A few lads - South of Spain in Feb

dodzy

Heading down in mid Feb for a few days (Thurs - Sun) for a pals birthday. Any recommendations from fellow boardsies ?

Basically somewhere with plenty of pubs. Don't want to head to a tumbleweed town. Obviously Feb is one of the quieter months. Was going to go to Benidorm but alas, no Alicante flights operating on a Thursday. Murcia out also as its too early in the season so no flights operating. Any input appreciated.

Jamie2k9

dodzy wrote: »

Heading down in mid Feb for a few days (Thurs - Sun) for a pals birthday. Any recommendations from fellow boardsies ?

Basically somewhere with plenty of pubs. Don't want to head to a tumbleweed town. Obviously Feb is one of the quieter months. Was going to go to Benidorm but alas, no Alicante flights operating on a Thursday. Murcia out also as its too early in the season so no flights operating. Any input appreciated.

With Benidorm out you really have to fly into Malaga and go somewhere on Costa del Sol.

Perhaps Barcelona could be a better option.

MartyMcFly84

I would recommend Granada in Andalusia. Its beautiful and has a great atmosphere. Its about 400,000 people but the centre is small enough you can walk everywhere. It has Moorish Architecture, Flamenco, culture, characters , cheap food and beer and great wine.

I lived there for 4 years. Its a buzzing university town (80,000) students. There is also the Sierra Nevada ski slopes about 30 mins out of town. So you get a lot of people who come down from the slopes for a night out. You also get free tapas with every drink , one of the few places in Spain where tapas are completely free and huge ,there is a massive range to select from and you dont even need to bother with dinner. 3 glasses of beer 3 tapas for under 6 EUR. Sorted!

Sept-May is actually the busy lively period in Granada and it goes dead for the Summer as it gets to hot and the Uni students go home.

Great nights out to be had there, and you meet students from all over the world and avoid the yobs . Closest airport you can fly into from Ireland is Malaga. You can get a bus straight from the airport to Granada outside the main arrivals. It take about 1hr 15mins.

Many people land in Malaga and stay in this area,its a real shame as they never get the see beauty Spain has to offer and miss out on this gem.

Benidorm is a bit of hole to be honest. But if you just want brain dead drinking it serves the purpose. Will probably be dead this time of year anyway.

dodzy

Jamie2k9 wrote: »

With Benidorm out you really have to fly into Malaga and go somewhere on Costa del Sol.

Perhaps Barcelona could be a better option.

Ever been to Barcelona Jamie? Expensive ? We have it short listed.

MartyMcFly84

Ever been to Barcelona Jamie? Expensive ? We have it short listed.

Lots to do here and see also. However it is a big city. Price wise the most expensive cities in Spain are San Sebastian, Madrid and Barcelona.

In Barcelona its all about knowing where to go. If you don't you can pay 10 euro a beer on las Ramblas, and its dodgy as fudge at night time. I find the prices for a night out in Barcelona is comparable to Dublin.

Its also big and spread out, if you are going keep an eye on the location you are staying as taxis are expensive and you will need to factor this is if need to get them home after nights out. The metro is well connected and runs late, so try and get somewhere central or near a metro stop.

Keep an eye out for pick pockets as they are rife, and always looking for a drunk tourist to rip off, and groups of ladies of the night will surround you and put their hand in all your pockets.

That said its a great place but if going out on the lash you need to keep your wits about you on the street.

dodzy

MartyMcFly84 wrote: »

Lots to do here and see also. However it is a big city. Price wise the most expensive cities in Spain are San Sebastian, Madrid and Barcelona.

In Barcelona its all about knowing where to go. If you don't you can pay 10 euro a beer on las Ramblas, and its dodgy as fudge at night time. I find the prices for a night out in Barcelona is comparable to Dublin.

Its also big and spread out, if you are going keep an eye on the location you are staying as taxis are expensive and you will need to factor this is if need to get them home after nights out. The metro is well connected and runs late, so try and get somewhere central or near a metro stop.

Keep an eye out for pick pockets as they are rife, and always looking for a drunk tourist to rip off, and groups of ladies of the night will surround you and put their hand in all your pockets.

That said its a great place but if going out on the lash you need to keep your wits about you on the street.

Thanks Marty, yeah, it'll just be beer, and plenty of it. Couldn't really be arsed with paying a tenner a pint and having to pick and choose where to go. Just really want a cheapish place with a bit of craic.

MartyMcFly84

Thanks Marty, yeah, it'll just be beer, and plenty of it. Couldn't really be arsed with paying a tenner a pint and having to pick and choose where to go. Just really want a cheapish place with a bit of craic.

This time of year all the typical "Sun holiday" spots in Spain will be dead. Costa del Sol, Benidorm, Majorca etc.

For Sun your best bet is the Canaries. Most places near the airports cater for people who just want beer and sun. (General rule for most places really).

If you want main land Spain I would advise university cities as these are cheaper, particularly southern Spain. Not to keep pushing it but Granada ticks a lot of boxes.

Any way hope you have a good time where ever you end up.

fm

head to Malaga city ,good bars and not expensive,much better than the costa area,a nice spanish city

Eponymous

Took a rugby team down to Malaga in Feb a couple of years ago. We stayed in Torremolinos which was pretty quiet, day and night, however Benalmedina was busy enough with plenty of bars and a bit of craic to be had.

Malaga city is buzzing too and you can take train from Torremolinos for a couple of euro. You can take the train from the Airport to Torremolinos too and it's about 3 minutes walk from the station to the hotel we stayed at.

We stayed at the Pierre & Vacances Stella Polaris, set back up the cliff from the beach, but there are a few routes down. It was really cheap too and I used booking.com so we paid on arrival.

One gem we found was a fast food place on the promenade called McJamon. Very cheap pints and the manager sent out free tapas and shots every couple of rounds, so it was pretty cool.

The plaza where the train station is has plenty of bars and restaurants, and in February it was busy enough during the day, but at night not much going on at all, but as I say, Benalmedina and Malaga are close enough too.