Have I already been to Andalusia yes, did I go again, also yes, will I need to visit it at least one more time because I still want to see Cadiz and Huelva? Also yes. Winter is great, but it is greater when you can escape it shortly and have a week of blue skies. As we are already experienced Andalusian trippers, we know that doing Andalusia by bus is possible, but for the agenda that we have road trip is more suitable, because we wanted to combine work and travel and many spots. Rent a car was the only possible answer for us, and especially because it let us see the sight below in our first 5 minutes after landing at the Malaga airport.
DAY 1-2 – GRANADA
Before driving off to Granada, we started the day at Chiringuito Mari Gutiérrez in Guadalmar right next to the airport. It was a great spot, apart from being the only one in this area. Mix of locals, expats and tourists, tasty bocadillos and sea view. Then we continued to Nerja because it was my wish since our first visit of this part of Spain. Wow the winds in Nerja were something else, I don’t know if this is the case through out the year but it was too much for me. We only stayed for a short while having coffee ant the Nybakat Bakery which serves Swedish pastries. The way to Granada was windy and this journey along the coast took us around one hour. Then we continued to Granada and after finishing the working day went around the Albaicin area, which is known as the arab area of the city. We tried all the possible dishes at Los Manueles, and strolled around the city admiring its beauty, Best thing of all the sun was setting after 7PM.
The next day I learned one of the most important lessons, which made Granada my favourite city of the whole trip, In Granada you get free tapa with every drink, and sometimes you can even choose what. So lesson learned we did bar hopping or should I say tapas hopping and each tapa was better than the previous one. I think we did Granada the right way.
What we unfortunately didn’t do right was not booking tickets for the Alhambra early enough, so that is why I need one more visit to this city. Tickets were booked out for almost 3 weeks in advance, and this is low season – February, so don’t be like me. We saw the Alhambra from the St Nicholas viewpoint, which was the only place in town that suggested tourists are here, otherwise everywhere else was pretty chilled.
Our flat in Granada was great even for more than 2 people. Highly recommending it.
Hostel: Apartamento Nazaríes Centro, By DaiMar
Recommendation: Nice, clean, central and spacious it can fit 5-6 peole
Breakfast included: NO
Price: $
DAY 3 – JAEN – CORDOBA
Cordoba is around 2hours drive from Granada, and then I saw on the map that driving through Jaen is just 15 minutes longer, so we decided to check it out. On a Saturday morning before 1pm it seemed like almost ghost town, except on the market. Once everything opened it was another vibe. Locals were sipping drinks on the squares. The only attraction was the Cathedral, and otherwise Jaen is the Olive Capital of the World. No wonder that all along the road, there were olive trees as far as your eyes can see.
We didn’t spend more than one hour in Jaen and continued towards Cordoba. Parking was a bit hustle so we went the extra mile and decided to park in a residential area, rather than in the area across the Puente Romano bridge, as very suspicious people were offering to take care of the car.
Once we reached the city walls, the impression of the city improved, the streets were amazing, the details of the Mezquita as well, and all the tiny streets were bustling of light, flowers and good atmosphere. At lunch time we sat at Bodega Mezquita and again we were amazed by the food. My expectations from Spanish cuisine were not very high before coming to Andalusia.
After Granada they got on a higher level, Then we walked a lot, towards, the Plaza Corredera, the Templo Romano and all the way to Palacio de Viana, which took my breath away. And then we thought to explore a bit beyond the city walls and took the round up to the Teletubbies Park, but nothing much was going on here. The party was more central. On the way back we let the intuition take us along the Cordoban maze, we figured out very cool restaurants with live music and dancing locals.
The one not so cool thing about Cordoba is that accommodation was on the pricy side, so we didnt want to give out so much for one nught sleeping and we were flexible enough to book an out of the city hotel, which was on the way to Sevilla, and it was a hit. This let us explore the rural side of the area and get a glimpse of the life of locals.
Hostel: Hotel Santa Ana
Recommendation: Hotel as it should be, with all the standards from the 90s. Clean, spacious.
Breakfast included: NO
Price: $
DAY 4-7 – SEVILLE
Having traveled the past almost for years including workation we learned important lessons of dos and don’ts. Like don’t switch hotel in a working day as a prime. And if you are working try to spend more days in once place, for us that place was Sevilla. There were far more accommodation options then in Cordoba and also better priced. Our area was Triana, and having strolled around the city for 5 days I would again choose to stay there. Even though the whole city was not overcrowded by tourists, because of low season, this area was most lively of all that we saw, and after all the days, the guy at the coffee shop already knew our order.
Hostel: Suites Triana Sevilla Apartments
Recommendation: Best location, good wifi, lack of natural light, amazing interior
Breakfast included: NO
Price: $$
Once you cross the bridge from Triana, you land at the old town area, where the largest gothic cathedral in the world is situated, then Plaza Espana, and the Mushrooms of Sevilla, as top 3 attractions. On our day one we strolled around Macarena and San Gil in the morning and to the main tourist spots in the evening, the next day we visited the Regina area and the oldest restaurant in Sevilla El Rinconcillo (along many others on the way).
For the last day we left the Jewish Quarter and the typical central shopping area, got introduced for the first time to many Spanish brands, and the significant other scored 5V shoes, brand that produced shoes for Kate Middleton. What a fact.
DAY 8 – SETENIL DE LAS BODEGAS – RONDA
Our last day was actually a day off, and the agenda was so tight that luckily one of the spots we wanted to visit, had their tickets sold out, so we didn’t have to rush. Our plan was Caminito del Rey (for which tickets were sold out and if you want to go consider buying tickets at least one week in advance in winter, and probably two or more weeks in summer).
But then we ended up with visiting “only” Setenil de las Bodegas, the town built in rocks, and Ronda, the very touristy town famous for its more than 750 metres bridge that connects the old and the new part of the city. both were amazing.
DAY 9 & onwards – BEACH & MALAGA
We ended our trip on the same place where we started at a beach very close to the airport, this time in Torremolinos at La Palapa Beach Jazba. The prices here were suggesting that the area is more touristy and popular but we anyways had great time, Then we just wanted to visit the nearest Mercadona, but ended up at the Plaza Mayor Shopping Centre, and couldn’t believe the amount of people that we are seeing there. I guess there is the main party zone when the weather is not great.
We had an early flight and chose to stay as close to the airport as possible, this hotel was serving the purpose. Left ultra happy that we escaped the winter for a moment and tried amazing Spanish food. Story about it will follow.
Hostel: Campanile Malaga Airport
Recommendation: Typical airport hotel, parking included in price
Breakfast included: NO
Price: $
But when there will be a next time we will aim on Huelva and Cadiz in order to round up the area.
CONCRETE COLLAGE 