Southern Spain - itinerary for a week in spring

[JooLoo]

DH and I thinking of taking DD (15 and studying GSCE Spanish) to southern Spain for a week from end March. We want some sunshine, good food, interesting culture and cities, maybe a bit of beach time if conditions align. Would it make sense to do three nights Malaga, two nights Granada and three nights Seville? Flying into Malaga and out of Seville on EasyJet. Possibly hiring a car but it looks as if there are good public transport routes between those? Anything of particular interest for a teen or other places to suggest? Thanks!

I'd recommend visits to Ronda and Cadiz as you're down that way. We found there's not much concession to English language in Cadiz (no English menus) so your DD would have to use her Spanish.

We holidayed in Spain for several years as DS who was Spanish GCSE, then A level and then into uni too. He was prepared to speak it.

We’ve done this in spring although incorporated Cordoba in our recent Malaga, Granada trip. Trains are great. Book ahead for best prices / they’ll hold seats for 7 days. Go for first class as it’s only a little more than 2nd and look carefully at travel times - some trains are way slower. You can do this on the trainline app.

Also look at booking ahead for the Alhambra and other sites if going to Seville.

We took ds to Seville and built in a visit to Italica (booked a guided tour with coach transport that left from fairly centrally in Seville). It’s where the dragon pit in game of thrones was filmed if you’re into that!
Andalucia has the sweetest people and all were happy for me to try out my Spanish.

Do book a flamenco show. Particularly if in Cordoba or Seville. Seville has a fantastic spa too - Aire.

If you want to go to the Alhambra, book ASAP, you can book up up three months in advance and it books up very early! We easily took trains between Malaga, Seville, Granada and Cordoba, we just booked via the Trainline app.

https://www.alhambra-patronato.es/

Edit to add above is the official site, it can be confusing!

Definitely don’t miss Cordoba! I’d do cordoba - Seville - Granada - Ronda and Cadiz if you can. The only concern is that the accent is very tricky - like the equivalent of thick Scottish for a speaker of London English. I’m fluent and I sometimes have problems. But it is by far the most incredible part of Spain and can’t be missed!

Tarifa, Cadiz, Jerez, Ronda, probably that coast would be more useful to your daughter speaking Spanish. Flying into Gib is a good option.

I'm personally not a huge fan of Málaga. I'd swap it for Cordoba to properly see Andalusia.

Ps. The region is big so you might be better off flying to an airport in Andalusia.

Agree with @ALunchbox I like Malaga for an easy short sunny stay. There are nice places to eat and some quirky places to visit (like the glass museum). Depending on flight times we might have a night there and then get the train out first thing. With flights being unreliable, I wouldn’t want to miss a booked train.

Thanks for all the advice so far. I don’t have high hopes for the Spanish speaking angle. DD not confident but I think it would be nice for her to have some exposure, read menus etc. She and DH are keener on a two base holiday so am now thinking Malaga and Seville as realise we can do day trips to eg Granada or Córdoba from there. Though don’t want to overload the historical stuff, other fun ideas suitable for teens would be welcome!

We went in June. One night in Malaga, then Granada, Cordoba and Seville. Absolutely fabulous, I loved Granada, DH loved Cordoba. Seville is amazing. We saw a flamenco show in the caves in Granada, brilliant

You might get places where the trains change guage between areas on your railway travels. That's interesting.

There's a huge outdoor shopping mall called Plaza Major just outside Malaga. The local train stops there.

El Caminito del Rey is a spectacular gorge walk, you can get there on an organised tour or perhaps on the train from Malaga.