Itineraries for Backpackers

Itineraries for Backpackers

A suggested Itinerary for the backpacker without a hire car is outlined by Lee Gutcher who also who offers advice on the cities for backpackers gained from his recent trip.

Obviously any itinerary will depend on time constraints, budget and what you want to see and do. Most of the large cities in Andalucia can be covered in a rough loop. With Malaga Airport being the busiest airport, this would be an obvious starting point and an obvious itinerary would be:

Map of the provinces and coasts of Andalucia

Malaga - Ronda - Cadiz - Jerez - Seville - Corodaba - Granada - Malaga

Of course this route could just as easily be completed travelling in the opposite direction. Two weeks would be sufficient to complete this loop and see the major sights, although more time would be needed to leisurely soak up the atmosphere of the bigger cities. With less than two weeks it would be necessary to remove some destinations from the itinerary; the most obvious contenders being Cadiz, Jerez. If time is short the must visit cities are Seville, Granada and Corodaba.

 

Car Hire Malaga Airport

Professional car hire services at Malaga airport. All-inclusive prices, book your car online and pay on arrival - without cancellation fees!

Whilst this itinerary is based only on the larger more interesting cities in the region there are a multitude of other locations to visit.Tarifa and the coast of the Costa de Luz have miles of fabulous white, sandy deserted beaches. Tarifa itself is a Mecca for windsurfers and kitesurfing. The Renaissance towns of Ubeda and Baeza in Jaen province, the roman city of Italica near Seville and even the heavily developed beach resorts of the Costa del Sol may be of interest.

Other Airports

Seville airport and Jerez airport are possible starting points. Alternatively you could fly into Gibraltar and then start the loop to Tarifa, continue up the Costa de la Luz to Cadiz or Jerez. Similarly flying into Madrid and then joining the loop by taking the AVE (high speed train) to Cordoba is a possibility.

There are no 'airport hotels' at the airport at Malaga. (Nearest Hotels to Malaga airport) The budget options are Malaga City centre hostals or Torremolinos Hostals both about 6km away and connected by direct train service. (see Malaga Airport page) If you arrive late at night you will need to take the Airport Bus night service to Malaga city or taxi costing about 25 €.

Beyond Andalucia

Although Andalucia has much to offer in it's own right there are other intriguing places to visit within touching distance of the region. Madrid, the capital city is well worth considering and is only 1.45 mins from Cordoba by high speed train. And when in Madrid the fascinating city of Barcelona is only a 6 hour night coach ride away.

Another possibility would be a detour to Morocco. Algericas is easily reachable from Cadiz or Malaga and is a car ferry port to Tangiers but foot pasanger should take the ferry company free bus to Tarifa and take the ferry from there directly to Tangier Ville. Ferry Crossings are regular and take 35 mins.