Suggestions for Malaga & Valencia

[Leejnd4]

Hi,

 

We're going to be visiting 3 ports in Spain on my cruise in May - Malaga, Valencia & Barcelona. We're pretty comfortable with what we are going to be doing in Barcelona, but we're still investigating Malaga and Valencia. I would love to get some input on what we should try to see in/around those two cities. Any must-sees? Any places we should make a point of avoiding?

 

According to the cruise itinerary, we'll have a full day in Malaga (8 am to 6 pm), but only several hours in Valencia (2 pm to 8 pm). Given those time constraints, any suggestions?

 

(Bruin Steve, I would especially value your opinion, oh master of European travel!) :)

 

LeeAnne

[belgiancruiser]

You could try to visit Granada, some hours away, with the moorish-style Alhambra, which is one of the most beautiful sights I have ever seen anywhere in Europe.

The royal palace of the last arab rulers of Spain, later used and rebuilt a little by the the spanish kings.

Apart from the wonderful Almujedar apartments and pations (the famous Lions' Court) there are also some very sumptuous gardens.

Otherwise the old centre of Granada is a pretty town, with a cathedral, an old caravanserail, an old jewish quarter with great views of the alhambra, and caves where gypsies perform flamenco music.

It is surely not to be missed.

If you do it on your own, or if you book an excursion, take great care of the tickets : the number of visitors to the Alhambra is limited to 8000 daily. You can buy your tickets through the internet. If you haven't tickets, chances are you are not allowed in : it is very heartwringing to see a large waiting line before the ticket boost, while there are announcements with the rapidly diminishing number of tickets...

 

Malaga is certainly the port of Granada

 

Hope this can help.

 

J

[Joanandjoe]

While nearly half the people (145 of 300) on our Windstar cruise last month spent 10 hours going to and from Granada, we took a short "Tapas in Malaga" tour (with 12 other people) which was wonderful: great views of the city from the castle, then lots of good walking (downhill) and three restaurants with a drink and tapas at each restaurant. Great fun, if a bit boozy. Then we enjoyed the city of Malaga: great parks, terrific old town, beautiful cathedral. We could have take a horse drawn carriage, and still have saved some money compared to the Granada tour. Money, however, was not the point: relaxation was. We had an interesting day, and ended they day refreshed and relaxed; while the Granada tour people, who generally loved their tour, were nonetheless exhausted.

[Aussie Gal]

Whilst in Malaga, why not take a trip to Rondo which is a beautiful town about 40 minutes or so from Malaga. It is where the first bull ring was built and it has quite a lot of history as the Romans were there at one time. We spent a very pleasant morning there in 2000.

 

Valencia is another interesting city which I loved. We enjoyed just walking around the town and looking at the shops. We arrived there around 3pm one afternoon and even though we are very much against the Bullfighting we were thrilled to see the Matadors arriving at the bull ring in all their finerary as we passed by. By the way each evening in the season the TV stations throughout Spain shows the sport at 6pm on the dot.

 

Jennie

[Leejnd4]

Hmmm, while Granada sounds wonderful, I'm not sure I'm going to be up for a 10-hour tour. If Malaga itself is worth seeing, I'd probably prefer that. The "Tapas in Malaga" tour sounds good to me...hey, I'll go for anything "boozy"! ;) I'll check into Rondo as well, as that seems reasonably close and easier to get to than Granada. While I would love to see Granada, I'd rather not spend so much time in transport. I'll have to save that for my next visit!

 

LeeAnne

[AltaJoe]

Hmmm, while Granada sounds wonderful, I'm not sure I'm going to be up for a 10-hour tour. If Malaga itself is worth seeing, I'd probably prefer that. The "Tapas in Malaga" tour sounds good to me...hey, I'll go for anything "boozy"! ;) I'll check into Rondo as well, as that seems reasonably close and easier to get to than Granada. While I would love to see Granada, I'd rather not spend so much time in transport. I'll have to save that for my next visit!

 

LeeAnne

 

My guess is that the trip to Ronda (yes it ends in an a) is about the same distance as Granada. Both places are worth seeing, but if I had to choose one, I'd go to the Alhambra. If you aren't up to the trip, then by all means do the Tapas tour. Make sure you top it off with "Vin De Malaga", their famous desert wine.

[Aussie Gal]

I am sure that Ronda (sorry for the mis-spelling) is a lot closer to Malaga than is Granada. I know we left Granada early in the morning and didn't get to Malaga or that area until around 2pm, whereas we were only travelling for about an hour when we left Malaga and arrived in Ronda.

 

Anyhow check it out on a map. I loved Granada and the Allambra Palace, though we were very unlucky the day we visited the Palace as it was pouring with rain and quite miserable whereas we had a beautiful sunny day in Ronda. Weather can make such a difference to sightseeing.

 

 

Jennie.

[Leejnd4]

I guess I'm going to have to do some research -- I'd hate to miss something that's as much of a must-see as Granada seems to be. I just don't want to spend so much time in transit. I'll do some more reading about Granada and Alhambra and try to make a decision.

 

Thanks for all the input!

 

LeeAnne

[pinebro]

Granada And The Alhambra Should Not Be Missed !!

Yes, It Is A Long Day........but You Will Be Glad You Went !!

[vjblk]

My sister and I were on HAL's Rotterdam a few years ago. Our port was Almeria which I don't think is too far from Malaga. It was a long bus trip to Granada. Our ship had a Granada on your own that just provided transportation. We walked up to the Alhambra but it was so crowded and lines were long so we didn't get into any of the buildings but we did stroll around the grounds. After that we had time to walk around Granada and went into a beautiful cathedral. It was the burial place of the Queen Isabella and the King. Then we just did some shopping. I can't remember exactly how long the trip was but I think it was like a 2-3 hour ride both ways. The town was pretty though and you could see the Alhambra from the town.

[JBrid23456]

I was in Malaga during the 70s and simply lay on the beach. I was a bit surprised that there was not a beach excursion in this port.

[Leejnd4]

Well, since this thread has been resurrected from obscurity, I'll report my Malaga experience. We got back from our cruise about a week ago. As recommended by many, we went ahead and did the Granada/Alhambra excursion, which was quite remarkable and definitely a must-see, although I'm still debating with myself if it was worth giving up my whole day for. The drive was definitely long! I will say this - if you wish to see the Alhambra, it really is best to do it with the ship's excursion, even though I normally recommend doing ports on one's own. I have a full review of all of my ports that I'm still typing up, which I will hopefully be ready to post in a few days.

 

LeeAnne

[Brahmama]

Well, since this thread has been resurrected from obscurity, I'll report my Malaga experience. We got back from our cruise about a week ago. As recommended by many, we went ahead and did the Granada/Alhambra excursion, which was quite remarkable and definitely a must-see, although I'm still debating with myself if it was worth giving up my whole day for. The drive was definitely long! I will say this - if you wish to see the Alhambra, it really is best to do it with the ship's excursion, even though I normally recommend doing ports on one's own. I have a full review of all of my ports that I'm still typing up, which I will hopefully be ready to post in a few days.

 

LeeAnne

 

Hi LeeAnne,

 

I am bringing this back up - hoping you will see it.

 

I never could find your port review. Did you post it somewhere else?

 

We are going to be in two of your ports on an upcoming Trans. We will be in Malaga for 10 hours and then the Canary Islands. Both are new ports to me.

 

Of course I am yearning to see the Alhambra, but always hate the long and expensive ship tours - and the wasted time - having a big lunch, waiting, waiting, you know the drill. But I haven't found any private guides and I guess you didn't either.

 

But I'd love to read your review of both these ports if you can steer me to it!

 

Thanks,

 

Carol

[Wendy The Wanderer]

I'm also interested in the review. Will be in Malaga next June. Our excursion listings state that Granada is 80 miles away via an expressway, and Ronda is 70 miles via the coast road (not an expressway.)

 

The alternatives are staying in Malaga and doing: a city tour, an tour specializing in Picasso's legacy. There's also a trip to Marbella, down the coast, which is very pretty, although I'm sure very glitzy, since it is a jetsetter resort now.

 

I've been to the Alhambra, before there were hoards of tourists there. It is lovely, and should not be missed, unless (possibly), you have been to Istanbul recently, and had your fill of "moorish" palaces. My husband hasn't been, so we will probably go to Granada, but we'll see.

[Brahmama]

I guess she's on another cruise - or away from the boards right now.

 

Wendy, have you found any info anywhere else?

[laughoutloud]

Her review is posted over at Luxury Cruise Talk - Port information - show topics from last 100 days.

 

Happy sailing!