are is  area  too similar at the two Marriott resorts I have chosen, and  what  other  side  day trips are must do from each of the Marriotts ?  Is it still pool weather in late September ? 

If I should drop a week which location would you  drop? And which would you add? Club Son Antem or a portugal week? We were thinking to do Portugal as a whole other trip another year.
Should we do Seville as a day trip and do Morocco as the overnight between stays ? 

Background , A couple traveling late 50s,  energetic and pretty adventurous.I did really hope to use up some of my Marriott time and they seem very highly rated .  First time visiting Spain but did a 3 Week trip covering Tuscany and Umbria last year  by car the whole way.  Had  days where we would drive up to 2 hours away for a day trip, and used two towns as a week long base with agritourismo type stays thrown in for good measure. 

Ideas, suggestions and opinions welcomed!


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## PStreet1 (Dec 17, 2013)

I can tell you what we did--not that you'd want to do our trip plan, but it might be helpful in planning.

We drove and were very happy with the experience. The roads are excellent, some of the best we've ever driven, and you can make good time. I'm not suggesting you'd like to drive/go where we did, but perhaps our schedule would give you an idea of driving times. Anyway, on that possibility, here it is.

a. picked up the car at the airport at Malaga and drove to Granada, where we spent the night and saw The Alhambra the next day. Spent that night in Granada also.

The drive to Granada from Malaga takes no time, less than an hour; it's an easy day trip if you don't want to stay in Granada.

Get your tickets for the Alhambra (even for during the week) in advance.  You'll need to book two tickets:  one to get into the grounds and one for the Nazrid Palace--which is 90% of the reason you are going to the Alhambra.  The entrance times at the Nazrid Palace are strictly controlled; if you aren't there, and at the head of the line to go in, during your allotted half hour, you aren't getting in....period.  It takes a little while to walk from the entrance to the Nazrid Palace, so I advise booking the Nazrid Palace 30 minutes after your ticket to enter the Alhambra.  If you are early at the Nazrid, you lose nothing but standing in line a little while; if you are late, you lose a chance to go in.  (Once you are inside the Nazrid Palace, you can stay as long as you like, but the entrance times are strict.)  If for some reason you can't get a ticket in advance, you can get a night ticket on a walk-up basis, and the Palace is beautifully lit at night.

b. drove from Granada to Jerez by way of the hill towns. Arrived in Jerez about 2:00 p.m. For us, having seen hill towns in Italy already, we didn't have a lot of desire to get out and explore in several of them. We explored in Rhonda--nice gorge and bridge there--had lunch, and drove on to Jerez. If you are exploring from Marbela, it would be even faster. We spent the night in Jerez, had drinks in the plaza, wandered. Saw the horse show the next day, ate on the plaza, then had an hour's drive to Sevilla.  The horse show was extraordinary--something different to do, and well worth planning to be in Jerez (and we really enjoyed the town) on the day of a show; I think there are two a week.

c. We stayed at the Silken Palace in Sevilla----a good spot. Easy bus transportation into the city on a direct bus which drops you off right at tourist central (and you don't have to drive in Sevilla itself). The bus took about 15 minutes to get to the stop for the restaurants/cathedral/palace that is still in use and is open to the public. We stayed that night and two more in Sevilla. I was reluctant to see the palace (after the Alhambra), but it was well-worth seeing, and Sevilla is charming.

d. We drove to Cordoba. I don't remember how far it was, but practically nothing. We checked into the hotel. Then we went to the gigantic mosque--3rd largest in the world--and were absolutely amazed.http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=...doba&FORM=IGRE There is a cathedral in the middle of it that you don't even notice because of the size of the mosque all around it. It's no longer a functioning mosque, of course. There are also ruins of the old Arab baths there; they were interesting, but took only about 30 minutes to "do." The Mosque takes longer, but after gapping at the size and the beauty and wandering a bit, it doesn't take over a couple of hours to "do."  The mosque is something I wouldn't want to miss on a trip to Spain.  (Cordoba has a "patio festival" in the spring, and it's very nice walking around looking at all the lovely patios.)

e. We left the next morning to drive to Segovia, which is north of Madrid. Again, not a problem. Wonderful roads. We had plenty of time to stop at The Valley of the Fallen--Franco's huge monument to the civil war, and he's buried there. That doesn't take long to see either, but it's impressive. It's slightly bigger than St. Peter's in Rome. We arrived in Segovia long before dinner. Checked in. Walked to dinner at a little local restaurant by way of a pathway along the river--had a great time. The next morning, we drove up to see the aquaduct. That doesn't take long.

f. Drove to Madrid--not far. We were there for lunch. Checked into the apartment we had rented and returned the rental car because we had no desire to drive in Madrid. We stayed in Madrid 6 nights and had no problem filling all our days. Took a taxi to the airport.

g.  Get your tickets for the cathedral in Barcelona in advance; you'll avoid a very, very long line.  The tours are divided into cathedral (one tour), cathedral and one tower (one tour), and cathedral and both towers (one tour).  It's worth doing a little research on the cathedral to see which tour appeals to you--steps?  elevator?  cost?  sights?

We rented from SIXT; it was, literally, less than half the price of similar cars from other agencies. The car was practically new, a Renault and was large enough that we could have the luggage covered in the back--important in Spain because of a high theft rate. We bought the map chip, about $50.00, for our GPS and took our own GPS with us. That proved to be smart.


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## Pompey Family (Dec 17, 2013)

Marbella Beach Club and Playa Andaluza are in very similar areas, in fact they're very close to one another so unless you're planning on seeing a lot of the local area or intending to spend some time relaxing you may find that they are too close.

I would opt for Son Antem over Portugal. Mallorca has a lot to offer and the resort is very nice whereas Portugal doesn't differ too much to the rest of the Costa Del Sol.

Driving is a breeze even for those of us who drive on the other side and particularly when automatics are rare. The roads are very good thanks to the generous subsidies funded by the northern EU countries :annoyed:

I would also echo Pstreet's recommendation for Sixt. I've used them for the last five years and never had a problem.


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## GetawaysRus (Dec 17, 2013)

We took a 3 week trip to Spain in late Sept to mid-October a year or 2 ago.  Nice time of year.  We had fabulous weather and really enjoyed our vacation.  I know that my wife will say that Israel and Jordan were her favorite trip, but Spain is a pretty close second.

Some thoughts for you:

I agree with PStreet that Madrid is worth more days.  We spent 6 nights in Madrid.  I'd count night 1 as a throwaway because it was our first stop from the USA and it takes a day or so to get settled and adjust to the time change.

Of the remaining 5 days in Madrid, we spent 3 exploring Madrid and did 2 side trips.  Both Toledo and Segovia are easy day trips by train and well worth a full day each.  El Escorial is another potential side trip if you run out of things to see in Madrid.  (Should you decide to visit Toledo and Segovia by train, you can consider if you wish to buy your tickets in advance or not.  I'm a big-time organizer, and I like to travel with all ducks lined up in a row, so I purchased the train tickets in advance.  However, it is not easy to navigate the Spanish train website from the USA, and it tended to blow up when I tried entering a US credit card to complete my purchase.  There is a travel agency in the USA named Petrabax that can sell Renfe tickets for a modest fee, so I purchased through them.  I chose an early departure out of Madrid and a return late in the day.  The train to Toledo and the train to Segovia left out of different Madrid stations.)

Drive time from the Marriott resorts to Seville, Cordoba, and Granada is a good 1 1/2 hours (or more) for Seville, Cordoba, and Granada.  This is a personal choice, but I don't find it relaxing to do a 3 hour roundtrip drive, especially on foreign roads (though the roads in Spain were quite good).  So we spent a relaxing week at Playa and took the shorter day trips from there (Ronda, Gibraltar, some of the other white towns).  After checking out of Playa Andaluza, we drove to Seville.  Seville is easily worth 2 nights - you can see the cathedral and the castle in one long day if you wish.  You could visit Jerez if desired on the way to Seville (we did not).  Then we drove on to Cordoba and stayed one night.  We got an early start out of Seville and arrived in Cordoba with enough time to visit the Mezquita that afternoon.  Then we drove on to Granada and stayed for (if I remember correctly) 2 nights.  Agree with the suggestion to buy your Alhambra tickets in advance.  And then we drove back to Malaga to return our car to Sixt.  It was a nice loop, a good pace for us, and we weren't exhausted from driving back and forth each day from the Marriott resort.  

We did not visit Barcelona on this particular trip because we had been there before (following a cruise).  With your time budget, you will be busy in Barcelona.  Since it is the first stop, and if you are like us, you may not get much done on day 1.  You'll want to at least visit the Gaudi houses, walk down Las Ramblas, and visit the cathedral (Sagrada Familia).  I'd look at how you are budgeting your time (which I think is the hardest thing to plan on these big international trips).  If you are able to get up early and get going quickly, you may be OK.  But if you're a bit slow to get it going in the AM (like my wife) or prefer a more leisurely pace, consider one more day in Barcelona.   There are some other things to see in Barcelona as well, so an extra day will let you do a few more things (for example, look into Park Guell, designed by Gaudi).


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## dmorea (Dec 18, 2013)

PStreet1 said:


> I can tell you what we did--not that you'd want to do our trip plan, but it might be helpful in planning.



PS   Thanks so much... Very helpful!!! and more to think about ! :whoopie:
I think planning is a good part of the fun. Great suggestions


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## dmorea (Dec 18, 2013)

Pompey Family said:


> Marbella Beach Club and Playa Andaluza are in very similar areas, in fact they're very close to one another so unless you're planning on seeing a lot of the local area or intending to spend some time relaxing you may find that they are too close.
> 
> I would opt for Son Antem over Portugal. .





Thanks for your insight Pompey 

Any thoughts on which resort to give up ? Marbella or Playa?


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## dmorea (Dec 18, 2013)

Getaways
Thanks too for your thoughts, to us its a toss up, checking in and out and changing beds every other night , staying organized with our packing or driving an extra hour a day... but we need to focus on that a bit more. Part of the thought was we could do an overnight in the middle of a timeshare stay so we dont need to bring more than a nights provisions...

My husband was in Madrid on business and wasnt overwhelmed  but I think we will try to make more time there ,  business travel is way different than leisure travel  and I have found we have both loved spots he didnt love on business trips. 

I see you dropped off your car in Malaga, where did you pick it up? I am assuming you didnt drive in Madrid? 

Was the weather warm enough for a poolside visit or just cool enough for wonderful sightseeing ?  

I can see from everyone I overlooked Cordoba!!!


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## GetawaysRus (Dec 18, 2013)

*I see you dropped off your car in Malaga, where did you pick it up? I am assuming you didnt drive in Madrid? *
_We flew from Madrid to Malaga (using BA miles).  Picked up the car at Malaga airport and dropped it there as well.

We did not drive in Madrid.  I'm an ex New Yorker.  If there is a public train system, I'm good to go.  Both Madrid and Barcelona have metro systems.  Madrid is reasonably walkable also - the tourist area is not that huge.  We stayed at the Westin Palace and walked all the way over to the Royal Palace one day._

*Was the weather warm enough for a poolside visit or just cool enough for wonderful sightseeing ?  *
_We didn't go swimming at Playa Andaluza.  I think my wife is the most beautiful girl in the world, but she is (as the French say) "a woman of a certain age," so she's unfortunately shy about being in a bathing suit in public.  It's hard for me to remember the temps, but there may be some swimmable days._

*I can see from everyone I overlooked Cordoba!!!*
_You won't want to miss the Mezquita.  You've probably never seen anything like it._


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## PStreet1 (Dec 18, 2013)

I now see that my link to the images of the mosque isn't correct.  This one will work (I think).  https://www.google.com/search?q=Cor...9C-GC2AXZmoCICg&ved=0CCwQsAQ&biw=1195&bih=523


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## dmorea (Dec 18, 2013)

PStreet1 said:


> I now see that my link to the images of the mosque isn't correct.  This one will work (I think).  https://www.google.com/search?q=Cor...9C-GC2AXZmoCICg&ved=0CCwQsAQ&biw=1195&bih=523



WOW !  Stunning! Thanks


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## classiclincoln (Dec 19, 2013)

The summer of 2012 we did a week at Dona Lola in Malaga.  Did a day trip to Gibraltar.  Also did a day trip (through the resort) to Tangiers.  Check out my review of the resort in the Market Place for details.

Back in 08, we exchanged into the Four Seasons Resort in the Algarve Portugal.  We had no problem filling the time there, which was over the winter school break and the beach was not an option.


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## zora (Dec 21, 2013)

Pstreet1 and Getawaysrus, 
Thank you for the great info!  

Suzanne.


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