Andalucia is one of the best destinations in Europe for road trip lovers, since there's a lot to see, the fuel cost is relatively low and the roads' condition is ideal for enjoyable drives. For us, traveling around Andalucia by car had been a travel priority for so long and the final outcome did not disappoint us at all. Here's how we organized our road trip, the places we visited and the distances we were covering each day. Day 1: driving from Algeciras to Seville We reached Spain by ferry and port of arrival was Algeciras, where we picked up our rental car from. Our final destination for that day was Seville, but since the sun was still up, we made 3 stops on the way. We first stopped at Vejer de la Frontera for a walk, then headed to Arcos de la Frontera viewpoint, to soak up the sunset views and finally had our first Spanish dinner at Jerez de la Frontera.
Days 2-3: exploring Seville
The next couple of days were all about Seville. Rowing a boat at the Plaza d' Espana canals, walking on the shores of Guadalquivir river and visiting the Real Alcazar, were some of our stay's definite highlights!
Day 4: driving from Seville to Cordoba
Day No4 included a ton of exploring in Cordoba, where visiting the Mesquita, crossing the Roman Bridge and strolling around the old Town and the Jewish quarter, were not to be missed experiences!
Day 5: driving from Cordoba to Ronda
That day's final destination was the iconic town of Ronda, but not without stopping at the picturesque town of Priego de Cordoba for a few hours. From there, Ronda was a 2 hour drive away. Ronda is home to one of Spain's most popular sites, Puente Nuevo, which is postcard perfect, to say the very least!
Day 6: village hoping at Pueblos Blancos
Most probably our favorite day throughout the entire itinerary! After an empowering breakfast at Ronda, we hit the road for Setenil de las Bodegas, a town which is literally built under a rock. And yes, it's as impressive as it sounds! A 30 minute drive away, lays the not so popular village of Olvera, which we fell in love with! Luckily, we had it all almost to ourselves! Sometime near noon, we arrived Zahara de la Sierra and took a much needed swim at the lake and then had a small picnic. Our last stop, before going back to Ronda, was Grazalema. It was siesta time when we got there, so we really enjoyed silently walking around the empty streets, taking all of the crowd free photos we wanted to.
Day 7: driving from Ronda to Malaga
The next day, we drove south, all the way to Costa del Sol, one of Spain's most popular summer resort areas. Since time was on our side, we stopped at Marbella and Estepona before arriving to Malaga, but that's totally optional. You could skip either or both of those, drive directly into Malaga and start exploring or relax at the city's beach.
Day 8: exploring Malaga
Malaga is very vibrant and has enough to keep you busy with throughout the day. Visiting the Picasso museum, along with chasing viewpoints, were our favorite things to do. Other popular activities include visiting the Alcazaba, the Cathedral and the Roman theater.
Day 9: driving from Malaga to Granada
On day number 9 we took the coastal road A-7 and reached Granada within 2 hours. Apart from the beautiful views, we also enjoyed stopping at Frigiliana to stretch out a bit and sip some coffee. Alternatively you can take the A-92 and arrive at Granada 30 minutes earlier. We left our luggage at our Airbnb apartment and started our explorations of the city, which managed to charm us like no other! Our day ended in one of Sacromonte's cave houses, where we enjoyed a flamenco show, performed by members of the city's Roma community.
You can read more about our flamenco experience, here.
Day 10: exploring Granada and flying back home
That was our last day in Spain and we spent our time seeing more of Granada and grabbing a few last tapas bites, accompanied by a glass of sangria!
You can read more about things to see in Granada, here.
Feel free to adjust the itinerary to your own pace, budget and time limitations and don't forget to click here, for our tips on how to organize the best road trip in Andalucia!
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