In our case, road tripping was not by car but by coach which
I highly recommend but I will explain further below. However, I wish I had a
car, especially in Almeria, as some of the places didn’t have public transport
but all other cities had great connections and run on time!
Andalusia refers to Southern Spain which consists of 8
provinces; Almería, Cádiz, Córdoba, Granada, Huelva, Jaén, Málaga, and
Seville . All these provinces are quite different from each other and have
their own unique traits. There’s a big Arabic influence due to the Muslim reign
for 800 years until the 14th centuries. Andalusia is therefore so
rich in history, culture and nature! The architecture is just mind blowing and you
can clearly see the battle between Muslim and Christian in the buildings and
how the Catholic Kings tried to impose their sign everywhere. Out of these provinces,
we visited all of them except Jaen. We visited Andalusia over the summer so
although the heat was bearable on the coast, we found some cities such as
Cordoba quite unbearable. However, there was AC everywhere so you will be ok.
Do stay hydrated and invest in some portable fans, hats and lots of suncream!
Card was accepted everywhere but some buses prefer cash so
do carry cash too! We didn’t use many intracity buses but it was quite confusing
in terms of getting tickets for some buses that couldn’t accept any form of
payments ( then we realised, that was just a faulty system on that particular
bus). There are travelcard available though and works out cheaper. Make sure
you specify age of child as mostly, children under certain age don’t need a ticket. For all our intercity travel, we used ALSA
coaches which I have to say, has been top notch (except the lack of USB ports).
I used the ALSA plus app to book all my coaches which came out cheaper. You
also collect points when completing each journey and these points can be
redeemed against other journeys! They all run on time and there were no issues
at all which made our journeys smooth! The earlier you book, the more you save.
If you would like to change your tickets, you can do that easily on the app but
can’t make any changes closer to time!
We stayed over in 4 cities – Seville, Malaga, Almeria and Granada.
This was mostly used as a base so it was easier for us to do day trips from
these bases. Granada is the only place where I wished we stayed longer to do
more adventure activities as it offered more than any other cities! All our activities
were booked through GetYourGuide (GYG) or the activity provider directly. We stayed in airbnbs. In terms of food, that is
where we were let down. The big cities completely disappointed us therefore we
only ate in small villages to get authentic regional cuisines.
Here is our itinerary:
1)
Seville (Day 1-2):
a.
We spent
our first day exploring Seville. Seville cathedral and Giralda tower (https://www.getyourguide.com/seville-cathedral-l4543/seville-cathedral-and-la-giralda-entry-ticket-t131913/)
and the Royal Alcazar. I recommend booking in advance the cathedral and the Alcazar.
We did the non-guided tour and so researched a lot to know about these place.
The Giralda Tower was a long climb and I thought not really worth it as it just
provides views of the city. However, both the Cathedral and the Alcazar were
stunning and not to be missed. There are walking distance from each other. 15minutes walk away from these monuments was Plaza
España which is free to visit and another architectural wonder! You can row on
the canal for an additional cost.
b.
Day trip to Aracena and Rio Tinto – this was outside
the tourist route and an exploration of the Huelva province (https://www.getyourguide.com/seville-l48/from-seville-full-day-aracena-rio-tinto-mines-tour-t82914/)
I wanted to do this region as I heard a lot about the Iberian pigs but also the
Red River (Rio Tinto). The trip didn’t disappoint at all. The Red River was
indeed red thanks to its microorganisms and the minerals. We got to see the
mines for different minerals and such a unique landscape! We then moved to
Aracena which is famous for its Iberian pigs. We got to see these pigs and also
explore the town with its castle, bullring, cave and amazing food! I will
highly recommend this trip if you want to do explore some unknown areas!
2)
Malaga (Day 3-5)
a.
Malaga historic centre – We visited the Alcazaba
as well as Malaga cathedral. There are combined tickets as well. There’s also a
bullring and the beach was close by.
b.
Day trip to Ronda and Setenil de Bodegas – A must do! (https://www.getyourguide.com/malaga-l402/malaga-ronda-setenil-de-las-bodegas-optional-sunset-t583609/)
Ronda has my heart and we had enough time to
explore on our time. I hiked down to the bottom of the infamous bridge and this
was so worth it despite the climb up! I chose the guided tour as part of the
activity and it was well worth it! I also visited the Bullring and it was
amazing! I even got to walk in the actual bullring and it had a great museum!
Setenil is an unusual village built within cliffs. In our own time, I visited
an actual house in the cliffs which was very compact. There was also a Nasrid palace
I wanted to visit but the signposting wasn’t very clear so couldn’t visit!
c.
Nerja was meant to be another day trip but due
to weather conditions our sea activity was cancelled and therefore didn’t go to
Nerja!.
d.
Day trip to Benalmadena – the famous Colomares
Castle, a tribute to Columbes, is a must! It has a very small entry fee but it
is so beautiful especially with views of the coast. Other things to do were the
Butterfly park, Buddhist temple and sealife as well as a good swim in the many
beaches available nearby! This town had surprisingly so much to offer!
3)
Almeria (Day 5-7)
a.
Almeria historic centre involves the Alcazaba, Jesus Christ statue, Almeria
cathedral. If you can’t afford a trip to Brazil to see Christ the Redeemer statue,
then you can go and see this smaller size statue blessing Almeria. The Alcazaba
was free to visit and not to be missed. It is an archaeological site so you will
see amazing ruins but it is so well maintained and the views were well worth the
climb! I loved Almeria as it wasn’t
crowded and less touristy so enjoyed it! Please check opening times for all
these attractions!
b.
Day trip to Oasys MiniHollywood - This
is a Wild West themed park set in the Tabernas Desert and perfect for the whole
family. Many Wild West movies were filmed here, including Clint Eastwood’s movies,
and something unique to do. The first half of the park is all Wild West themed
with performances such as Cancan. The second half was an animal reserve and
there’s quite a bit of walking. There were animals such as rhinos which I have
never seen before! The park has 2 swimming pools which I will recommend to do
after you explored the park. The one
thing I won’t recommend is the buffet! It was so disappointing so bring a sandwich!
Regardless, this was the kids’ favourite thing to do!
c.
Day trip to Cabo de Gata and Nijar National park
– again not on the tourist path but wanted to explore rugged landscape and
explore this area (https://www.getyourguide.com/almeria-l1076/almeria-4x4-tour-of-cabo-de-gata-nijar-natural-park-t386531/
) It was beautiful and loved listening to he history of the area. We saw flamingos
in their natural habitat which was such a great experience!
4)
Granada (day 8-11)
a.
Granada
city centre – I concentrated on the Andalusian monuments which highlighted
monuments from the Muslim reign such as the Moorish Bath, Moorish houses and palaces
in the Albacin area! As a history nerd, I learned so much and not sure how 4
hours went by! I then visited the Christian quarters which involved the Cathedral
and Royal Chapel1
b.
Alhambra -
must do! I cannot explain how beautiful this is and what talent this
showcased so do visit to find out for yourself! The tickets sell out about a
month in advance so do book as soon as you can!
c.
Day trip
to Las Alpujarras – we headed to the mountains to see different villages in the
Sierra Nevada (https://discoveringspain.net/)
This was one of the highlight of our trip and so worth it with so many surprises
on the way! We visited 5 villages, waterfall and a Jamon Factory! I would redo this
experience all over again!
d.
Day trip to Cordoba – We visited the Jewish
Quarter and Mosque-Cathedral as well as the roman bridge. The Mosque-Cathedral
is another must do monument! You will need to book in advance! Each corner was
stunning!
Overall, this was another memorable trip with both my nature
and history geek completely satisfied!
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