T-4 days to go until I get some well earned late autumn sunshine. :)

This is my first holiday to Spain, I chose this date as I don't get on well in hot temperatures. I recently saw the Michael Portillo railway tv program and in it he also traveled through Ronda & Gibraltar so my appetite is now well and truly whetted. I hope the Alhambra Palace is going to be every inch the '8th wonder of the world'.

This is my first JU holiday and a big bonus for me was that I can fly locally from Stansted rather than drive 2 hours to Gatwick. Two months ago I went on a Solos holiday to the Italian Riviera and overall it was a bit so-so (the highlights were Monaco & Portofino), consequently I have learnt a few of the pitfalls of these 'discovery' holidays; so I will be taking print-outs of maps of the key locations and also to not get too excited by the prospect of a decent evening meal, plus I hope my travel companions can stay-up after 9pm.

I would be interested to hear feedback, both positive and negative from others that have recently taken this holiday.

I did this holiday in november 2010 and really enjoyed it and all the excurrsions are good (included & optional).

Will add I wasn't that impressed with the Alhambra, a few agreed while others thought it amazing, suppose its personal taste. I loved Gibralter while others didn't while think everyone was impressed with Ronda.

You'll probably have Claire Mellor as tour manager and she is really good, you'll have a great holiday.

Mick

Hello Paul. I did this holiday in September and it was a super holiday. Taking print out maps is a good idea as in Grenada there was too long a queue at the tourist information for the short time we had to there. I ended up getting separated from others, therefore, couldn't explore much in case I got lost [no sense of direction] and didn't want to go too far from the meeting point. This was my second visit to the Alhambra and I enjoyed it but it isn't everyone's cup of tea. However everyone who went on the trip seemed to enjoy it.

I didn't do the trip to Gibraltar. Instead a couple of us took the bus from Mijas to Fuengirola and then a train to Malaga. The tour manager took us to F'girola on the first day and pointed out the station. On the last day a group went off to Marbella and Puerto Banus also by public transport and thoroughly enjoyed it. The bus fare from outside the hotel to F'girola was about 1.50 euros I think. It tells you on the side of the bus.

The food in the hotel varied and I think I only had difficulty finding something I liked on one evening. Breakfast has a good selection though. Some went out to eat in the evenings.

No, not everyone went to bed at 9 pm! A group of us usually walked along to the centre of the town for a couple of drinks after dinner. I'm sure you will meet others who are happy to do something like that.

Have a great holiday.

Hi Paul, I did this holiday early this year (also don't like hot weather). The food was better than I had expected overall. The hotel in Mijas also in a good spot. Mijas itself is also a nice location, with plenty of bars, restaurants, shops. As noted above easy to get down to Fuengirola, from where there is a train station that gets you to Malaga if you want to go there (think there's a Picasso museum if that's of interest). If you book both the Gibraltar and Alhambra tours then you would only have one day free - so I passed on the Gib trip (too much busing around). Liked (didn't love) Alhambra but though Granada very interesting, went into the cathedral and the bit with tombs of Ferdinand and Isabella which I found interesting (you have to pay). Really liked Ronda. The other day trip to smaller towns was OK. Drinks in the hotel, including soft drinks and water v. expensive. There is a supermarket a very short walk from the hotel where you can stock up on water, soft drinks very cheaply.

Our group a mixture and you could certainly find some who would stay up after 9pm.