Spain is one of the countries I tend to visit again and again. I am drawn towards its rich history, world-famous monuments, enchanting palaces, famous cuisine, passionate folk music and of course, its people! The Spaniards are passionate, both fun-loving and laid back. All these characteristics factor in when choosing my ideal travel destination.
My sister and I recently returned from a 5-day trip of Andalucia. This region of Spain is situated in the southern coast and is widely known for its beaches, breathtaking moorish architecture, the Alhambra and the birthplace of the Flamenco.
From Phoenix we connected through London Heathrow (LHR) and flew in to Malaga (AGP). Several major U.S. airlines offer non-stop flights to Madrid (MAD). If this is your first time in Spain, you may want to stay a day or two in Madrid to explore and break up your travel. When you’re ready, you can either take the fast AVE (Alta Velocidad Española) train from Atocha station or fly to Malaga which will get you there in 1 hour and 25 minutes. For this trip our focus was Andalucia. We rented an Airbnb flat with breathtaking 180- degree views of the Mediterranean Sea. We also picked up a car rental giving us the freedom to go wherever and whenever we want. Renting a car in Malaga is pretty easy. Some of the major car rental brands we know in the U.S. have counters at the airport terminal in Malaga like Avis, Thrifty, Hertz, Budget, and Sixt. If you can drive a manual transmission you will have no problem with car availability. But if you’re like us who only drive automatic, there are limited choices so I suggest making a reservation before you go. We did, and had no issues. We also came prepared having an international driver’s license. You can get this from your local AAA office for a fee of $20. Be sure to bring two original passport pictures with your application.
We chose Malaga as our base. From here, it was an easy day trip to Cordoba, Granada and we even visited Gibraltar. We spent 5 days and 6 nights in this region, which was hardly enough time to scratch the surface. I will definitely go back for sure! If you have more time, you can expand your trip by visiting neighboring towns of Marbella, Nerja, Ronda and Seville. Seville is doable from Malaga but instead of driving I would suggest taking the train. Seville is more than a two-hour drive and parking can become a challenge.
To find out more check out my posts on Malaga, Cordoba and Granada. Coming Soon!
I’m not on FB a lot but definitely looking forward to reading your blog. Thanks for the invite!
Thanks for your support, Alice. I appreciate it very much. I’m slowly adding content so keep checking.