WOW....finally we did our trip...and unfortunately, now back....
I truly wish we are still back there...Spain is incredible! It's lovely and has everything taht will delight any visitor...

1st, this is how my trip goes : 2 nights Madrid -bus and 1 night Toledo - bus back to 2 nights Madrid - flight n 2 nights Granada - Train n 2 nights Ronda - Bus n 1 night Sevilla - Flight n 4 nights BCN - Bus n 2 nights in Espot, a rural village which is a gateway to d Aiguestortes nd Sant Maurici Lake National Park.

Next, on 11 M we were getting ready to check out n on my way to the airport for flight to Granada. Thank God we arranged for flight, not train. Subsequently we experienced pple going on streets in Granada, and what struck us was that the Spaniards were so united in face of adversity and mature and peaceful in their demostrations n protests n mourning...I am at loss for words to describe...

Now, for the hostals...

Madrid - well initially I intended to stay at Adriano, then tot we'd stayed at a proper hotel..things happened...anyway in the end, for 1st 2 nights, we stayed at Hostal Mirentxu, and I must say that for the incredible 35 euros we paid, truly value for money! We had a double room with own shower and toilet n heater. Room was made & sheets changed everyday. The couple owners were always cleaning around the place! the son Carlos spoke Eng n friendly : ) Of course the flip side is the shower&loo has no proper door but drawn curtains but it's no bother to us. It's also centrally located (calle zorilla) in a very safe street, near the Congress n police station! We felt very safe.
Marid - the last 2 nights we satyed at Hostal Villar, we paid 42 euros, n we deemed it another great place. Clean, with TV too! Again, rooms were cleaned everyday and the place is centrally located .

Toledo - We LOVED this place...so glad we stayed a night there! We stayed at hotel Santa Isabel, and it's the BEST hotel we stayed for Spain...doors operated with magnetic cards! It's only 46 euros for a double room with pte bathroom. We get a truly hotel style room...very clean n neat n brand new.

Granada - we stayed at Hostal Nuevas Naciones (calle san juan de dios, placeta de trivino), http://granadainfo.com/nuevas/granadahostal.htm
Again another great place value for money....38.50 euros for double room with TV n own shower n loo. Clean n room made everyday. Very friendly owner who even let us have hot water to make our cup noodles! It's located in the down hill from Alhambra, but to us it's great location as it's near many great shops n eateries. here i MUST side-track - we had our BEST meal in Granada....simple fare- paella, garlic mayo stuff baked potatoes etc, BUT everything so heavenly! Including their garlic-soaked olives!!! It's called Antigua Bodega Castaneda along 5 calle Elvira...yummy...

Ronda - hotel royal, www.tonda.net/usuar/hotelroyal Another great place! We paid 46 eu for double room with pte bathroom, n TV. Clean n great location, mere mins away from the gorge, n it's just infront the park! Lovely....

Seville - we stayed in hostal arias www.hostalarias.com It's great location as it's just behidn the cathedral, along calle mariana de pineda, and it's actually amongst many other hostals e.g. hostal picasso. We paid 46 eu for a double room with TV n pte shower n loo. but...we found it not that...we were given the ground room next to the recep, which we didnt protest since just for a night. Needless to say, it's quite noisy. But the heater was VERY strong.... : )

BCN - for 1st 3 nights we stayed in Plaza Hostal...and well, this is the only hostel which we wouldn't go back again...we paid 60 euros for a double with pte shower n loo, no TV n the heater didn't seem to work. Not very clean. We rejected the 1st room and asked to change as the bed was really squeaky. But still, it's in a good location. The last night after we came back from Espot we stayed at Hostal Goya. NOW...I 'd great rec this place!!! We paid 56.71 for double with shower n loo. Clean. Though no TV, there's a common room with TV and mags n guess what, electric kettle and coffee etc n cups for use! Friendly staff. Also hair-dryer for borrowing.

Espot - this rural village n the national park was our FAV....we stayed at hotel saurat, http://www.hotelsaurat.com We paid 74 euro for double with pte bathroom n balcony n continental buffet breakfast n TV n heater. Worth every cent! karol the staff was most friendly in her emails n in person.

Ok...that's it for now....sorry if the above seems delirious ....I tot I should get the above out before I put it off !

Do let me know if you need any other details.

I must say a BIG thanks to all of you here. This board was Fantanstic in helping us to put this trip together! Thank you!

hey! i have been considering travelling to spain and was wondering how far in advance you had planned your trip. did you have reservations in the cities you went to? or would it be just as easy to find a room once i am there? i am really not picky at all and money of course would be an issue...so youth hostels would be fine. thanks for any info you can give me!

Yes I 've made reservations for all these places at least a month ahead. It's necessary, esp. if you go during tourist seasons from March to Aug.

If your idea of youth hostels in Spain is those dorms with 6-8 beds shared with others and common bathroom, yes Spain has them. But what i read from the books n other pple's views are that they aren't very centrally located. If you just pay couple of euros more, you can get a single room for yourself with common bathroom.

Do check out useful books like Lonely Planet or Let's Go. Others in this board will also give you very very good advice.

Hope the above helps! Have fun!

Au, thank you for your report. I was wondering if you could tell me more about your Ronda portion of the trip.

First of all, do you know if there are any cheaper lodgings in Ronda than the one you went to? Is there a youth hostel?

Secondly, did you buy your bus ticket from Ronda to Seville in advance, or just when you got there? About how frequently do these buses run?

Thanks a lot.

Sadie, I can't remember whether there's a youth hostel in Ronda and I'd returned my lonely planet book to the library....but I remembered reading cheaper pensions and hostels in the book.

The double room (46eu)with pte bathroom which we paid for in Hotel Royal (http://www.ronda.net/usuar/hotelroyal/) was already of great hotel std to us...I believe you get better rate if it's a single room or a room with no bathroom. There's also Hotel Colon (http://www.ronda.net/usuar/hotelcolon/), 43 eu for double room with pte bathroom, which is also minutes away from the gorge.

If you know Spanish check out www.ronda.net for great info.

The train and bus station were around 10 - 15 mins walk from our hotel royal. It's very easy to buy bus tixs from Ronda to Sevilla. We went to the bus station (located in Plaza Concepcion Garcia Redono - very easy to locate) on Saturday and bought tixs for the next day Sunday. 'Los Amarillos' is the main bus company operating sevices from Ronda to Sevilla and Malaga (at the bus station just look out for the 'Los Amarillos' counter, you won't miss it . There are daily buses from Ronda to Sevilla at 0700, 1000, 1400, 1700, 1900. 8.99 eu per tix and takes around 2.5 hours. It will arrive at Sevilla's bus station - Estacion de Autobuses Prado de San Sebastian.

You will enjoy the great scenery for this bus journey!

Ronda is a relatively small quaint town, with the new and old town separated by the gorge. Most accomodations are located in the new town, and the train and bus station are in the new town as well. It's a lovely town with clear directions and sign-posts for lots of great walking...you must walk down from the gorge and look up from beneath...breathtaking view. You will enjoy and love Ronda for sure!

Hope the above helps!

Here's the bus schedule from Ronda to Sevilla.

I´m currently in Ronda (leaving Monday for Malaga and came to this site searching for cheap stays) and staying at a place called Hostal Ronda Sol, which I think is great. For the price of 17 euros you get a basic double room (cleaned daily) with shared bathroom. A single of the same sort costs 11 euros. It´s on the street Calle Almendra. Coming out of the bus station, head straight and down along Calle Naranja and it´s the 3rd street on the right.

Oh, I forgot to add that the bus from Sevilla to Ronda or from Ronda to Sevilla costs 9.25 euros. You don´t have to buy the ticket in advance. Just get it from the bus driver when you board the bus.

I happen to have my copy of Lonely Planet sitting right here. They do not list a youth hostel in Ronda, but here are some of the less expensive lodgings they do list (prices in Euros single/double ):

Pensión La Purísima 95 287 10 50 (15/27 )
Hotel Hermanos Macías 95 287 42 38 (23/39 )
Hotel Morales fax 95 287 15 38 (22.5/41.7 )
Hostal San Francisco 95 287 32 99 (15/27 )

hush66, that's such a GOOD deal! And I'm amazed....coz we paid 8.99 per tix just couple weeks ago....now it's 9.25....ha ha....k you have fun!