City breaks in the area.

Hi all.

I'm over again mid-April,and fancy maybe staying one or two nights somewhere in the general area..

I was thinking either drive somewhere, or maybe park up at Alhama station and train somewere via Murcia(might be easier to organise)..

Have any of you any tips or advice from having done the same type of thing??

Might be a helpful thread to start?

Ta,John

Granada is under 3 hours away and a great place to spend a few days including the Alhambra Palace (Spains No 1 Tourist attraction - Must buy tickets in advance) Plenty of hotels and things to do.Travel by car.

Ronda is also drivable and worth a day or two or do Ronda and Nerja over two days.

Alhama Station is on a branch line and you can go south to Totana, Lorca and Aquilas. or North to Murcia.

Murcia is a main Station ( when you stand on platform you would not believe it?) from here you can Train to Madrid 4 hrs or Alicante, Barcelona, Benidorm or Cartegena.

Dont know about easter but generally Spanish hotels are cheaper than UK

Hi Sonatigh can you get train from alhama to Granada

We flew into Valencia which is a beautiful city, well worth the visit. Plenty to see in the town itself but on the edge of town there's a regenerated area with various vast museums all very modern and interesting plus an enourmous sealife centre. The original Ramblas has long dried up and has been made into a long winding park working its way though and out of the city.

We had a hire car and drove down to CdA in under 4 hours (though people told us it would be much more) and that included stopping at several places for food an drink or to have a long walks along beach side promenades etc. We used the Sat Nav for this journey and had no problems at all. So driving direct without those stops would probably take you well under 4 hours.

At the time we booked the car through DoYouSpain and on flying home we left the hire car at Murcia airport but had the flights been from Alicante could have left it there.

At some point we plan to do a similar plan and  visit  Seville before driving to CdA.

This summer our relatives based themselves at CdA and amongst other places visited Granada and Alhambra Palace in a day 3hours each way.

We drove up to Valencia at New year. drive is approx 3.5 hours direct and very simple.

Valencia is a beautiful city and well worth a visit but also very expensive at that time of year €6 pint on average, food was also very expensive.

Thanks for the info..

I've already been to Granada,even though I wouldn't rule out going back..And Valencia looks good but might be a bit hairy finding hotel and car-parking etc??

Also that idea of flying into one airport and out of another a good idea,I'll try that sometime...

Anyone been to Almeria??It is a direct drive down the A7 and mightn't take too long.It looks nice on the internet..

I like the sound of Ronda/Nerja,anyone been or could give details??

Thanks again.

John

We used booking.com for the Valencia Hotel which had parking. Our Hotel was on the perimeter of the town as we decided we wnted to see all the regeneration area and went into Valencia old town using the hotel shuttle bus. However we had first booked a central Hotel which also had parking- unfortunately for us it was the week Formula 1 had taken over the city and the Hotel was quite expensive- have later seen it advertised at  more reasonable rates.

We have also been looking into flying into Barcelona and then driving down- maybe with a stop on route. Alernatively we have cosidered getting the train from Barcelona down to Alhama de Murcia then picking up a hire car.

We have friends with an apartment in Almeria- Mojacar and they love the area, they think they are about 2 hours from our resort.. They have done lots of fly into one airport and fly out from another across Spain, stopping part of the time in their apartment. If they can get very cheap flights they will fly in somewhere and if necessary stay over before driving to their apartment. They say they'd rather pay for a night in a hotel than on the airfare and they make it part of their holiday and it means they have be able to visit lots of regions in Spain.  It certainly opens up lots of opportunities using the apartment that way

henry

I did reply but must have lost the page before it was added.

Anyway Trains

Alhama is on a branch line and you need to go to Murcia Mainline station to go further.

I hav ebeen trying to find a train map (like the underground) for Spanish train services but have been unable to locte one.

Any way from Alhama you have to go to Murcia From there you can go to Alicante, Benidorm, Valencia, Benidorm even on to Paris and Eurostar.

However to go south to Granada or Seville I believe you will have to travel inland to Madrid? or somewhere between.

When I visited Granada I dont recall there being a Train Station there? but sure must be, but from Alhama it would be quicker to drive or Get on a coach tour.

Jaydee

I was in Ronda in October and we loved the place one of them touristy places where you can take thousands of photos, there is also many museaums there and it would be easy to fill two days there but you need nice weather to wander around.

The Caves at Nerja are worth a visit if you like that sort of thing but they do close for lunch so if you drive down from Condado you will have to wait till it re-opens. Nerja itself looks interesting but i only drove through it on this occasion.

Mojaca is also a nice day trip out from Condado. but for these last three you need to drive.

Hi..

Just went on the RENFE website,and if you put the destinations Alhama de Murcia-Valencia it shows a continuous journey of about 4 hrs,don't know if a change required but if there was there is a 15 min buffer at Murcia and Alicante..

Price shows at 34e and think this is only for a single,don't know how much for a return so that would be expensive..

I guess maybe a tank of petrol would get you there and back,so car probably the cheapest option although the idea of just arriving at the station and walking to a hotel appeals.

Jan,if you read this could you give me details of the hotel you stayed at??A shuttle bus in and out sounds good.

Thanks for info.

John

All trains from Alhama Terminate at Murcia. Alicante is a Terminal Station so many trains also terminate there.

Train fares are 50% off if you show a Passport and are over 65 years young.

With Spanish train fares you effectively pay a single both ways but get a discount on the return ticket so it not double. Cant remember the discount.

HI SONATIGH..COULD YOU TELL ME HOW LONG THE DRIVE WAS TO NERJA AND WHAT WAY DID YOU GO ALSO DO YOU KNOW OF ANY HOTELS THERE.....MANY THANKS STEVIE

Stevie

If i remember correctly it is around 2.5 to 3 hours away by road.

We drove towards Puerto Mazarron to end of motorway and headed south towards Almeria on Toll AP7 towards Vera,and then took A7  (E15) coast road towards and past Almeria keep going towards Malaga.You will see signs for Nerja.

Can't say about Hotels we travel in small camper van so take the bed and kitchen sink with us.

There are plenty of Hoptels along the coast but maybe worth Googling Hotels in Nerja?

 I think you've hit the nail on the head Jaydee, It would be great to get off train and walk to a hotel and not have to find parking and drive round the town stressed out for an hour, trying to get yourselves sorted out.

Might be nice to relax and see the countryside go, by while sitting on a nice train, eating and drinking wine.

Take a look at booking.com etc. and find hotels in your destination town or city.......... Hope you enjoy the trip. Geoff.

Stayed in Nerja a few times. Hotel on the Balcon de Europa , one behind in main square and one west of town Perla marina.Spend the evening after a meal walking around town We often stayed at Capistrano a little white building resort. that has been there 30 years , Full of plants and in the evening its like perfune (flowers not pigs) smaller version of Condado but established.Another Hotel across the road.   Drive up to Friglianna  Torrox in the Mountain . Alumacar . It is nor far to Granada. buy ticket from travel agent first