I think the best ferry now is out of Tarifa to Tangiers. Takes about an hour.
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Thanks! Do you know if the ferry still runs morning and evening to allow for a day trip? Just curious.
Looks like right now it runs every 2 hrs starting at 7am until 9pm (both directions).
I haven’t been to Malaga, but went to Granada and Seville a couple of years ago over the summer. It was hot as the dickens, but it was great. The Alhambra (and definitely do the gardens as well) was definitely a standout experience. Seeing a flamenco show in Seville is also fun. The food was really good while we were there, and eating dinner at 10pm and it still being daylight was cool. Seville is one of the towns that my extended family would consider visiting again (we’ve been doing big extended family trips with the age range from grandparents to elementary schoolers, with college students and parents included in the gamut). All of us loved it.
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If you go to Seville and want a very special meal, I recommend Abantal.
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I’ve never been but have a complete 2+ week itinerary inc lodging/dining/things to do. We planned to go last April but switched to Portugal a few weeks prior. Happy to share my spreadsheet via pm if you want. We were hitting Granada, Capileira, Almogia (w/a day trip to Malaga), Ronda, and Seville. Hoping to get there another time.
DH and I did the following trip Oct 10-26, 2023:
- Flew to Madrid (been there before) and took a train to Cordoba…allowing about 4 hrs in case of a travel delay. (We stretched our legs and grabbed a bite to eat.)
- Spent 2 nights in Cordoba. On our full day we had pre-booked a walking tour that included Mezquita-Catedral. We stayed at the Hotel Casas de la Juderia de Córdoba.
- Then we picked up a rental car and drove from Cordoba to Malaga, with a short stop in Antequera. We stayed 3 nights in an Airbnb in Malaga. One day we did the Caminito del Rey.
- Next we drove to Granada with a short stop in Frigiliana. Stayed 3 nights in a hotel. I would recommend booking the Alhambra tour in advance. Be aware it can be very hot there.
- Then we drove to Cartegna with a stop in Guadix. Stayed there 2 nights (hotel).
- Our next drive took us to Valencia, where we stayed 3 nights in an Airbnb.
- Our last stop was Mallorca…2 nights in a hotel. DH is a huge tennis fan and we wanted to visit Rafa Nadal’s academy and tour Palma.
It was a fantastic trip. The weather was wonderful!
Only one I’ve been to is Malaga, and it was ages ago. Really underwhelming. Much better options than that elsewhere in Spain, whether it’s sights or beach you’re after.
We stayed in Seville and then went to visit Granada, Malaga, Cordoba, and Jerez. Go to see Alcazar, La Giralda, Alhambra, and Mosque-Cathedral of Cordoba. Also, we went on sherry tour in Jerez. I would try to stay in one of the paradores. The paradores are a group of state-run hotels and they are usually spectacular properties. We stayed in one near Seville (can’t remember the name) but it was wonderful. On another trip, my daughter and I stayed in the Parador de Santiago (northern Spain). I’ve traveled by both bus and train in Spain and it was easy.
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These are all wonderful posts and I’m taking notes. I’m seeing it mentioned more than once that Malaga is underwhelming and there are better places to go. But Seville is a must.
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Yes! The Parador in Ronda was amazing!!
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There were some really interesting cave paintings near Ronda that were accessible and way fewer people than the famous sites (was 20+ years ago though). But I mostly wanted to mention to be sure to see the Alhambra at night as well as during the day. As wonderful as it is by day it is magical at night. I also want to advocate for a night in Madrid one way or the other - it’s a really vibrant city with, of course, amazing art museums.
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I’m surprised at all the negative comments about Malaga because I loved my trip there! 1 week as a base, with 1 day in Ronda and 1 day to Gibraltar. Hotel right by the start of the covered seaside promenade, in the center of town, with a pastry/dinner shop by the roundabout offering cheap, excellent food till 10pm.
The Alcazaba, the Gibralfaro Castle, the museum of folk life, the Antiques museum, the Picasso museum, hiking the Montes park after a walk around the roman ruins, a boat trip to Penon de Cuervo. In the end, we hardly spent any time near a beach - but we took buses and had dinner at a seaside restaurant on a line that students take thus runs till late 
Most everything could be reached on foot or by bus.
Definitely spend time in Granada and Seville but I wouldn’t dismiss Malaga. 
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I spent a week last November traveling alone from Barcelona > Granada > Sevilla > Madrid. It was an incredible trip. When traveling alone, I don’t spend a lot of money on dining, so I would just pop in somewhere on a whim, but I didn’t have a bad meal anywhere in Spain. I can only imagine how good the food is at higher-tier restaurants.
Barcelona was still very crowded, even in November. Granada & Sevilla were busy but not as crowded. I spent time planning out my trip using TripAdvisor, which I highly recommend. There is a lot to do in all the areas you’ve mentioned. Plan out the must-sees and then build free time into your days. I saw all of the major attractions, many already mentioned above, and they were absolutely amazing. But I also enjoyed spending hours each day just wandering and exploring with no agenda. I got properly lost more than once, and those are good memories!
Traveling around the country was easy. I took a high-speed train from Barcelona to Granada, then a cab + walked to my hotel (make sure you have decent luggage and pack light enough to carry it up steps when necessary). From Granada, I took a bus (Alsa) to Sevilla, then a cab to my hotel. From Sevilla, I took another high-speed train to Madrid.
My hotels in Granada and Sevilla were nice. I splurged in Granada and stayed in a room with a terrace and a view of the Alhambra. It was stunning!
Hotel Casa 1800 Granada
In Sevilla I chose based on location: Hotel Boutique Las Casas De El Arenal
Enjoy it! I really hope to go back someday.
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We were in Sevilla for Easter last year and it was quite the experience. The processions were spectacular. We did Sevilla, Granada & Cordoba and decided to drop Malaga from the itinerary. Was a wonderful trip. We picked up a car at the Sevilla train station and then dropped it at the Granada train station. Hit some neat mountain castles along the road.
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Hello. This trip will be fantastic! We did not go to Alhambra but I sure wish we had! We had gone to Portugal first in our case.
Here are a few things we enjoyed in Sevilla:
Flamenco casa de memoria one hour show, no dinner. Great dancing, intimate environment, and most importantly, short show!
We did a private tapas tour for a splurge with Ivan as a tour guide. Make sure you request him specifically.
In Cordoba:
https://eventourcordoba.es/en/ reserva/mosque-cathedral-of- cordoba/ small group tour in English, inexpensive.
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Last April, we went on a Delta status run to the three cities you mention. Three nights in Seville, two in Granada, one in Malaga. It was pretty quick, so we spent the first couple of days recovering. Plenty of walking around. Definitely Seville and Granada for the Alhambra, and Malaga was quite nice. We stayed by the water, climbed to the top of a huge fort, but we stayed there because the next morning, we were flying out of the airport and it was convenient. I don’t know if I’d go out of my way to go to Malaga, but it sure made the flight out easy.
Of course the Alhambra is not to be missed (buy tickets online ahead of time). We noticed that most everything is really cheap in Spain, especially food and drink, crazy cheap. After the first meal, I searched for the perfect paella everywhere we went. So good! No reason to rent a car and add stress, the trains are fine.
Lots of good suggestions.
Flamenco at Casa de la memoria is great in Sevilla but bring a hand fan. It is hot. In Sevilla, I would suggest staying in the Nervion area and walking 10 min to the downtown/Juderia. More modern hotels and better prices. Buy tix to the Alcazar in advance. Standing in line in the sun is not fun. Shoot to get there as early as possible.
For Granada, spend the money and get a guide for Al Hambra. It will be so worth it. The church downtown is very nice too and food is marvelous.
I have been to Seville. It’s wonderful! We wished we had spent more time there, we were only there for 1 full day and 2 half days. That said, we mananged to see a lot. I think you’d probably need 2 full days to really get the most out of it.
I’ve only flown in and out of Malaga. Based on what I saw from the taxi, there didn’t seem to be anyting of interest. But, then again we were mostly on the freeway and in the area where the airport is.
We did stay in nearby Marbella, which has a lovely old town and is definitely worth a visit. But, other than the old town there isn’t a reason to go out of your way to go to Marbella. Especially as most of Marbella is pretty similar to the rest of the Costa Del Sol. But we liked the time we spent there and our hotel was on a rare quiet beach in the area and we were right near the old town where we spent a lot of time.
We also did a day trip to Ronda, which is a very scenic and lovely little town. Lots of narrow streets and pretty buildings.
I didn’t get to Granada so can’t offer any advice there, but I’ve heard it’s a must visit. Same with Cordoba.
I’ve only flown in and out of Malaga, so most of what I saw of the city was from the windows of the taxi on the freeway. I know some people who’ve enjoyed Malaga, but enjoyed Granada, Marbella, and Seville much better. Personally, I wouldn’t mind spending a day or two there, but I’d prefer to spend the majority of my time in Seville, Ronda, Granada, and Cordoba
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