carriedaus

Hello, we are planning a trip for early May to Andalusia. We are flying in and out of Madrid. We are thinking of a few nights in Sevilla, a night in Ronda, a night or 2 in either Córdoba or Granada, and 3 nights along the coast probably in Nerja. We enjoy relaxing on the beach, eating good food and exploring smaller towns over big cities, museums etc. Would love some suggestions on our possible itinerary. Thank you!

kja

Only you can decide, based on your specific interests. FWIW, I was pleased with my allocation of time in the cares: 3+ full days (4 nights) in Sevilla, 2 full days (2 nights) in Cordoba, 1 day (1 night) in Ronda, and 2.5 days (3 nights) in Granada. (I skipped the coast.)

If you are skipping Madrid on this trip -- and I think it makes sense to do that -- then see if you can't route on to/from airports in Andalusia: No reason to deal with luggage and have to get into/out of Madrid itself if you don't have to. IME, most airlines have code shares that will let you do that.

Hope that helps!

kimhe

Early May is May crosses celebrations in Andalucía, and especially in Córdoba.
http://www.andalucia.com/festival/maycrosses.htm
May in Córdoba is something very special: http://www.andalucia.com/cities/cordoba/festivals.htm

El Pulguilla in Nerja is my favourite no fuss tapas bar in all of Spain. All kinds of super fresh fish, seafood and meat tapas are grilled right in front of your eyes. They come free to choose with every glass of whatever in the large bar area (as in most tapas bars and restaurants in Nerja). A glass of wine and a perfectly grilled baby-squid, conchas finas, sausage or meat skewer etc. etc. would be some 1,60€. http://mynerja.com/view/bars/cerveceria-el-pulguilla/

Many excellent, traditional tapas bars and restaurants in Nerja (La Puntilla and La Marina are two other favourites), and also several high end places. Can warmly recommend Oliva and Sollun: https://www.viamichelin.com/web/Rest...a-452419-41102
https://www.viamichelin.com/web/Rest...n-227002-41102

And you can have one of the most famous paellas along the coast in Ayo's right on the Burriana beach. It has been served for lunch 365 days/year since 1969! On a good Sunday they serve 2000 portions of paella: http://www.ayonerja.com/chiringuito_en.html

Nine small and large beaches in Nerja, many of them in between the cliffs. But just east of town you'll find one of the finest in Spain. The Maro beach was recently voted best in Andalucía and #2 in Spain on the national TV channel Antena 3: https://www.spain-holiday.com/Maro/a...-de-maro-nerja

El Salón beach is our favourite in Nerja. It used to be fantastic when there was a small chiringuito/beach restaurant here until 2004/2005, but still beautiful, somewhat hidden, and laid-back atmosphere: https://www.spain-holiday.com/Nerja/...el-salon-nerja

MFNYC

We did similar trip a few years back, also in and out of Madrid because I was able to use FF miles. We had been to Madrid before, so only spent the last night there. Upon arriving in Madrid, we took train to Cordoba and spent a night. We got there early enough to hit the ground running, so toured the Cathedral/Mezquita, and Alcazar de los Reyes Cristianos. We also had an excellent meal at Regadera. We then took train to Granada for 2 nights and purchased a combo ticket in advance for Alhambra and the Acosta foundation tour. From there we went to Rhonda for the night. Great for photo ops! We walked down into the gorge from both sides of the bridge and also toured the bullring. We then took a bus to Seville, and spent 4 nights there. We did a couple of 'Sevilla Walking Tours' with Concepción Delgado, and adored Concepcion. We also pre-booked a flamenco show at http://www.lacasadelflamencosevilla.com/ . We loved Seville. So much to do there! After that we took the train back to Madrid for our last night and had a very nice dinner at Restaurante Tres Bocas.

Here's my trip report http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...-andalucia.cfm

Bedar

Be sure to visit both Granada and Cordoba and, of course, Seville. Ronda will take half a day.

FFipzz

Hi carrie, I've had 3 comprehensive trips to Spain the past 4 years. Each trip was 3 weeks each time. I'm American so that's where my perspective is coming from. I go for authentic experiences and cuisine when I go to Europe. I want things easy, after all I'm on vacation.

1. Seville - Andalusia's jewel is Seville. Our four days there was just perfect. Food, architecture, everything.

2. Cordoba - we day-tripped this from Seville using the fast train. Small town, medieval.

3. Nerja - I was bored here though I only went for a day visit. Food caters pretty much to tourists, even the menu in a lot of restaurants/cafes are so NOT Spanish cuisine. Food is disappointing compared to Malaga City. The popular picture you see of Nerja beach side cliff is not impressive once you see it in person.

Stay in Malaga City instead. You will not feel like you are in a big city. Brimming with authentic Spanish restaurants from cheap tapas to much more expensive dining options. Beaches to chose from too.

4. Malaga is amazingly under-rated. I spent a cumulative of 14 days there in 2 separate trips. If I were you, I'd stay in Malaga. Very relaxing. Lunch at the Parador is a must.

Malaga Beaches. You can go 2 miles east. Cheap short hop into a taxi (or bus). You will be at this Playa that has a lot of casual beach restaurants with seafood in abundance.

Other option is Malagueta Beach. From Malaga centro a pleasant seaside stroll along Muelle Uno and ten minutes later you will be in Malagueta.

You will be short-changing yourself of the fun, bustling tapas-hoping in Malaga City center if you stay in Nerja.

5. Ronda - I day-tripped this from Malaga. Ronda is so pretty. Though I love Ronda and European villages, I'd rather stay in either Seville or Malaga and just day-trip Ronda from either.

Good luck.

FFipzz

RE: Beaches. Sorry, typo at above post, I mean "go 2 miles ++WEST++" (NOT East) from Malaga City Center.

Loacker

I suggest the following itinerary:

5 days Seville (+ daytrip to Cordoba)
2 days Granada
3 days Malaga (+ day trip to Ronda or Arcos)

I know there are nice beaches near Malaga and Cadiz, but I haven't been. You won't have weather beach in early May.

kimhe

Very much agree with FFipzz that Málaga is a fabulous city, and it's not so underrated any longer. Been here every year since 2002, my favourite city in the region, genuine laid-back Andalucian atmosphere, great food scene - both traditional and cutting edge - and then you have the cultural scene, the theaters, the museums, the sights right in the heart of the city etc. etc. NYT now recommends Málaga together with Barcelona and San Sebastián as the three Spanish cities to visit in 2016, "Beauty, but now a cultural capital, too". And Lonely Planet rightfully writes that Málaga is Andalucía's "city of culture with its so-called 'mile of art' being compared to Madrid, and its dynamism and fine dining to Barcelona".
https://www.lonelyplanet.com/spain/andalucia/malaga
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2...isit.html?_r=0

But I strongly disagree with FFipzz' negative image of Nerja based on "a day visit". Many touristy places in and around landmark Balcón de Europa, but plenty of genuine tapas bars and restaurants in the lovely Old town up from seaside Calle Carabeo along the cliffs. Some of the tapas bars here are among my favourites in all of Spain after 30 years of intensive travel around the country.

I can warmly recommend La Puntilla, as genuine as it gets and a local favourite for decades: https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restau...Andalucia.html
El Velero has got the best Málaga speciality Carne con tomate I've ever tasted: https://www.tripadvisor.es/Restauran...Andalucia.html
El Cangrejo is always full of locals for very good reasons: https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restau...Andalucia.html

And La Marina is as good as you'll find a seafood freiduría in all of Andalucía. Have splurged here on many occasions, the freshest fish and seafood in all variants, ahhh: http://www.guideofnerja.com/pages/gu.../marina_en.htm

A few Nerja Old town photos:
Seaside Calle Carabeo, one of the oldest streets in town. Have stayed in this street many times, fabulous views of both the sea and the mountains behind: https://i.ytimg.com/vi/XlN7naN2rbg/maxresdefault.jpg
Calle Animas is a bit up in the old town: http://photo980x880.mnstatic.com/93e...lle-animas.jpg
Calle Parras: http://www.rentinnerja.com/uploadedi...iew_2L7I5L.JPG

And then you have plain fabulous El Pulguilla and the Michelin guide restaurants mentioned above. And some excellent foreign restaurants, especially Thai/Laos and Italian.
http://www.lansang.com/home/
http://www.ristorantevitaliano.com/

And of course the spectacular cave just out of town, people were here more than 30 000 years ago: http://www.cuevadenerja.es/index.php?lenguaje=en

carriedaus

Thank you all for the helpful advice!!! Ahhh, we need more time. My husband really wants to skip cities and enjoy the beach. Do you think it will be too chilly in early May?

yorkshire

It will probably not be beach weather, especially if swimming is part of the beach experience for you. Maybe you should fly to one of the Balearic islands from Madrid? (check typical May temps there)

Bedar

Not the Balearic Is. but rather the Canary Is. !!