I’m thinking of heading to Spain for vacation this year, mostly in Torremolinos for a week, with a few days in Madrid tacked on at the end. This would be late April to early May.
I’m active on a lot of travel forums and, wow, the Costa del Sol doesn’t get much love at all. However, watching YouTube videos of it makes it seem quite nice. While I’d be based in Torremolinos, I am looking at day trips to Malaga and perhaps Gibraltar (although that also gets quite mixed reviews!)
It looks like it would make sense to fly in and out of Madrid. I’d spend arrival day in Madrid and that night there and then take a train to Malaga and then onward to Torremolinos. This will allow me to get over jet lag in Madrid and not have have to deal with a long layover as there are no reasonable flights from O’Hare to Malaga.
While my trip will include May 1, I can easily spend that day in Torremolinos and so the holiday won’t affect me.
I’ve pretty much ruled on a day trip to Tangier although it would be interesting and I’m not sure I’ll ever make it to Africa. I’ve read that most of the day tours have too much time allocated to shopping stops at places that give a kickback to the tour operator.
For my days in Madrid, they will be focused on the art museums there.
What else do I need to know? I can speak some Spanish and that certainly will help, especially with being able to read things. I’m sure I’ll be fine not being able to conjugate the vosotros form as I can’t imagine needing it.