19 days in Costa Del Sol, Spain

Kez & John, Hope you found your way here! Look forward to hearing your questions and giving you a hand, if I can. "No worries"...

Fantastic to read....thank you so much. We will be staying further east up the coast at Santa Pola, we're house swapping with a Welsh couple who have a home there. Really excited! We just wanted to hear from someone who'd done the day trip over to Tangiers & whether it was worth it & you see enough....we'll probably need to spend the night in Algeciras or Tarifa then head off from there. We have the use of a car while we're in Spain, so travelling around isn't a problem.....finding parking will probably be though do you think? Is there ample parking at Alhambra? What about Ronda, is parking a problem? We should be able to book a trip when we get there shouldn't we? It's towards the end of the tourist season now so it should be quieter.

Kez, first off, the trip we took was fantastic because we didn't have to do anything ourselves and the tour was everything a tourist wants-all fun and no hassles. Getting through customs was simple for us because they collected up out passports and took care of everything. Going on your own would be different, but I don't think it would be any problem for you. The other thing is that they "protect" their group from thieves-and there are many. The peddlers are another story-they and the beggers want your money and they will pester you and they know who you are and where you will be, as tourists. Not trying to scare you, but warn you to be very careful there. I have to add, that the people are very happy and most speak in English. Everyone wants tourism and our money so they are very nice and glad to see you in their country. But like most places there are some bad apples in the bunch. Getting around with the tour was also simple, on your own you will have to figure out where you're going. Remember, the tour has a set route and timetable and it works to perfection. We saw plenty and did plenty in a full day of activities-but it was all escorted and the local guide was full of good information on everything there. We even got to taste fresh bread right out of the oven while walking through the streets.

I understand your concerns about parking, but we never had any problem. It's like anywhere, you just drive around until you find a place. They may have parking lots for folks taking the ferry because they have to expect a certain number of people to be doing that. You might want to ask on Yahoo answers-they will give you a quick reply to specifc questions like where to leave the car in Tarifa and Alhambra. In Ronda, we just parked on the street anywhere there was a space but we never had any problems parking the car on our rides.

You can certainly wait to book over there, but do it first thing because the trips only go on certain days and after the season they might be even less often. We went on a Thursday because it only went one or two days a week so they can be sure to fill up the bus. We considered staying over night to go to Casablanca, but after what we heard about going there we changed our mind. It's not too far away, but everyone said it was a craphole and not worth it, and we worried about being there on our own in a strange place. Just not worth the risk if you know what I mean. For us, going to Morocco for the first time, going with a tour was best. Like I said, no worries, protection, and good information from the guide and we didn't have to worry about getting around or where to find things. It was all done for us and the price was way reasonable, too. So consider all of this, ask a bunch more questions while you have time to do more research and then decide what's best for you. Then--ENJOY YOUR ADVENTURE!! Best of luck and let me know if I can help further.

Heya! Thanks for the interesting summary and photos. I am an American living in Spain permanently, and I have some friends flying over in October. We'll be staying in Fuengirola, and I just wanted to know if you had to choose between a day trip to Granada or to Seville, which would you choose? And, more importantly, can you actually provide me with the names of the rour operators yor hired? There are so man to choose from, and it would be nice to have a lead to go on. Thanks a mil.

Hi Courtehigh, I think I would choose Granada over Seville. Granada seems to have more of a romantic feel for some reason and of course it has Alhambra, which is a great tourist attraction. Both cities are very nice to visit, but if I had to choose, it would be Granada. The tour we used was called Viajes Verano Azul. It was on the bus and our name tags, but we booked the tour from a travel agency office in our complex in Algarrobo. Hope that helps!

Hello,

I really love your trip. I am thinking about taking it during my winter break from school. But, I would like to know, did you have to take shots to visit Tangier and Granada? Also, how did you find your bus and ferry tours? Were they expensive?

Thank you

Desiree

Hi!

My friend and I have decided to follow your trip. How much did it cost to go from ome area of Spain to another and did you fly? Also, did you need to get any special vacinations?

Thanks for your interest and kind words. We needed NO shots whatsoever on our trip, even into Africa. These are all common trips for vacation travelers and they do a great job taking care of your needs. None of this was expensive either, in fact, I found most of it to be very reasonable. The distances are not far and we did everything by driving, either a rental car or tour bus and no trip was over 2 hours ride. The bus tours only ran about €60-€80 each adult, Tangier more, Granada less and includes everything (no meals in Granada, but Alhambra is included). The tour to Morocco included the Ferry as well and lunch with belly-dancing. We only had to pay €1 to ride the camel and pay for gifts. The travel cost is only gas if you drive a rental and every trip was done in a day--we slept in Algarrobo every night and the only really long day was to go to Morocco: 2 hour bus ride to Tarifa, 45 minutes ferry to Tangier, and the rest of the day touring with the group via the tour bus. Same times going back and from Algarrobo we left at 6:30 AM and got back at 10 PM. The tour bus made a few stops along the way to pick up other travelers up to Marbella and then dropped them back off on the return trip. So we were about the farthest away on that trip and it was OK. In the complex there was a Travel Agency store and we booked all of our trips there and it was very easy and all were set tours thay run several days each week. You just pick the day available that you want to go and pay. Then show up at the bus stop!! Very easy and very affordable. If you want more flexability, you can rent a car and go on your own, but then you have to pay everything yourself and make all the arrangements and find your way etc. The bus tours were easy and relaxing and the local tour guide gives your all the information you would miss on your own. Hopw this helped!! Enjoy your trip and let us know how it went!! Bon voyage!

Hello and thanks for sharing your trip. I am retired USAF and as such can travel space available on military aircraft. With the Rota Naval Base being an enroute stop for military cargo planes entering the middle east I flew on a C5B aircraft out of Dover, De USA. This large cargo aircraft has 73 available troop seats (airline style) in the upper compartment above the large cargo floor. There were 73 pax as the previous days flight was cancelled.

I visited Rota, Cadiz, Puerto Sta Maria, and Seville during my 7 day stay in Spain. I also stayed on the base in the visiting quarters which were only $35 a night. Everywhere I went I was amazed at how beautiful and laid back this place is!

I also had the enjoyment of playing 2 rounds of golf at the Rota Naval base golf club in addition to some live entertainment on the base. Oh, I had the pleasure of mingling with some local Spanish native people and shared some seafood tapas, including some snails in olive oil (caracol?) which were unbelievable.

On the return trip I caught a stateside bound C5 carrying 7 helicopters from Kosovo going to Pope AFB, North Carolina and continuing on to Dover. There were only 12 passengers this time. The total trip cost including airfare, bus travel, hotel accomodations and food, bus, and beverage expenses for a whole week was less than $400.00.

The next time I will take my wife as this was really just a fact finding mission.

Adios amigo!