gold23

Child who spent last spring abroad in Europe has chosen southern Spain as her family graduation present. She was there for a quick weekend and was enchanted and left wanting... Wife and I have never been. We'll be travelling end of May.

We have enough great beaches and water here, so no real desire to spend much time around that in Spain. More interested in the cities, the history, the architecture, the food, etc. We're not a "get up at 7am and go, go, go! family- more of a have a day's plan and accomplish it without craziness. We've gone to Italy almost every year (we keep saying we'll hit the surrounding countries but somehow have always reverted to Italy because we love it so much...primarily Tuscany), but have loved our visits to Barcelona and Madrid.

We're going to have 10 days. It's been suggested that we either start or finish for 2 days or so in Lisbon as that will be our likely entry point based on flights. Is that reasonable?

Not looking for ultra-luxury stays, but would like "4-star" type accomodations. She's earned it and we'd like this to be a special time with a little "extra" if you will.

What type of itinerary will let us see enough of southern Spain while not killing ourselves to do so? Base in Seville for a few days? If so, what should other base be? Rent a car to hit some of the places, or rely on trains for most/all?

I don't know why planning this trip seems so much harder than our other European holidays!

spainlover

I would say try to see Sevilla, Granada and Cordoba and that would allow you to explore each without being exhausted. Sevilla is a great base for a few days (and if you want to do a day trip or two from there, certainly can). All 3 cities are well-connected by train. Just checked and it’s under an hour Sevilla-Córdoba, 1 1/2-2 Granada-Córdoba, and closer to 3 Sevilla-Granada. The Alhambra is in Granada and you should book well in advance. Also book train tickets some weeks out for better prices.
i haven’t been to Granada and Córdoba in a long time. Sevilla, for some luxury, the Alfonso XIII (it’s Marriott Autograph Collection if you have Marriott points) is a gorgeous hotel and super centric.

You said you aren’t into the beach so I put this below the other 3 cities. However, I absolutely love the “Costa de la Luz” from Cadíz to Tarifa. Cadíz is a relaxed and fun historic city on the Atlantic coast, Tarifa is a small beach town known for kitesurfing and with unique vibes. There are many other places along that coast and interior also super fun to visit and explore from Jerez de la Frontera (known for sherry and horses, among other things), to beach towns like Caños de Meca, Zahara de los Atunes, & Bolonia; to the “white villages” such as Vejer de la Frontera. You would need to rent a car for this itinerary or a portion of it if you decide to skip Córdoba (to me Sevilla and Granada over Córdoba) and do some of this. There’s also Gibraltar 20 minutes from Tarifa but I personally don’t find it that interesting, and a day trip to Tangiers, Morocco from Tarifa is another option. But you can’t do all these things without going nonstop! Sharing ideas so that you can discuss with your family and decide based on interests.
Enjoy!

SASNY

I would base in Seville and Granada, with the bulk of the time in Seville. You can take some nice day trips from Seville, and Granada and the Alhambra is a must for a visit to Southern Spain (but Granada is not a good day trip from Seville). We stayed at Gravina 51 in Seville. 4 star boutique hotel and it is great. In Granada the Aurea Catedral is a new, modern and very well located 4 star. We got a room overlooking the cathedral and it was very special.

pbiflyer

Just a note, Lisbon is awesome and worth the stop, but there is no easy way to get to southern Spain from there. Basically flying is your only choice.

guv1976

I note that TAP offers free, multi-day stopovers in LIS on trips from the U.S. to SVQ.

gold23

Ok, ok, ok! This is amazing and super helpful. So....based on others here (and a friend who travels often enough to suggest), we're going to cut Portgual from this trip. It basically takes away a full day for travel and adds some stress, etc. Also super easy to get to from east coast so we'll return another time!

With that in mind....intrigued by the beach towns. What about start in Granada, move over to Seville (with a day trip to Cordoba somewhere in there), and then do the coastal and beachy drive? How might we best split 9 days there?

gold23

This is super helpful. Thank you!

Buzzman

I would agree with everything that Spainlover says concerning the Costa de Luz. I am living most of the time in Cadiz which is a wonderful city full of history going back to the Phoenecians. I was into diving in my earlier years and been to beaches all over the world. I don't think anything matches the coast in this area. But do keep in mind about the weather in late May... Sevilla can be swealtering hot during that time of year. I can't tell you about Cordoba.. but Sevilla could be very hot in June. It is recognized as the hottest city in Continental Europe..

gold23

Or....fly into Malaga, stay there. Train to Granada and Cordoba for day trip, move to Seville for three nights. The Costa de Luz for a few days? So many options!

Buzzman

Might be stretching it with only 10 days.... That is a lot of ground to cover.... especially those 10 days involve arriving and departing....

spainlover

depends a bit how much you mind moving hotels and how exhausted you tend to be after traveling from U.S. … could do 3 nights in Granada, 3 in Sevilla and 3 in Cadiz or Tarifa with daily excursions from there. Cadiz is fantastic, but if staying in 2 larger cities in Granada and Sevilla, doing a small one like Tarifa (esp in late May as won’t be busy season yet) could be a nice contrast. I’ve stayed a couple times at the Hotel Arte Vida, which is a couple miles outside of town so depends if you would want that or not. I took kitesurfing lessons there. It’s been awhile but I have fond memories of a small, homey place where they’d ask what you wanted for dinner rather than have a menu. https://hotelartevidatarifa.com/

jackws

Starting or finishing in Lisbon for 2 days is reasonable. Consider basing in Seville for a few days, exploring its rich history and culture. Use trains for most travel, but rent a car to explore smaller towns. Visit Granada for the Alhambra, and perhaps Cordoba. End in Malaga for a mix of history and coastal relaxation. Enjoy your trip.

desi

Yes, TAP markets it heavily
Abd most bloggers parrot it without checking the veracity

For last few months, looking at various random days over next weeks/months, trying out MAD, SVQ avd AGP as destinations from US and also checking 2, 3, 4, 5 nights stopover in LIS (tried both directions too), have not found a single iternery with "free stopover". Fare ju. Ps by few hundred dollars (one can easily buy a separate ticket at that point!!)

May be your experience is better. Ours was frustrating. We made sure to take our business to other airlines

desi

One way car rental within Spain is not that difficult. Renting in Spain and returning to Portugal seem to have huge fees.

gold23

We're still playng around with itin.....Where to jump start the trip in Europe is the sticking point. There's a direct EWR-AGP which sounds intriguing but it's on an old 757 and a) not worth splurging for the tight business class b) not a comfortable long haul economy....plus pricing on that route is insane. Might go to Lisbon for 2 days as suggested above, fly to southern Spain, and route back from there..... But it's difficult, as seems we're either making a sacrifice for convenience or going too hard... I felt our trips to Italy were much easier and linear to plan.....