Malaga to Seville/Jerez

It would be $400 cheaper for us to fly into Malaga airport (for 4 people) although we would like to stay in Jerez or Seville for a night or two. Do you feel this is a doable ride or would the drive exhaust us?

Any thoughts? Thanks.

Is that $400 per person, or $100 per person x 4?

It's kind of a far-ish drive. Were you thinking about getting out of the airport and driving straight there? I know when we were there we were thinking about daytripping from Malaga to that area, then skipped it because it was far-ish (we did drive up to Granada, but wouldn't have wanted to do that distance after getting off a transatlantic flight).

If it's $400 total, I would probably buy the tickets.
If it's $400 x 4 = $1,600....ouch! I'd spend the night in Malaga and drive out the next day.

It's $100/person. Driving right after traveling across the Atlantic has me concerned, too.

Book the flight. It will be SO worth it. Leaving Malaga, you head up into the hills to go to either Seville or Jerez. Not a big deal if you're wide awake and fresh, but I wouldn't want to land in another country and have to navigate immediately on a fairly long drive into the hills which can be very twisty turny.

Oh, I don't know about that, Debi. It depends on how exhausted the OP will be after the flight, and what time of day s/he lands.

Google maps shows both routes (Malaga to Sevilla, Malaga to Jerez) to be about 2 1/2 hours.

Going to Sevilla would be an easy trip. It's all equivalent to US Interstate routes. The first part, A45 to Antequera, is mountainous, but all divided highway and very pretty. Then A92 to Sevilla is also divided highway, and more like high plains.

Jerez may be a little more difficult trip, because you need to go the southern route through the Costa del Sol, which is crowded. You would undoubtedly want to take the toll road (the local route is largely stop-and-go), which takes you away from the main sight to see, the Mediterranean. Still, it wouldn't be a bad trip.

Personally, I'd take the 2 1/2 drive and save the $400. And I'd go the northern route to Sevilla, which is a much nicer city to see anyway (one of my favorites). But that's something that the OP would need to decide.

-Bob

I would not drive to Sevilla immediately after arriving Malaga. It's a moderate drive ( though very beautiful ) better done after a day's rest to take in the view at leisure without contending with concentrating upon traffic after an overnight TA flight.

That said, you could consider taking the train to Seville & back. It too is a 2 1/2 hour ride and you could leave the driving to the engineer while you sit back and relax. I'm pulling prices of 18 to 34 Euros depending upon which train one would take. This Renfre link will give you an idea of what's availible. that could be a way to accomplish your goal if a same day arrival is important. It's not far from the airport to the train station.

Barry

It certainly does depend on the OP.
I'm assuming you will have an overnight flight from the East Coast.
Are you going to get lots of sleep?
Do you feel great when you land in Europe after a night on the plane?
Will your driver be a safe driver and will someone be up to the navigating? (getting to Seville should be straightforward, getting around IN Seville...???)

We did pick up a car in Charles deGaulle once and drive 4 hours into Normandy. All was fine until we got to our town (and it was a small town) and we got turned around and couldn't find our B&B. By that time our brains were shutting down and it was frustrating to figure out which way was which and where we were when we were feeling so tired and not very smart!

Personally I would opt to fly, pick up a car, drive to Seville, then try to navigate Seville, all on a few hours of sleep. I'd rather pay the $400! The thought of doing that and driving to Jerez.....ugh......probably not even safe at that point.

The train is a great idea......I'm wondering if you'd even want a car while you were in Seville?

Drive

Now I will be the first to tell you that it's been 30 years, but I lived in Spain for 3.5 years when I was in the Navy. I was stationed in Rota, which is close to Jerez (pronounced "hereth"). I remember that Sevilla was 60 miles from Rota, Jerez was no more than 15 miles and that Malaga was about a 3 hour drive from Rota. Assuming no high speed highways have been built, I doubt the ride is 2.5 hours. First, you are driving along the coast and second you are sightseeing. If you took the route I would take, you would pass by Algeciras and get a good view of Gilbralter.

If you came to see Spain, take the drive. The coast is beautiful. You'll love Marbella, Torremelinos, etc. Jerez is just north of Rota. I'm rambling and I'm envious I'm not going with you. After a long plane ride, you may be too tired, but you know what I would do.

Just remember, in the summer it is very hot and not all cars have AC.

Rosebud5, When were you in Rota? I to was stationed their from 86-to 93.

Small world, huh. I was "in" and "out" of Rota 71 to 74, rosebud5. You probably know why