Andalusia (Granada, Sevilla, Málaga, Córdoba)

I am planning a trip to Andalusia for mid to end June (approx. June 14th - June 25th) right now. I do not need to book right now, but I was going to book it sometime in April, possibly in two weeks or something like that.

I am definitely planning to go to Sevilla and Granada (flying to one city and returning from the other), but as I have quite a bit of time I was thinking I could add another city in between the two, doing the trips between the cities by bus.

And looking at a map Málaga looks like a good in-between city, at the sea, which will give me a break from the hot hot weather (I do realize Málaga will be hot as well but being at the sea makes it more bearable). At the same time I do not really like being in one of those places where all you can do is lie at the beach and turn red like a lobster (plus I don't need to be flying to somewhere else for that, could do that for free here).

I also saw that Córdoba would also be located somewhat in the middle but I am not sure if it would be worth visiting ...

Which city would you suggest I choose (out of Córdoba and Málaga)? Is the time frame okay to visit three cities without feeling too stressed? And how much time would you allocate for each of the cities?

If you have stayed at a hostel in one of the four cities so far, please share your experience as well, and I'd also be interested to hear (read) about sights, food and all that stuff. I have never been to any of these places, so any advice and helpful tips are welcome and appreciated. Thank you!

Malaga has good beaches and great food, and is a lot of fun in Summer.

Cordoba is good for a visit to the Mosque, otherwise stay in Malaga and enjoy the summer
maybe move up and down the coast from there, visit Cadiz, or Sanlúcar de Barrameda (great langostinos)
hang out in Sevilla for a day or two.

Thanks. Well, see the thing is we have the beach and the summer is also here, I would prefer to see the (cultural) sights in Andalusia that Catalonia (or Germany for that matter) doesn't offer.

I have been thinking that maybe I could also do all four of the cities because it is really just one more bus ride and not very far at that, like:

June
14 - 17 Sevilla
17 - 19 Córdoba
19 - 22 Málaga
22 - 25 Granada

Do you guys think that would be a good plan (regarding how many days I spend in each of the cities)?

There are a few helpful tips on the Alhambra thread I started in 2006. Definitely visit it, it's marvelous!

Don't budget too much time for Cordoba. The mosque is nice, but the rest is a bit boring (IMHO).

Andalucia has andaluces, but you have that in Barcelona too
anyway, your objective should be social tourism, enjoy andalusian culture "en su salsa", so don't waste time on silly monuments
enjoy the music, food, and night life, sipping manzanilla eating olives and having some tapas.
yes, you have that in Barcelona, but it is rushed and hectic. Southern Spain is "Typically Spanish"

Thanks sarabyrd. I had done a search but it didn't come up (I think I may have only searched for "andalusia", not all of the cities individually).

And thanks, tom_a, would you say just one night would be enough time there? (Maybe spend an extra one in Sevilla instead?)

Villager, well, one thing doesn't preclude the other... I do want to go there for the monuments as well, I love beautiful architecture (and who knows when I'll be able to go there again). Doesn't mean I won't be going to a bar or to a café and just relax sometime.

Thanks for the posts so far, and keep them coming.

Went to Malaga last year and stayed at Puerto De La Dequessa.Only an hours drive away from Gibraltar.Loved it there is a lot to see and was actaully relaxing

I was a few days in Nerja last year, great little town one hour away from Malaga.

Malaga's a good base for getting around Andalucia, you're just over 2.5 hours from Sevilla by train, you can change at Dos Hermanas and got Jerez de la frontera or further on the Cadiz. I'd definitely recommend Jerez, it's the birthplace of flamenco, musically vibrant, überschaubar, worth a day or two. Don't know about hostels there though, we shared an apartment for €80 each for 4 weeks between 4 a couple of years back. Sevilla gets very hot, but an afternoon walk through the city, underneath those huge white sheets is a must. And you need to be wary around the cathedral, lots of fortune tellers and pickpockets. Although I hear they've cleaned ut up a bit since I was last there. Also Ronda is worth a visit, if only to see the gorge.

I lived in Andalucia for four years. I actually lived near Jerez--the bodega district is interesting enough, and you can see the Spanish Riding School's show. If you grab the Jerez paper, you can see if any of the local penas (oh, where's the tilde on this keyboard??) are having a performance when you're in town--this is much better than a touristy flamenco show. It's easier to do this in Jerez than in Sevilla, but maybe that's just because I didn't know Sevilla as well.The seafood in Jerez, Puerto, and Cadiz is very good. In general, however, I would say that you're better off staying in Sevilla--it is so much bigger and there is more "marcha" there. They've also closed some of the main roads to auto traffic and that's supposed to have helped a great deal.I 'm not a fan of Malaga--I'd stay in the Balcon de Europa if I had to stay on the Costa--I'd rather go to Tarifa if I just wanted to hang out on the beach. I'm sure Tarifa has gotten much bigger since I went there last--it was just starting to become a big windsurfing place.The Mezquita in Cordoba is great, but I'm inclined to agree that it doesn't have as much to offer for the casual tourist as Sevilla and Grenada. You say you're not renting a car? Pity, because you could go to one of the Paradors--the best ones in Andalucia are in the little towns, but that's true in all of Spain-- or drive up to Extremadura, or into the Alentejo in Portugal.( I love the Alentejo--it is one of my favorite regions in Europe.) I've taken the train to Cadiz and Sevilla--it is bearable, but only just. Speaking of bearable, it does get wickedly hot even in June. Cordoba is a real frying pan in particular. I'd say to skip Cordoba (with regret ) if you are pressed for time, and concentrate on Grenada and Sevilla.

Thanks for the tips. Yeah, I'm not renting a car. I do have a driver's license but I haven't really driven in years, and have no plans to start driving again in Spain. I actually left my license back in Germany because I figured I wouldn't need it here, but aside from that, renting a car would also get too expensive (this is going to be a low-budget trip).

Yes, you can't always do everything! Malaga does make more sense if you need an easy train connection and an escape from the heat. Tarifa is nicer, though, and so's the Balcon de Europa. I've stayed in Nerja, too-- but that was 12 years ago and I've no idea how much development has happened since then.

Mariposa,
You might want to get ahold of azahar, a Canadian blogger who's been living in Sevilla for many years. She would probably be able to give you a lot of insider tips for that city at least. Tell her ian in hamburg sent you.

Here are some non-touristy real Spanish tips for Malaga:

There are several choices in Malaga for restaurants. You can go doing a Tapas tour in the centre of Malaga, starting with:

- Bar Barcenas in Plaza uncibay (we were there with manolo and pietro a couple of times).

- La casa del Piyayo. Fried fish. has a ship inside.

- La Campana. Seafood, fresh. Combine it with vino FINO or WHITE and lemon on the shelfish.

- La casa del guardia, in Alameda Principal. Same thing.

- La taberna de Antonio, near the cathedral and Plaza Uncibay. Used to be called "La taberna", but Antonio Banderas bought it and changed the name. Great roast food and good medieval spanish decoration.

- Antonio Martin. Posh restaurant with excellent quality but pricey. It is in the beach, near the bullfighting arena.

In the beach:

- Casa Pedro. It is in El Palo. Better quality for a higher price.

- El Tintero. El Palo, fish and seafood restaurant. Very famous but not that pricey.

If you are going to chiringuitos (beach restaurants) pretty much everybody cooks well and the prices vary by one pound or so in total, up or down. We are talking about NOT "La costa" part of the city (avoid Marbella, Estepona, Torremolinos, Mijas, San Julian, San Pedro de Alcantara, Nerja, etc and any Britishized or Germanized area. Quality there has dropped and the prices have been pumped up, just like the properties).

Where to go out.

Pedregalejo is the westernest part of el palo and it is full of cool bars in the beach. There are lots of places where you can go with lots of english speaking people (mostly swedish students, german or french) but not necesarily british. The prices of the drinks remain spanish, so it is a good deal.

Thank you again, guys!

I should probably add that I do not eat fish or seafood. But thanks for making that list, hopefully it will be helpful for someone who does. (And I will keep it in mind anyway for the non-seafood/fish tapas.)