Hello all on this board!

No one seems to answer any request on this board. I typed in Algarve on the board's search engine (to save your time) but on the info on Algarve was mostly on trains and largely went unanswered.

Going to Spain in June and will be taking a tour which ends at Madrid.I have a week for Rn'R or city visit. So here are the probable iternaries.

The questions are:

Is the 9hr Madrid to Lisbon way tiresome?
Or should I stick to Andalucia- Madrid, Cordoba,Grenada and Andalucia?

Which famous typical white stucco Andalusian village is best to visit? I will be going by train so it must have a train station...

Are Cave tours or Sierra Nevada worth it?

How about Xeres/Sherry plants open to tourists in Andalucia?

Gibraltar really that fascinating?

As for Beaches :
Costa del Sol's beaches look dull from images I see.Which beach is best?
Marbella for the jetset but is the beach any good? Which has better beaches and bluish waters Torremolinos or Mijas?

Or should I go to Algarve after those Andaucian cities? Which train station from Spain has the quickest connection?

What beach has the tropical BLUISH water jutting from large rock formations?I see them in books but they never write the town's name.... Are these small towns/resorts? I hear Faro isn't as pretty. Praia de Rocha?

Any cheap-moderate accomodations to these spots would help.


Cheers!
HELP!!!!!!!!Thanks for your patience.

Forgot this question: Are Pousadas (castles/inns/monasteries etc) anywhere near the coast in Algarve? I think these structures are mainly in the country area where tourism is scarce......

You ask "Is Gibraltar really that fascinating?" No. In my opinion it is just a rather tired relic of the British Empire. I suggest you might visit it for the day if you're in the area, but don't worry if you miss it.

By the way, if people aren't replying to your questions it's simply because they don't know the answers - so don't take it personally.

Good luck with your travels.

Pete

I think you should come to Lisboa.
There’s a lot to see, people are nice and the food is great.

If you are going to Madrid and then to Lisboa, you’ll can compare them. They are too different.

Lisboa was built near a big river, " Rio Tejo" and that makes all the difference. Not only because of the view but mainly because of the light. The light is wonderful and the old part of the city is lovely. You see Portugal didn’t participate in the second world war, so some parts of the city are almost one thousand years old. I think that worth’s a visit!

It’s nice during the day, and in June we have warm weather so you can also enjoy Lisbon Nights that are really good. Lots of places to go and in Lisbon people go out almost everyday, not only on Friday’s and Saturday’s night, and the restaurants are open until late in the evening (around midnight, and some places even later).

About Algarve.
It’s a good place to visit, if you like beaches.
And I think it’s better than the south of Spain if what you’re looking for unspoiled places.

Spain has much more places to have fun, but the beaches in the Algarve are better. I recommend you the "ilha de Tavira". It’s beautiful.
On the other end of the Algarve, is "Lagos" and there you can also find lovely beaches, as the ones you see in these advertising papers...and they are exactly as they look in the photos.
But the "ilha de Tavira" is my favourite, and as the name says is near Tavira a small town in the Algarve.

Faro it’s a little city, but it’s nice. There isn’t much to see, but you can always go by boat to the lovely "ria Formosa" and to the "ilha de Faro" another beautiful place that worth’s a visit.
Those places are too different from the ones you can find in Spain.

In Spain I recommend you Sevilha and Granada.
And Cordoba is a magic place.

Praia da Rocha (in Algarve), is like any other place with lots of tourism. Like the south of Spain, it’s not bad but in my opinion not that good...but you can always find a place to stay there and the night´s are also good.

In lisboa you can look for a place to stay in these link:

www.book-a-hotel-in-lisbon.com/pt/

www.strawberry-world.com/p/

portugal-hotels.com/lisboa-hoteis.htm

www.strawberry-world-lisbon.com/ lisboa/lisbon-city-map.html

www.portugalvirtual.pt/_lodging/algarve/indexp.html

www.semantix.pt/algarve-hoteis.htm

I hope this can help you.

Rita

I just want to thank Peter and Rita for great info. I sure appreciate your efforts.

I think I asked too many questions in one post.

I am wondering about the safety of Spain after their Consulate in Columbia had been blasted this week. I hope it was a FARC thing (terrible thing to say) and not because they are part of the right-wing axis of the "willing". Before I was worried about ETA....Too late booked my trip.I am sure security is tight. Better not give out ideas...

Colombia not Columbia....Shame on me.
Does anyone know who was responsible for that blast? Hope it's an isolated incident.

Although, I’m not from Spain, I can assure you that Spain is a safe country.

And believe me when I say it, because I’m Portuguese...:)

But it’s safe.

If you decide to come to Portugal and need more help in the future, don’t hesitate.
My mail is cortezrita@hotmail.com.

Good luck with your trip.

Rita :)