Help with accommodation in Andalucia

Looking for information on a place in Andalucia or simply asking for advice on somewhere to visit? Post here and someone out there may know the answer.
Smyly
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Help with accommodation in Andalucia

Postby Smyly » Wed Aug 08, 2018 1:33 am

Hi. We are six young seniors planning a trip from UK to Barcelona for 3 days, in April, hopping on and off the buses. We then plan to travel by train to Andalucia for 11 days. We would like to visit places in Seville, Malaga, Granada and Cordoba. Our plan is to use trains, coach tours and taxis to get about. I have lots of questions but the first one has to be about accommodation. Ideally we would like to be away from the coastal areas in a villa with a pool in a quiet place with a train service. Can anyone suggest an area or town please.

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costakid
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Re: Help with accommodation in Andalucia

Postby costakid » Wed Aug 08, 2018 7:19 am

The trains only really cover from Malaga to Fuengirola on the coastal route in Andalusia but as you want to be in land that will not be a problem. Most major Cities inland are covered by a local or the AVE. Depends how far you want to be from the coast. The bus service in Spain is very good.

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Re: Help with accommodation in Andalucia

Postby olive » Wed Aug 08, 2018 9:11 am

Welcome to the forum. Sounds like a great adventure.

Spain has a good sized network of high speed trains but there are some big gaps. Our nearest access point ( Loja) hasnt had a scheduled train run through it for 18 months die to upgrade works. The “ service “ still runs but is a bus. I believe this affects Granada to Cordoba and definitely Granada to seville , Granada to Malaga.

Have a look at Antequera for an inland area. Well situated for motorway links to north, south, east and west so you could use a mix of transports. Main routebus service is pretty good. Last time I used it the Loja to Malaga service was air conned with WiFi and cheap.

One other suggestion would be to include Valencia if the train route from Barcelona to Andalucia includes it.

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Re: Help with accommodation in Andalucia

Postby Gasman » Wed Aug 08, 2018 10:50 am

Also bear in mind that the trains often tend to serve commuter/business traffic and will go early in the morning, and may come back late afternoon/early evening ... You may like to plan in several overnight/2-night stops, rather than all in one place. I can see the attraction of one villa, nicely placed, but the distances involved in visiting Sevilla all the way across to Granada, dont give you that option IMO.
Train route from Barcelona down to Valencia, or even go on to Alicante, is a nice route, and worth doing. You are looking early enough to be able to book your accommodation as You want it, so as to fit in all your group .... From Alicante train to Granada. Stay there a couple of nights, book the Alhambra online well in advance, and then shift for a longer stay between Sevilla and Cordoba - perhaps Cordoba area would be best and you can travel down to Malaga coast for a day, and across to sevilla. You problem is there is TOO much to see in all the places you mentioned!!! Perhaps plan another trip for later ????
Another thought is to fly cheaply from Barcelona or Girona to any of the cities you mention and then fan out from there ... ? Vueling, Ryanair, etc

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Re: Help with accommodation in Andalucia

Postby maureenscot » Wed Aug 08, 2018 4:20 pm

I agree with Gasman. You will be shattered doing all that on one trip. And you won't get the benefit of just chilling some days at your lovely villa. We are flying in to Girona for three days in Sept. From there we will take a train trip to see the Dali museum in Figueres. Then 10 days in San filleu de Guixolles (sorry about the spelling). We can get to Barcelona and other parts of Costa Brava from there.
Earlier this year we went to Valencia for Easter processions and travelled by tram to the fortress at Xativa and other old villages.
Last year we went to Alicante and up and down the tram to interesting towns and villages on public transport.
On a different trip we went to Antequera, beautiful town. We hired a car as it is easy to drive inland and so many places to see, Olvera, Ronda, Cordoba, Seville. Parked at shopping centre on outskirts of Seville as murder driving in the city. There are so many sites to see in all these places. So several trips required. Next year we will see Granada and Cadiz. You need the chilling time to get your breath back as well. Just my opinion. We did a multi trip in Italy a few years ago and needed a holiday once we got home shattered

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Re: Help with accommodation in Andalucia

Postby maureenscot » Wed Aug 08, 2018 4:22 pm

Also in some places you can hire a min-bus with driver

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Re: Help with accommodation in Andalucia

Postby Smyly » Wed Aug 08, 2018 8:37 pm

Thank you for all your replies. I think I should have gauged the distances before thinking it was a good idea. I like the sound of the minibus with driver but still a lot of travelling. Might have to get another plan.

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Re: Help with accommodation in Andalucia

Postby maureenscot » Wed Aug 08, 2018 9:58 pm

Let us know what you ended up doing. Enjoy your trip

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Re: Help with accommodation in Andalucia

Postby Gasman » Thu Aug 09, 2018 9:15 pm

Maureen has hit the nail on the head - best plan, fly to your choice of hub, and get your villa in a place that is accessible for public transport, or hire a mini-bus, with or without driver, and concentrate on the area around. Practically every corner of spain has lots to see, and you MUST sit back and enjoy the lifestyle too!!
Or forget Barcelona for the moment. cheap flight to Malaga or Granada, and make your fornight stay, two weeks, one near Granada, and the other near Cordoba/Sevilla - check out your flight back from there. You do not have to book a return flight these days, book out to one destination, and book back from your finishing point.
All this supposing that by April, planes in Europe are still flying to and from the UK, after Brexit !

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Re: Help with accommodation in Andalucia

Postby costakid » Fri Aug 10, 2018 7:48 am

Gasman wrote:.
All this supposing that by April, planes in Europe are still flying to and from the UK, after Brexit !
?? Why wouldn't they be flying? More scaremongering.

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Re: Help with accommodation in Andalucia

Postby Gasman » Fri Aug 10, 2018 11:12 am

As I understand it, and as many airline companies have been pointing out since the Brexit vote, if no NEW agreements are made very soon, the european rules and regulations by which UK destinations are served will cease to apply to the UK after Brexit in March 2019 and there will be no alternatives ready to put in place. Even if the current talks and negotiations come to a good resolution, the airlines are running out of time to be able to comply with new arrangements, and have their systems etc effective.
Scaremongering, yes. Reality check, perhaps. Worrying, definitely ...
After all it will all be right on the night, no? Fingers crossed!

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Re: Help with accommodation in Andalucia

Postby katy » Fri Aug 10, 2018 11:49 am

I thought that myth had been put to bed a month ago but why spoil an interesting thread. There is a Brexit thread for that.

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Re: Help with accommodation in Andalucia

Postby Gasman » Fri Aug 10, 2018 7:59 pm

Quite - lets get back on topic please-

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Re: Help with accommodation in Andalucia

Postby sujee » Sat Aug 11, 2018 9:57 am

You might think about looking up Casas Rural. They are very reasonably priced bed and breakfast places and there are plenty inland. They provide spotless accommodation in villages, They are also known as Hostels but nothing like the hostels in UK. If you are not staying long in one place they may suit you better than a villa for a day or 2.

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Re: Help with accommodation in Andalucia

Postby Manchesteral » Sat Aug 11, 2018 12:02 pm

Smyly wrote:Thank you for all your replies. I think I should have gauged the distances before thinking it was a good idea. I like the sound of the minibus with driver but still a lot of travelling. Might have to get another plan.
Go to the supermarket, buy lots of good food and wine then rent a video of Michael Portillo's Spanish train journeys :-)

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Re: Help with accommodation in Andalucia

Postby Pamela1 » Sat Aug 11, 2018 1:28 pm

I gather you are flying to Barcelona from Uk...The best way to get around Barcelona is by the metro and you can buy travel passes..After 3 days in Barcelona you may wish to consider an itinary of flying down to Granada & spend a few days there, there are some lovely appartments at reasonable prices to accomodate you all...From Granada you could take the bus onto Cordoba and stay a few days, then travel from there to Seville, again there is accomodation which will accomodate all of you..After spending time in Seville then travel to Malaga to finish off your stay and fly back home from there..Buses are plentiful between all the cities you wish to visit and very reasonably priced compared to the trains..We bought our tickets to Seville from Granada for 7euros each.I know you mentioned staying in a villa and travelling back and forth from there to all the cities you mentioned but much of your time would be taken up on traveling..it can make your holiday very tiring so the reason why i suggested the above schedule...

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Re: Help with accommodation in Andalucia

Postby Smyly » Sun Aug 12, 2018 8:34 pm

I am overwhelmed by all your interesting replies. Thank you. Latest idea is to stay in Antequera where we think we can get trains to some of the places we want to see. Four of us will be happy not seeing everything this time as we are from the Uk and can return again when ever we want. Two are coming from Canada, they are the ones with the longest wish list. I have shared your replies with them and now they are thinking about adding a few days to each end of the trip. I will of course let you know our final plans. In the mean time any more comments would be appreciated.

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Re: Help with accommodation in Andalucia

Postby chrissiehope » Sun Aug 12, 2018 10:34 pm

Antequera is a good central area, but be aware that the station is a good taxi ride away (tho' there may be buses now) ;-)
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Re: Help with accommodation in Andalucia

Postby Gasman » Tue Aug 14, 2018 8:29 pm

I like Pamela's plan a lot.
If you decide on Antequera, you should be able to take the local buses to Sevilla, Cordoba, Ronda, Cadiz, and even Granada - but you are still stuck with the problem that a lot of your sightseeing time would be "wasted" in to-ing and fro-ing. :crazy: The buses are really cheap, and often have more convenient schedules and may run much longer into the evening than the trains.
Try this site to give you an idea - and they give prices for OAPs - they are regional rather than local ...
https://www.alsa.com/en/web/bus/our-des ... /andalusia
and here is a quote from the more information bit:
<Our regional services in Andalusia
ALSA operates an extensive network of buses and coaches throughout the Andalusian region via our affiliate Alsina Graells Sur.
A Large Fleet
With Granada as a base, ALSA provides links between the eight provinces of Andalusia and the city of Murcia. Our large fleet of around 250 vehicles operates services between all major cities of the region (Seville, Málaga, Cordova, Almería, Jaén and Granada), with stops in more than 50 towns en route.>

As an incidental, when is Easter next year? Sorry to put a damper on things but trying to see the Semana Santa in any of the big cities is a nightmare, and particularly the most famous one, Sevilla. Any other sightseeing of the big tourist venues, cathedrals castles, historic quarters, will also be over-run with tourists. Bear that in mind when you plan.

You have plenty of time to get the plan in order - I wish you and your Canadian friends a lovely trip :thumbup:
And do let us know if we can help with anything!

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Re: Help with accommodation in Andalucia

Postby Pamela1 » Tue Aug 14, 2018 10:33 pm

Thank you Gasman... It is the route i'd have taken because it means moving forward from one city to another without the to-ing and fro-ing which Gasman explained. I guess if you really wish to have a base then Antequera would be a good choice, it's not far from Granada or Malaga and it is on the road to Cordoba and Seville, please bear in mind that there is so much to take in and see in each of the cities and if they are each being visited just on a one day only basis then you will come away a little disappointed with that feeling of wishing you had more time to see more..Take Seville for example...by the time you get to Seville, perhaps have coffee then walk on to the cathedral, queue, time inside cathedral followed by a late lunch...not much time left for anything else..a real shame because there is so much to see and take in...back on the road to Antequera.
I don't think your Canadian friends would need to add a few days on to the holiday at the beginning, 3 days in Barca should be enough, however adding them to the end of the sightseeing trip would be an excellent idea, they might just enjoy the rest!...
I hope in the end your plans come together and you all have the best of a great holiday experience, keep us posted. :) :wave:


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