Looking for holiday & looks like Marbella - what's it like?

deva

We're off to Nerja (again) our favourite of the resorts from Malaga at this time of year. Although with your requirements I would consider Malaga itself

crazycatlady1984

Thanks all! Have taken your advice and just booked a lovely wee place near Fuengirola


Looks great and we are very excited now, especially as I read something about being able to do a day trip to Morocco! Will defo need to check that out! xx

crazycatlady1984

loveabargain13 wrote: »

How about Benalmadena/ Torremelinos? You can jump on the train from Malaga, lovely clean train and cheap journey. Marbella is quite a way from the airport and Puerto Banus which I love the Melia Puerto Banus but the beaches are naff and the locations not that great. Yes the port is glitzy but it's just full of show offs...

Thanks loveabargain. Yeah, glitz and show-offs aren't really our thing. We just like to relax, wander about, see a bit of local culture etc rather than a load of flashy celebs. I love a bit of historical sight-seeing so going to see about day trips to Granada etc x

Doshwaster

crazycatlady1984 wrote: »

Thanks loveabargain. Yeah, glitz and show-offs aren't really our thing. We just like to relax, wander about, see a bit of local culture etc rather than a load of flashy celebs. I love a bit of historical sight-seeing so going to see about day trips to Granada etc x

There isn't much history or local culture in Fuengirola but if you go a few streets back from the promenade there are at least some proper Spanish bars and restaurants so you can escape from the "lager and all day breakfast" type places (not that there's anything wrong with an occasional pint & fry up on holiday!).

Malaga itself is well worth a daytrip and is easy to get to on the train and it is easy to get to the other resorts to see if anything there takes your fancy. Granada is a bit of a trek for a day trip but do-able as long as you don't mind an early start.

sajjed

you can always do a day trip to Gibraltar for a different day out, plenty of history there apart from the monkeys! there are world war tunnels to visit on the rock

crazycatlady1984

Hi all!


Thanks again for all the advice; feeling a lot more excited about the trip now than I was about the prospect of TOWIE in the sun (Marbella)


Think I have got a wee itinerary planned out, although a little guide book I ordered has just arrived today so might change...


We arrive Thursday, will get to hotel about noon, and have Thurs, Fri, Sat & Sun, flying back Monday morning.


Have hired a car and we are thinking 2 day trips out in the car - one day Granada to see the Alhambra etc, and one day Gibraltar to see all the sights


The other two days we will mooch about Mijas, Fuengirola, Torremilinos etc......might take a wee wander to Marbella just to see what its like and see if can spot any celebs x

richardw

There's a frequent coach service to Granada from Malaga and many excursions down to Gibralter, it's quite easy to do without a car.

loskie

Was in Malaga two weeks ago for 4 nts well worth a visit in itself. spent two days in Seville and a day trip to Ronda too.
Train travel is good and access to from the airport brilliant.

Tuesday_Tenor

crazycatlady1984 wrote: »

Hi all!

We arrive Thursday, will get to hotel about noon, and have Thurs, Fri, Sat & Sun, flying back Monday morning.

Have hired a car and we are thinking 2 day trips out in the car - one day Granada to see the Alhambra etc, and one day Gibraltar to see all the sights x

Personally I wouldn't do Granada as a day trip.

1) The Alhambra gets so crowded that you now need to book a timed ticket in advance. I can't believe they will have any tickets left for the Easter period. At least check this out on their website before you set off.

2) Granada and the Alhambra ARE wonderful. But they really need at least 2 full days to see the palace, gardens, cathedral and old town. Even better if you can spend more time slowly loitering ... There seems to be a lot of relatively cheap accommodation in the town; I suspect that because it has been a travellers focus for centuries there are a LOT of old hotels with small rooms that can't easily be modernised. So I would seriously consider making this a separate holiday in future. Perhaps 3 days in Grenada and 4 days on the coast somewhere?

I was lucky enough to first visit Granada 30 years ago when you could still buy a 2-day ticket to the palace and gardens, so really enjoy it at a leisurely pace: hanging around to let the guided tours pass and have a space to yourself for 10 minutes, then picnicking, resting and reading in the gardens .... Bliss, but I think quite hard to do now!

I also did a day trip from Nerja about 10 years ago. Wouldn't do this again: too much travelling, visiting at most crowded time, too rushed, only saw a fraction of the wonderful things I know are there ... Hence been looking at accommodation recently on booking.com, thinking my next trip to Spain will include at least 3 days there.

Enjoy, but on another occasion!