Hi,

Let me preface this by saying my husband and I like to be on the move when we travel (although we'll admit trying to cover ALL of Ireland by car in 4.5 days was certainly crazy)....I'm kind of stuck on the southern Andalucia portion of our itinerary.

Here's the scoop:
day 1: arrive by night train into Granada - tour La Alhambra (which I probably spelled wrong), rest, sleep in Granada

day 2: pick up rental car, drive through Las Alpujarras before continuing on to Nerja where we're spending the night

day 3: drive to Ronda, enjoying views & towns along the way (note: we're not interested in the Costa del Sol resort towns)

day 4: explore and enjoy Ronda, stay a second night

day 5: drive to Arcos via Gibraltar (my husband's dad is from Britain, so there's interest in Gibraltar), stay in Arcos

day 6: explore white villages, stay in Arcos

day 7: continue on to Sevilla (dropping car off)

Here's my dilemma, and I recognize it's petty so please don't lambast me for it. The place that we *really* wanted to stay at in Arcos de la Frontera was El Convento and they're booked. Should we add on a night in ronda (doing the white towns during that extra day) and instead of staying in Arcos, stay in Vejer de la Frontera (or open to suggestions) after visiting Gibraltar?

I know this was a long post, but wanted to make sure the background was given. And remember, we are very active - we like to be on the move.

Thanks for the help and feedback!!
-Truckgal-

Hi, I just got back from a similar tour of Spain and have a couple of suggestions:
First, make sure you buy a ticket for the Alhambra before you leave, on the internet. You may not get the time of entrance you want even that way. Expect to spend at least 3 hours there.
Second, Ronda is the most touristy of the mountain towns that we saw. One night may be enough. If you want to do more driving on twisty roads, head to another small town for another night. We stayed at Grazalema for two nights.

I didn't go to the other places you mention, except for Sevilla. You don't say how long you plan to spend there. Realize that the Cathedral and Alcazar are pretty much a whole day of sightseeing and both are well worth the time.

Driving in and out of the towns and cities is a nightmare. You won't believe how narrow the streets are. The routes are not obvious. Get a map of Sevilla and Granada before driving there. You will still have a tough time, but be able to find out where you are lost. We realized too late that the best way to find your hotel is to call ahead and get directions. Hopefully you can speak the same language. In one case we were befriended by a Spanish speaking American who made the phone call from the gas station and got directions for us. Donde esta.....asks the question but we could often not get enough of the answer in Spanish to find our way.

All that said, Spain is wonderful, the people are patient with us Americans and you will love it.

We spent March 30th overnight at Olivos in Arcos and really liked it. The garage area safely kept our car w/ all of our belongings. Enjoyed Arcos immensely as well as Chipiona, on the Atlantic. On the drive UP in Arcos stop with the car directly at Olivos and walk the rest of the way UP or you will experience unbelievable fear driving your vehicle back DOWN.