Have you been to Andalucia?

[BadMoodBoard]

Thinking of going there at Easter, DD will be 12 and DS will be 14, nearly 15. I guess we'll fly somewhere, spend a couple of days in a city, then hire a car and drive elsewhere visiting stuff, but if you have done this holiday, I would appreciate pointers. We are not a sun and beach family, we enjoy food, drink, music, people watching, would love to learn about the Moorish legacy, perhaps see some proper Spanish guitar playing... For starters, where would you recommend we fly to/from?

Lived in eastern Andalusia for 8 years and still spend lots of time there.

I particularly love Seville (so much to see and do) and Cordoba (small, stunning and a perfect walking city) though the Alhambra is a must if you haven't been but you do need to book in advance. The Semana Santa parades are stunning but will be heaving in the larger cities and accommodation at Easter won't be cheap. Pretty much all towns will have stuff going on so if you don't fancy braving the crowds you could stay in a town and still experience the magic.
Easiest and probably cheapest is to fly to Malaga. If you hire a car consider a hotel with parking if staying in any city as otherwise parking can be very difficult. If you fancy staying inland, rather than on the more commercial coast, somewhere like Antequera or Ruta might be ideal as you could use it as a base to get to each of the cities mentioned. Alternatively, areas like Alhaurin or Torrox just back from the coast will also offer an authentic non city base.
Weather can be anything from pretty cool to scorching, one year I was wearing a coat and gloves to watch the parades, the next I was in summer garb. As Easter is quite late this year it should be fairly warm ( though it can be cooler inland). Enjoy!

I think holidaying before EU entry of either the UK or Spain was before mass travel. There would have been a few flights a day, not a continuous heaving churn of mass tourism.
No airport will be equipped for extra passport or suitcase (customs duty) checks so in the worst case, long queues for dozens of flights.
plus, if the UK doesnt pay its divorce bill Gibraltar tensions could arise again with , again worst-case, possible ill-will to UK passport holders Hopefully none of this will happen but its sensible contingency planning ☘️

But if you do go, i would recommend a stop in cordoba, staying within the city walls here

m.nh-hotels.com/hotel/nh-collection-amistad-cordoba (at 117 a night in March at the moment and is extremely luxurious)
I would also recommend visiting the Madina al Zahra outside Cordoba for a the ruins of a highly literate and artistic kingdom of peaceful reigious coexistence. It is what i would like to show my kids. Excavations are in progress continually.
Of course the alhambra in granada too but it is a lot of walking and a lot of tourists. I prefer Cordoba because it is smaller and there are more orange trees in the streets with blossom in the spring.

If you fly to malaga i recommend a night there because it has a lovely old town, chic restaurants and some roman ruins. And a walk along the beach (even though you are not beach people)

Fly into gibraltar, flights from man with easyjet or london ba or easyjet. Do visit Tarifa, Cadiz and Jerez plus Jimena and Castilla inland.

When we went to Córdoba (2013) we stayed at Los Patios hotel - literally across the street from the Mezquita (mosque/cathedral)

Website much slicker than when we went so I suspect change of management/room rates

Fabulous location though

Also, for massive choice of flights from different UK airports you can’t beat Malaga.

For car hire we’ve always used Malagacar - local company, great prices & t&c, sited just inside the airport perimeter so easy to access.

Fly to Malaga. Andalusia easy to get to from there. Beautiful and so much to explore which sounds right up your street. Get in to heart of countryside if you can. Any of you horse riders? Best holiday ever

Oh and the main square is fab for tapas restaurants and people watching of an evening. Lovely atmosphere. People all so friendly.

How exciting! Easter is huge in Spain so you may get some fiestas! The Alhambra is busy but amazing, I think you can book in advance. Grenada and Seville both lovely to spend time in. You can hire a car or catch a train down to the coast if you want. You can drive into the Andalucian villages in the mountains, as described in Driving over lemons!! Enjoy :)

I haven't read the full thread but please bear in mind that holy week is a big deal in Andalucía and in Málaga, Sevilla, Granada, etc. there will be - at least - several processions per day. Roads will be blocked off and seating erected for the spectators. At certain times of day it will be near impossible to walk along or cross certain parts of the city and those streets will be very crowded at that time. The bars will also be packed each night - more than usual - when the processions finish. Also this means that accommodation, especially in the city centres, can be very expensive.

If your kids are off school after the Easter weekend then you could travel on "Easter Saturday" and enjoy a day and a half of processions and all of the amazing pageantry of southern Spanish Easter then have the following days to see the city as it is the rest of the year and with fewer crowds and lower prices for accommodation (and maybe also your return flight).

All 3 of the cities I've mentioned are spectacular, as is Córdoba.

Yes, if you go for Semana Santa (at Easter) there will be parades and fiestas galore.

And millions of people.

My sister lives there.

Better to go out of the season if you don't have kids on school holidays time.

Re Brexit. I mean. Am I being naive? What can possibly happen? This is just a holiday. We holidayed in Europe before the EU so what am I missing?

You are missing that once out of the EU you will be in the passport queue like everyone else from South America or Africa... about 3 hours or so.

Duh, mum, my son would say. :-)

And that’s assuming that flights from UK to EU would continue to fly as before...

Transitional arrangements for a couple of years though - you'll be ok till then.

I'm in Andalusia right now! (Sitting in the hotel reading this.) It's my third time here and I never get sick of it. I've been to Seville, Cordoba, Granada and Malaga and all were lovely in their own ways. I'm a big history buff so for me this region is perfect. There is such an interesting mix of cultures, the weather is lovely, excellent food...need I go on?

Hulloa

Transitional arrangements for a couple of years though - you'll be ok till then.

Not if no deal

Jerez is fantastic for the authentic flamenco guitar, dance and song. It's easy to walk around. Love it.