- Day 1: New York (JFK) to Madrid on MaxJet
- Day 2: MadridVilla Real Hotel (Small Luxury Hotels, Derby Hotels)Link to my review on TripAdvisor http://tinyurl.com/38wlgo
- Day 3: Madrid to ToledoVilla Real Hotel
- Day 4: Madrid to SegoviaVilla Real Hotel
- Day 5: MadridVilla Real Hotel
- Day 6: Madrid to Cordoba to Seville
Link to my review on TripAdvisor http://tinyurl.com/32xsrc
- Day 7: Seville to Algeciras
Tips:**Request an Executive Room/Suite on the seventh floor (has a separate living room, two televisions, LARGE terrace.****The mini-bar is included with the room rate (refilled daily).****Book a room using e-mail. The rates were signficantly less than using the website. That seemed to be the only way to reserve the suite.**La Posada de Millan Restaurant
- Day 8: Algeciras to TangierAC Algeciras HotelLink to my review on TripAdvisor http://tinyurl.com/y6s45k
- Day 9: Algeciras to GibraltarAC Algeciras Hotel
- Day 10: Algeciras to GranadaParador de San Franciscowww.paradores-spain.com/spain/pgranada.htmlLink to my review on TripAdvisor http://tinyurl.com/38z227
- Day 11: Granada to London Stansted (STN)
Link to my review on TripAdvisor http://tinyurl.com/2pynqr
- Day 12: Stansted to United States (JFK) on MaxJet
Reviews
Link to My Review of Meson La Posada de Millian (August 2006)
Link to My Review of AC Algeciras Hotel Restaurant (August 2006)
Link to My Review of Parador de Granada Hotel Restaurant (August 2006)
Link to My Review of Hotel Urban (August 2006)
Link to My Review of San Fernando Restaurant at the Hotel Alfonso XIII (August 2006)
We just did a stopover in
Cordoba en route from Madrid to Seville. There were many sizes of lockers in
the train station, just ask a guard to open the ropes surrounding them (must be
a security precaution). Have your euros ready, and you will receive a code to
open your locker when you return. We had a medium-sized one, which fit two
rolling duffels (I think they are 28" each).
Two hours is plenty of time
to see La Mezquita; add another hour to walk the windy cobblestone streets and
have lunch. Something that we didn't plan on, though, was that there would be a
funeral at La Mezquita on the day of our visit. We arrived right at opening
time, but found that admittance would be delayed for 2 hours due to the
funeral. It didn't take that long, though, which leads me to believe that they
overestimated. They were, however, letting people in early that day, before the
opening time (I think the set opening was 10:00, and they allowed people entry
from 8:30 to 10:00--I think it was even free). No way to know this in advance,
but I just thought I would pass it along.
I can't put a price on the
8:30 am entry to the Nazrid Palace. We just visited last Saturday. We were able
to pick up our tickets the evening prior, just before the 8:00 pm closing time
for the ticket window). Since we were staying at the Parador, we wandered over
to the entry gate at about 8:20, and they let us inside! Other than one other
couple, we had the place to ourselves for about 20 minutes! We made a quick
pass-through, taking photos of each room/area since no one else was present,
then we went back to the beginning and took a more leisurely approaching,
reading our guidebook and gazing in awe. Just 30 minutes after our arrival
time, the place was mobbed, with people talking loudly. The spell was broken
and the magic gone.
IF
YOU CAN DO ANYTHING AT ALL TO CHANGE YOUR VISIT TO THE NEXT DAY AT 8:30 am, DO
IT!! We completed our entire visit of the Alcazaba and the Generalife by about
1:30 pm, and that included going back to the Parador for an hour's rest and to
check out, and stopping for drinks/snacks at that little "hut" just
outside the Alcazaba. So I definitely think you can continue with your
transportation in the late afternoon after your morning visit. We visited the
Albaiczin (?sp) area the afternoon prior to our Alhambra visit (using the
mini-buses--highly recommend), which you could do too, so that you can leave
Granada right after the Alhambra. There are excellent restroom facilities on
the grounds outside the Nazrid Palace and Alcazaba; unfortunately, there aren't
any other public facilities in the more historic area (even the TI couldn't
help).
Don't cut your daytrips to Cordoba, Seville, and Toledo. You can do it all in 9 days. I just returned from a 10-day trip quite similar to yours, except we switched your Barcelona days for 3 days in Algeciras so that we could visit Gibraltar and Tangier, Morocco. While it was an ambitious itinerary, we still had plenty of time to rest and relax in the outdoor cafes.
Don't skip Granada--our visit to the Alhambra was the highlight of our trip. The Alcazar in Seville and the Mezquita in Cordoba were great, but nothing compares to the Alhambra and the Generalife. The Segovia aqueduct and alcazar and the Toledo Cathedral are also really worth seeing.
We tried to take Nautus,
but the ferry was cancelled that day. Since we had prepaid (would recommend NOT
doing that and NOT making a reservation at all), Nautus put us on the Comarit
slow ferry which took forever (on the way over). On the return, again Nautus
was cancelled, putting us on IMTC, which was even slower! It seemed that many
ferries were cancelled that day, and the terminal in Tangier was chaos. Please,
please, please, if the FAST ferry is cancelled on the day you are planning to
go, reschedule your trip. Fortunately, we really enjoyed our brief time in
Tangier, or the day would have been a total disaster. We would have been better
off taking a bus or taxi to Tarifa and then taking the FRS high-speed catamaran
from there. They seemed to run like clockwork.
Traveling from Algeciras to Grenada by bus
Don't cut your daytrips to Cordoba, Seville, and Toledo. You can do it all in 9 days. I just returned from a 10-day trip quite similar to yours, except we switched your Barcelona days for 3 days in Algeciras so that we could visit Gibraltar and Tangier, Morocco. While it was an ambitious itinerary, we still had plenty of time to rest and relax in the outdoor cafes.
Don't skip Granada--our visit to the Alhambra was the highlight of our trip. The Alcazar in Seville and the Mezquita in Cordoba were great, but nothing compares to the Alhambra and the Generalife. The Segovia aqueduct and alcazar and the Toledo Cathedral are also really worth seeing.
If you are going by boat,
be sure to book the FAST ferry from Tarifa or Algeciras (I think the company
you want is FRS). I think that I posted back in August about getting stuck on
the SLOW ferry, and what a mistake it was! We enjoyed our day trip to Tangier,
Morocco, and saw enough to know that someday, we would like to return for a
more extensive tour through the country.
I really enjoyed the day
trips from Madrid to Segovia and Toledo. As for Madrid itself, a nice city but
definitely more modern than the other two I mentioned. No need to waste time at
the El Rastro flea market--it's similar to those I've seen elsewhere in the US
and Europe and just didn't impress me. I did like my visit to the Palacio
Real--if you arrive at opening time, you have the place to yourself (we even
encountered a fantastic guard inside who spoke perfect English and knew all
about US basketball, even telling jokes and using appropriate
slang/jargon--that was a treat!). We also visited the Reina Sofia and Prado
museums just to see the highlights; again, not hugely impressed (but I know I'm
in the minority! My favorite museum anywhere in the world is the Metropolitan
Museum of Art in New York and the d'Orsay and Marmottan in Paris). I wish we had
spent some time in Retiro Park--I think that would have added to our enjoyment
of Madrid. Plenty of sidewalk cafes for eating or just having drinks. Excellent
transportation system, too--no problem using the trains or buses (didn't try
the metro).
