In November I was presented with an unexpected situation. I had planned to to Florida for two weeks. However, Hurricane Ian caused a hugh amount of devastation in the Ft. Myers region where I planned to go. So I needed to make some changes to my plans. After a few considerations I booked a ticket for one week to Málaga, Spain. Fortunatelly I am able to book discounted tickets as flight crew, so this last minute trip was quiet affordable. Hotel and rental car were easily booked through American Express, putting my travel credit to use. 

After a flight time of 2:30 hours I arrived at Málaga. Since I only traveled with handluggage I went right away to the the rental car counter, which is very far away to be honest, and was soon on my way to the hotel.

I decided to say in Málaga for tour nights before heading over to Granada for another two nights. I also planned to drive down to Gibraltar for one day in order to have the opportunity to visit many different places.

Andalusia is nice to visit at this time of the year. Temperatures still gp up to the lower 20ies during the day, which is still super nice, but not as tiring as temperature in summer norammly being above 30 degress. However, the can get as low as nearly 0 over the night. The weather itself is mostly sunny. Also you don't have to bother wit too much tourists since it isn't really travel season

Málaga [Day 1 through 4]

As mentioned before I started my week in Málaga. I got to the hotel in the afternoon. After settling in I went down to the city centre. My hotel was situated approximatelly 15 minutes walking from the centre.

Málaga is a nice old coastal town founded in the 8th century B.C. is is divided by a river running from north to south. While you find most sights on the eastern side, the more modern part of the city is located on the western side. In the harbour area it features a nice old town with many pedestrian only zones. However, some of these streets are accessible for taixs. Here is where you find many restaurants, as well as shopping places, museums and the big cathedral. The cathedral is a place you must visit. In the centre you can also find the Málaga museum, which is free of charge for citizens of the european union, as well as the Picasso museum.

  

Up on the hill you can find the Gibralfaro, an old castle from the 14th century. It is up on a hill and is accessible either by car or walking. From here you have a great overview over the city and the harbour area, way better than from the cathedral. Down the hill you find the Alcazaba, a palastial fortification from the period of Muslim-ruled Al-Andalus. Both sides are worth a visit, but you must expect a high amount of visitors. the good thing is you can buy a combi-ticket for only 5,50€ to visit both places. Together with the cathedral this was pretty much all I saw on my first day, since I like to take my time looking at all the things and taking hundreds of pictures.

  

On the waterside you can find many restaurants, as well as a small market. In the evening some street artist will perform down here, some of them are really good. The beach itself isn't really the greatest sight. the sand is darkish and all in all not that appealing. If you prefer beaching than you better pay a visit to the Torremolinos area just south of the airport.

Foodwise you can find a whole variety in the streets. The spanish people prefer to eat at a later time, however the places can still get crowded at an earlier time with tourists. In case you are looking for some recommendations, you can find them of the bottom of this article.

  

 

Useful links:
My hotel on booking.com
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Gibraltar [Day 4]

I decided to spend one day in Gibraltar. It is only a 1:45h hour drive from Málaga. After I spent the first 2 1/2 days doing sightseeing in Málaga, I drive down to Gibraltar on the fourth day. Since many rental cars are not allowed to cross the border you have to park on the spanish side. Finding a parking spot in Gibraltar is a hustle anyways. Just north of the airport you can find a huge public parking lot. It is colocated with the rental car parking. I paid 18€ for parking for the entire day. From here you just walk over to the border. Best part: you have to cross the airports runway by foot! Just keep in mind, at the occasion of an aircraft arriving or deaprting the runway will be closed and you have to wait.

After crossing the runway you find yourself in an intressting town. As usual for this region you find many palm trees which give a nice mix together with the red british phone- and mailboxes. The city itself is on the western part, while you have a huge mountain claiming most part of Gibraltar on the eastern coast. This mountain is a national park with many diffferent sights to see. This is where I spent the entire day. Admission is 16 pounds. It can easily be paid with credit card, so you don't need to go through the hustle of exchanging money. All stores I went to also accepted credit cards.

  

The park itself is only accessible by foot or authorized vehicles. There are different providers of paid tours up here. You can also go up the hill via a cable car. As always I decided to walk up the mountain, which can be tiring at some points, but it pays of. You get to see many nice places and get to enjoy a great view over the city of Gibraltar, as well as the coast of Morroco on the other side of the water.

Some of the sides you can visit up here are old tunnels from the World War II area, the big Windsor bridge, the St. Michael caves, a Skywalk and of course the monkeys. They poplate the mountain area and aren't shy at all. Beware of them pickpocketing. I had a lock for my backpack, but luckely they didn't even try opening it. However, I saw other people with moneky climbing up on them trying to get in their bags. They are especially attracted to food, but also din't mind taking your loose items like wallets, phones or sunglasses.

  

Being up on the mountain all day I didn't really get to see many other things of Gibraltar. If you plan to discover the national park by foot I recommend staying one night here or on the spanish side of the border so you have more time for the rest.

With the sun about to set I drove back to Málaga. I decided to have dinner there since there were still restaurants that looked nice while walking by and which I wanted to try. The drive itself is rather uneventful as you mostly drive along the motorway.

Useful links:
Parking spot on Google
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Accomendations on booking.com

Granada  [Day 5 through 7]

My final stop on this trip was Granada. On the fifth day I left Málaga and drove up to Granada, which was about a 1:30 hour drive. My airbnb was located in the southern part of the inner city. Parking was a bit of a challenge, but I ended up finding a nice parking garage which offered very cheap payment via their app.

After settling in at my appartment I grabbed my camera and started exploring again. Granada has a very nice old town with many old buildings. One place worth to visit is the old cathedral in the city center. Here you can also visit the Capilla Real, an old cathlic tomb, for an extra cost. 

Just behind it you can find the arabic district. Due to its arabic traits in its history Granada has a nice oriental touch which really stands out here. It feels like walking through the streets of a town in Marroc with many little shops and small restaurants. I highly recommend visiting here. I returned here for dinner in the evening, which was a good decision.

  

The next day started out quite early. I had booked a ticket to visit the Alhambra, one of the greatest sights in Spain. It is highly recommended to buy your ticket beforehand. You can enter at any time, however, if you wish to visit the Palacios Nazaries you will can a time slot in which you can enter. This will be shown on your ticket. MIne was already at 8:30, so I had to leave pretty early. I highly recommend booking a ticket including the Palacios. They are really worth to see!

I ended up spending most of my day at the Alhambra, and I recommend you to plan to do so as well. There are many different buildings and gardens in this complex that are really worth to see. If you are into taking photos like I am you need a lot of patience while waiting for the right moment with not too many people standing in your way. Getting the right shot without any people in the way is close to impossible.

  

After getting back down from the hill I decided to tour the city again for a while. With its little alleys there are a lot of little gems to find wherever you go, so it is definetelly worth to just depart the main roads.

The next day I had to get up even earlier. Reason was my early flight back home from Málaga. The drive was again about 1:30h. At the airport I was glad that I was only travelling with carry on luggage since the lines at the check-in counters were very long. In case you travvel with checked luggage be sure to arrive early at the airport.

Useful links:
My appartment on airbnb
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Tickets for the Alhambra

Accomendation

While I stayed in a Hotel in Málaga i stayed in an appartment room book through airbnb in Granada. If you haven't checked out airbnb yet I advise you to read my post about it.

My place in Málaga was located just 15 minutes by foot north of the city centre. The room was a little small, but the overall stay was comfortable. Parking was to find down on the street, at late times with some driving back and forth. I recommend getting a small car if you have the choice. 

You can find the hotel right here
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In Granada I stayed at an appartment on the southern side of the city. The room was basic and had its own bathroom. Many places in town can be reached by foot, it is just a ten minute walk to the city centre with shops and restaurants. Parking is difficult to find, there are not many spots free of charge. I ended up parking in a public parking garage, be aware that the prizes are different and are not always shown!

You can find the appartment right here
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Restaurants and Tips

Everybody needs to grab a bite once in a while, right? So I collected some restaurant tips for you.

Pez Lola
Delicios pinchos á la carte, located in the pedestrian area
Málaga

Pez Wanda
Grill restaurant with nice decorations, located in the pedestrian area
Málaga

Aficionado
Delicious oriental restaurant, located in the arabic district
Granada

Most places accept payments with credit cards, however AmericanExpress is taken rarely. It is also good to have some cash on hand some smaller places only accept cash.

Be advised that you have to pay fees for some of the motorways. They can be paid directly at the station with cash or card. 

Costs of the trip

Last but not least I want to give you a little overview of the total cost for this one week. Please be advised that many prices can vary depending on the season you travel.

Flights:		125€ total both ways, booked as ID tickets
Transportation:		183€ Total
		80€ rental car 20€ tolls 36€ parking 47€ Fuel
Accomendation:		183€ Total
		120€ Hotel Málaga (including 200€ discount through American Express) 63€ Airbnb Granada
Food:		155€ Total
Entrance Fees:		65€ Total
Misc:		50€ Total
Total:		761€ Total

   

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