Discussions

Thinking of a trip to southern Spain in April . Have done a bit of research but it is always best to talk to someone who has been there . Looking online for for flight options from Brandon or Winnipeg. Flying to Malaga seems like a good option but after that I’m not sure ?

Main resorts are Marbella, Fuengirola, Torremolinos which are all beach resorts. Marbella is upmarket, the other two resorts offering a diverse range for the general holiday makers. Nerja is a lovely hill top resort. Hope this helps

Every bit helps Michaels S . Thank you. Curious as to what flight option you chose? Also did you book rooms ahead of time or just do a walk up? I want to spend some time in Nerja as it seems very laid back and not too big. Any more info is welcome like lodging choices, side trips, bars & restaurant recommendations costs for particular items etc?

Not sure on flights from Winnipeg, you could fly to London Gatwick with Westjet, then there are plenty of flights from the UK to Malaga, flight time approx 2 hours from London. If you are going over Easter then hotels can get very busy with European package holiday market. Another option would be to use a British tour operator to book flights and accommodation if you chose London route, such as Thomas Cook, Tui or other options such as icelolly.com or Expedia. Alternatively use hotels.com, booking.com or Trivago for hotels only. Car hire is cheap over there or they also have good rail and bus links.

Now we’re talkin Michala S . All helpful info. I will definitely try to avoid Easter. Flights to London may be cheaper than directly going to Malaga . Could probably even take a train from there I’m not sure . I have never been to Europe . Want to dip my feet into the Mediterranean and tour the Costa Del Sol towards Portugal then Crossover to the Rock of Gibraltar and maybe then on to Morrocco if it’s safe to do so. Need as much info as I can obtain. Mid March to mid April would work for my timings.

The railway system over there is fantastic, personally what I would do is sit on my computer and check flight sales, flying out Tuesday and Wednesday you'll save more money rather than flying out on a: lets say, Sunday. I would look at a few main airports (London was already suggested), but check around and you may find other cities are pretty cheap too. Then I'd check for an EUrail pass. You can buy 1 pass for the duration of your trip and you can ride the rail as you please (different types of passes out there, check out the one that suits you). In regards to hotels, I personally wouldn't book all in advance, as plans are due to change, you don't want to be tied down on a strict schedule (at least I hate it when travelling) as it ads time pressure, which Is awful. I'd had a vague itinerary of hotels I'd want, and plan my "line up" of countries and sights you want to see, but I'd leave the rest up to planning a day or two in advance:as I'd go. You'll have awesome fun, maybe buy some underwear with pockets to keep your passport and money....just to be safe

So you could use Easyjet for a cheap flight to Malaga, they also would fly back from some destinations in Morocco to London. There are trains and buses both in Spain and Morocco to get to various destinations. There are 3 ports near to Gibraltar with a ferry service to Morocco which is about a 5 hour crossing. You can Google all this information to get more detail. Sounds like you have a fabulous holiday coming up soon

We flew from Winnipeg to Toronto to Amsterdam then to Malaga. Look for your bags at customs if not at the baggage area - it depends on how you enter the EU.  
Pretty easy to get to Tangier, Morocco and only an hour or so by ferry from just east of Gibraltar Algeciras, Spain. Torrie (Torremolinos)is nice, depends on what you want. We were there for a few months starting in Jan of 2018. Take the train from Malaga airport. Make sure the place you rent has heat!!!  
Difficult to get to Portugal from Torrie but there are buses - arrival about midnight or later in to Faro. Easier if you are up north in Spain. Many tours but tour to Morocco is just a sales pitch - DON'T do it. But you can use it as a bus also. No tours from Torrie to Faro - STRANGE! The main square in Torrie is great. Make sure your phone is unlocked so you can get a SIM card for Europe. Spain was great but where we rented in Torrie was not as good as it looked online. Have fun.

Thanks to everyone for the wonderful information . From the research I’ve done on line so far I would like to settle in Nerja. Smaller city with nice cozy beach town atmosphere. Don’t know whether to go East or West from there for side trips. Thought Gibraltar and Morocco would be neat to see but have read mixed reviews for some Moroccan destinations. Again would like to know from someone who has been there. Were lodgings mostly affordable?

We flew from Winnipeg to London to Malaga and we stayed in a house in Nerja in September. Weather was nice!  
I can’t remember Now how i booked the house but it was someone from England and they had a car for us to drive from airport to the house in Nerja  
A travel agent in Brandon helped with the airline and a hotel booking in London..we had planned to drive to rock Gibraltar/Morocco and also the Alhambra Palace, but once we got there we exploredby car/foot the local area and beaches whoch are on the Mediterranean Sea. Careful of jelly fish!. By the way, Antonio Banderas is from Malaga!  
 
Edited by Beajulsha, 2018-12-10 00:11:03

We didn’t stay right in nerja as it was expensive. We stayed just outside in a place called Friigliana in a villa that had a private pool... it wasn’t super close to the beaches It we walked everyday and explored the local terrain. There are pomegranates, avocados and lime and lemon trees. We also visited the local Nerja caves (a paid attraction), must see!