Headed to Malaga (Spain) early spring, 2025. Where else should we go?

[klpca]

I am usually the trip planner at home. My husband asked for a trip to Spain and I secured a week in late March. I am looking at adding time before and after to make it a ~3 week trip but the more I look, the more confused I get. I can't seem to hone in on a logical (start here, end there) plan. Our interests are hiking or anything outdoorsy, touring small towns, maybe a museum or two (I am not a fan but he loves them). We can handle a few days in a large city in an "old town" area. We aren't foodies, but we do love a small local cafe experience. Portugal is on the table for sure, but I am also open to flying into Rome and doing southern Italy. We live in southern CA so it is a long flight(s) to Europe - we need to make it worth our while.

I am interested in hearing what you did when you visited Spain, what makes sense considering where we are based for a week, or any other ideas.

Thanks for any suggestions.

 

[CalGalTraveler]

What fun!

Spain is on our bucket list. Definitely Gibraltar for a day, Tangiers for a day ferry (get a guide, ride camels), and Seville (make reservations for palace in advance - we didn't and missed out).

Search for Spain threads in this forum and the Marriott forum as there are nuggets there.

 

[elaine]

Early April can be chilly/rainy in much of Europe, so S. Europe is a good choice for a 2nd destination. I'd pick a place with an easy, nonstop flight; Lisbon, Rome, and Bilbao all have these. Lisbon and S. Italy are very good options. A bit off the beaten path, Bilbao is a nice, re-invigorated small city, with the fabulous Guggenheim museum, near the Rioja wine region (numerous day trips on Viator), and near San Sebastian. Here's another post about Bilbao.

Northern Spain?

I may attend a conference in Sept 2025 in Bilbao Spain. My first thought when I heard the location was “where’s that?” Having read a little about it, however, it sounds pretty swell. I like good food and I like natural beauty. I’m thinking of adding 5 days or so ahead of the conference...

tugbbs.com

 

[b2bailey]

I'm with you -- I won't travel to Europe for less than 3 weeks due to travel time from CA. I'm guessing you could find a Portugal timeshare to match your timeframe. Or, fly into Portugal, spend 3 nights in hotel, then go on to Spain. For me, Barcelona is a must see. I loved the food and wine there. Once you are there, the trains and low-cost airlines make it easy to move between countries.

 

[mjm1]

With Malaga as a home base, a day trip to Ronda and Marbella is a nice trip. Another day trip that we enjoyed was to Granada to see Alhambra.

If you are looking at other cities in Spain, Barcelona has quite a bit to see. We enjoy Italy quite a bit and if you are thinking of smaller towns, the Amalfi Coast is a nice place to visit. We stayed in Sorrento and did a tour of the small coastal towns. Also took a day trip to Pompeii by train. A nice feature of Europe is that the countries are relatively small, so you can easily explore more than one during a 2-3 week trip.

 

[CalGalTraveler]

Seville and Madrid are 2 hour drives from Algarve and Northern Portugal. You will need extra auto insurance for crossing borders (park outside of Gibraltar and walk in, park car in Spain and walk on ferry to Tangiers to manage risk and cost) or consider taking the train.

 

[davidvel]

Agree with Barcelona. Do the Sagrada Familia tour. Paris would have low crowds.

 

[b2bailey]

When I stayed in a timeshare near Barcelona I did a day tour (bus) to
Montserrat. We had very limited time there. If I were to travel to Barcelona again, I would find a way to spend more time in Montserrat.

I believe I first heard of it on Tug.
Have any others been there?

 

[Lakeshore]

When I stayed in a timeshare near Barcelona I did a day tour (bus) to
Montserrat. We had very limited time there. If I were to travel to Barcelona again, I would find a way to spend more time in Montserrat.

I believe I first heard of it on Tug.
Have any others been there?

Yes, we have been to Montserrat. And I wish we could have spent the night there….it would be pretty fantastic early in the morning before the tourists get there. It’s an easy day trip though from Barcelona.

 

[Passepartout]

Malaga is a fairly large city. Get out of there. The Pueblas Blancas, 'White towns' along the Med coast are memorable. Be sure to see the Alhambra in Granada. You can go to Morocco (Tangier) easily, but the interior of Morocco is worth visiting, Gibraltar is worth a visit, but is a Brit junket destination. If traveling, try to stay in (pick any number of nights) in Paradores. They are historic and cultural places brought up to modern standards by the Gov't of Spain. https://paradores.es/en Similar places exist in Portugal, called Posadas.

I have told my wife for years that if I simply disappear, the first place to look is the Mediterranean coast of Spain. Alas, that ship has sailed without me.

Jim

 

[VacationForever]

When I stayed in a timeshare near Barcelona I did a day tour (bus) to
Montserrat. We had very limited time there. If I were to travel to Barcelona again, I would find a way to spend more time in Montserrat.

I believe I first heard of it on Tug.
Have any others been there?

Yep. Did Montserrat when the cruise ship stopped at Barcelona for a couple of nights. It was certainly worth seeing and takes a day.

 

[PcflEZFlng]

We were in Barcelona for a couple of days before starting a Med cruise from there, and thoroughly enjoyed it. I wanted to see Montserrat, but we never made it there. I'd love to go back there and see it. As for southern Spain, I've seen many articles and recommendations for Ronda and the Alhambra, enough so they've made it on my bucket list. I've also got OAT's (Overseas Adventure Travel) Back Roads of Iberia (Spanish Paradores and Portuguese Pousadas) on my radar. It looks to me like a great land tour.

 

[beejaybee]

For one day take a tour with "IMalaga" in the central city. Damian gave us one of the best private tours we have ever taken- our friends still rave about him and it 7 years later.
Awhile back we had a timeshare week and rental car in Estepona and from there visited Ronda, Marbella, Gibraltar and left the car at the resort for a day trip to Tangiers Morocco. Following that we had another ts week in Vilamoura Portugal and ended our time with several nights in Lisbon. It was a great trip.

 

[Pompey Family]

Spain is on our bucket list. Definitely Gibraltar for a day, Tangiers for a day ferry (get a guide, ride camels), and Seville (make reservations for palace in advance - we didn't and missed out).

I'd advise against camel rides. The camels are treated appallingly, forced to spend all day for most of their lives walking round in circles on a patch of dirty beach carrying tourists, the calves chained to the floor until they're old enough to carry the weight. It is a pitiful sight and much like the mistreated donkeys in places like Mijas. Animals are not here to provide entertainment for us.

I wouldn't bother with Tangier, it's a dirty port city with nothing going for it. We visited once and hired a guide who tried to encourage us to ride the camels, watch some snake charming which is nothing more than taunting a captive animal, visit the souk but only taken to shops owned by family or friends for the hard sell and taken to a restaurant where all the guides seemed to take their clients for a mediocre meal. Add to that the misogyny and poor treatment of women. It seems that most people want to go to Tangier from Spain simply to be able to tell their friends that they'd been to Africa. Don't waste your time and money, there are much better places in Spain to visit.

 

[Laurie]

Our very first timeshare trade trip was 3 timeshare weeks in Spain in 1998, and it was totally fabulous. It went from fabulous, to more fabulous, to most fabulous. It's what got me hooked on timesharing, after we'd first bought a cheap resale, then traded 2 years worth of weeks thru RCI and got a third bonus week. I think you and we like to do similar things. There was a deal thru Iberia Airlines called "See Spain" which included flights to anywhere in Spain including islands -- but with low-cost carriers it could be replicated. Itinerary was:

1. Fly to Malaga, rent a car. First night at Alhambra, then 7 nights at a beautiful timeshare in Estepona. From there we saw Ronda, Casares, Mijas, some other white towns, Tafira, Roman ruins along Atlantic coast on the way to see ancient Cadiz, day trip to Tangiers thru timeshare (yes we thought it was worth it), a dressage show in Malaga, afternoon in Nerja and Balcony of Europe, I'm sure there was more.

2. Drive up coast, overnite in beautiful white town Mojacar at what was previously a timeshare and also rented by the night. Then drove to Alicante, flew to Mallorca. Timeshare in gorgeous Cala Pi, where we got the exact same picture-perfect view as was featured in the RCI dream book, couldn't believe it. This island is outstanding for varied landscapes, scenic coves, terraced mountains, ancient history, Roman times, Moroccan architecture and gardens, Chopin etc.

3. Flew to the stunning Canary Island of Lanzarote, I don't recall whether we flew back to mainland and then there, or ferried back and then flew. This was the biggest surprise of the trip because I knew so little about it and it was beyond amazing to me, largely because of brilliant architect Cesar Manrique + the topography of the little island. From there we also overnighted on Fuerteventura (ferried over and back with car). I could go on and on, but I dream of a return trip. We did visit 2 other Canary islands on subsequent trips.

Our second trip to Spain was gonna be 3+ weeks and didn't occor, ever: it was to have happened spring of 2020, tightly planned, but everything shut down for covid just as we were supposed to leave. It included 2 timeshare weeks and a bunch of private reservations in Menorca, overnite(!) in Monserrat, Costa Brava, up briefly into French Riviera, then over into Cathar territory, and back down thru Pyrenees for hiking and cave art to our multi-night stay near Sagrada Familia in Barcelona. I have no idea whether I'll re-create it, maybe.

Of course you have a zillion options. We spent a month in Portugal after which I dreamt of moving to, and did quite a bit of research on, but I think we got too old ... and southern Italy to see at least Pompeii which was mind-blowing and Sorrento.

Good luck!!

 

[Passepartout]

@klpca If you are going a bit further afield in Spain- like heading for Majorca or Barcelona, consider Valencia. It's a wonderful city, and you might even get to see the 'real' Holy Grail!

Read a T&L review here: https://www.travelandleisure.com/valencia-spain-old-town-futuristic-complex-beaches-8681289

 

[CalGalTraveler]

I'd advise against camel rides. The camels are treated appallingly, forced to spend all day for most of their lives walking round in circles on a patch of dirty beach carrying tourists, the calves chained to the floor until they're old enough to carry the weight. It is a pitiful sight and much like the mistreated donkeys in places like Mijas. Animals are not here to provide entertainment for us.

I wouldn't bother with Tangier, it's a dirty port city with nothing going for it. We visited once and hired a guide who tried to encourage us to ride the camels, watch some snake charming which is nothing more than taunting a captive animal, visit the souk but only taken to shops owned by family or friends for the hard sell and taken to a restaurant where all the guides seemed to take their clients for a mediocre meal. Add to that the misogyny and poor treatment of women. It seems that most people want to go to Tangier from Spain simply to be able to tell their friends that they'd been to Africa. Don't waste your time and money, there are much better places in Spain to visit.

Based on your comments you probably don't ride horses or eat beef for the same reason.

We saw and fed baby camels. They were very cute and friendly. I did not see any signs of abuse.

Our guide was excellent. He grew up in the old town and knew many people and shops there so he could tell us more than an average guide. It was not dirty and appeared to have a community vibe. He took us into a shop briefly but we did not buy. He bought us fresh nougat to eat from a local vendor. Our lunch was included in the tour. He also took us to the weekly farmers market. I enjoyed our visit.

 

[klpca]

Thank you everyone for the great ideas. They were quite inspiring. I was on the fence about going at all, but we are going to go and we're going to focus on Spain. It ticks a lot of our boxes, plus I was able to book some great tickets today (RT in/out of Barcelona). We'll have about 16 days excluding travel time. We were hesitant to go because of our aging parents, but since we are going to try to go we're keeping the trip on the short side.

We'll have six days before the timeshare stay starts, then three days to work our way back up to Barcelona from Malaga - we may try to do Monserrat on this part of the trip but we haven't decided for sure. We plan to start with a few days in Barcelona, then on to Madrid, then on to Malaga, then back to Barcelona. At least that is our (very) rough itinerary. Everything is subject to change, especially when your parents are in their late 80s and early 90s.

 

[jorcus]

We have a port stop in Malaga in a few weeks. I have to admit it is the one stop where I have not done much research or made plans. Any suggestions for a day off a cruise ship? Don't really want to go far from port on this stop even though we have a long stop.

 

[Passepartout]

>We'll have about 16 days excluding travel time. We were hesitant to go because of our aging parents, but since we are going to try to go we're keeping the trip on the short side.

We'll have six days before the timeshare stay starts, then three days to work our way back up to Barcelona from Malaga - we may try to do Monserrat on this part of the trip but we haven't decided for sure. We plan to start with a few days in Barcelona,

Looks like a good- but busy trip. Montserrat is worthwhile, but (imo) is not worth more than a day- unless you have special 'pilgrim' feelings about it. Also, While Madrid is the country's Capital and all that,- and has the Prada and other worthwhile museums, It's a little 'out of the way' to get to.
Perhaps for a shortened trip, concentrate on the Mediterranean coast. There is a wealth of great places to see there. The food is wonderful, but not pretentious. There is great train service- or rent a car. A tiny bit of advice there- rent the smallest car that will fit you and your luggage. Parking spaces tend to be small- and often under buildings. You won't need it in Barcelona- public transportation works well.
Not knowing, but suspecting you are not yet on Medicare, if you don't need travel medical insurance, at least, get an evacuation policy that will get you home if your aging parents need you in the middle of your trip. Make sure your coverage includes this. We shop through www.squaremouth.com/

Happy Travels!

Jim

 

[beejaybee]

We have a port stop in Malaga in a few weeks. I have to admit it is the one stop where I have not done much research or made plans. Any suggestions for a day off a cruise ship? Don't really want to go far from port on this stop even though we have a long stop.

See my suggestion in post #13. https://welovemalaga.com/malaga-shore-excursion/
We met Damian at the McDonald's just a short walk from the pier and, since there were 12 of us, booked a private wine/tapas tour. But you can join up with others! Hopefully, there will be spots available for the day you are in Malaga!

 

[Glynda]

We only had a day and a half in Barcelona prior to our cruise. We enjoyed walking the Las Ramblas and tried see as many Gaudi buildings (and Park Guell) as possible. Our favorite was actually walking on the roof of Casa Milà with all of its chimneys and ventilation shafts and views. We were not able to go into the Sagrada Familia though we did walk around it as much possible given the construction. I'd love to go back.

 

[Pompey Family]

Based on your comments you probably don't ride horses or eat beef for the same reason.

We saw and fed baby camels. They were very cute and friendly. I did not see any signs of abuse.

No, I don't ride horses, the internal combustion engine was invented well over 100 years ago, there's simply no need to use animals for transport anymore. As for eating beef, I eat British beef that has spent its life grazing on pasture before being humanely slaughtered. British beef cattle aren't tortured or kept in inhumane conditions and they're certainly not used to carry tourists on their backs all day!

If you don't think the camels are mistreated then you might want to take a look at this website https://www.peta.org.uk/blog/camel-rides/

 

[vikingsholm]

Thank you everyone for the great ideas. They were quite inspiring. I was on the fence about going at all, but we are going to go and we're going to focus on Spain. It ticks a lot of our boxes, plus I was able to book some great tickets today (RT in/out of Barcelona). We'll have about 16 days excluding travel time. We were hesitant to go because of our aging parents, but since we are going to try to go we're keeping the trip on the short side.

We'll have six days before the timeshare stay starts, then three days to work our way back up to Barcelona from Malaga - we may try to do Monserrat on this part of the trip but we haven't decided for sure. We plan to start with a few days in Barcelona, then on to Madrid, then on to Malaga, then back to Barcelona. At least that is our (very) rough itinerary. Everything is subject to change, especially when your parents are in their late 80s and early 90s.

We just finished 4 days/nights in Barcelona after a week and a half in the Pyrenees, Girona, and Andorra, staying in an apartment on Las Ramblas in Barcelona. Fantastic city.

Our Barcelona highlights were touring the Sagrada Familia (don't miss, and sign up for tour early), walking around the Old Town and down by the harbor, Park Guell via the Metro, and all the restaurants that were an easy walk from our unit.

Wanted to visit Montserrat too, but felt too jammed for time. Saving that for our next visit.

Here's a few pics inside Sagrada Familia, a pond and monument in the Old Town area city park not far from their Arc de Triomf, a view from Park Guell, and some tasty paella just off Las Ramblas.

 

[klpca]

We just finished 4 days/nights in Barcelona after a week and a half in the Pyrenees, Girona, and Andorra, staying in an apartment on Las Ramblas in Barcelona. Fantastic city.

Our Barcelona highlights were touring the Sagrada Familia (don't miss, and sign up for tour early), walking around the Old Town and down by the harbor, Park Guell via the Metro, and all the restaurants that were an easy walk from our unit.

Wanted to visit Montserrat too, but felt too jammed for time. Saving that for our next visit.

Here's a few pics inside Sagrada Familia, a pond and monument in the Old Town area city park not far from their Arc de Triomf, a view from Park Guell, and some tasty paella just off Las Ramblas.View attachment 99735

View attachment 99736

View attachment 99737

View attachment 99738

View attachment 99739

Thanks for those fantastic pictures! It sounds like it was a wonderful trip.