Almost done planning, what do you think?

After much thought, I have pulled Seville out of my itinerary, mainly due to hotel and transportation costs. We will save it for another trip.
We will be in Madrid, Toledo, Salamanca and Segovia July 2-10th (this cannot be changed, I know there is a bit of extra time in Madrid but I am meeting people there on the 9th).

After that down to Jerez. (A flamenco show the night of the 10th in Jerez)???
Or is it better to spend the night in Cadizl??? (Although i am still waiting to push back my reservation to make a night here possible)

Then down to Conil for surf camp (traveling with the boyfriend).

After that on the 14th straight to Tarifa for camping. Where we will have a relaxing time on the beach, (yes I know its windy) maybe scuba dive, take it easy, go to Morroco for a day as a flagrant tourist and sight see the area a bit. Then back to Jerez on the 19th and catch a flight to Madrid on the 20th.

Seville, Granada would have bee nice, but I think this is best for us, given that we are short on cash and don't want a vacation wasted on driving to one city to the next without really getting to know the place.

Don't go to Morocco for a day trip unless you have a clear understanding of what this means (ie what Tanger is like). Save yourself the stress!

Ditto - you'll waste more money on an unpleasant transit town full of peddlers and day trippers. Do yourself a huge favour and relax on the beach in Tarifa instead.

I do go to Tanger sometimes, but that's to get spices and coffee when I'm feeling extravagant, and I dash into and out of the Medina. I wouldn't spend all day there.

I agree, going to Morocco for the day is too much stress, you can never trust boat's timetables because of wind and tides

Cadiz is a much better option than Jerez

#3 <blockquote>Quote
<hr>Cadiz is a much better option than Jerez<hr></blockquote> - for what and why?

Taritta, it would be enormously helpful if you didn't start a new thread every time you come up with a revised itinerary. People can't see what has gone before.

I would find it impossible to answer your question about which place is 'better' for you without your being more specific about what you're looking for. On your previous threads you made it clear that a flamenco concert/gig was a priority and you were told that Jerez was a great place for that. So what are you looking for in Cadiz that you think will be missing in Jerez?

If you're short of money I cannot see any point at all in going to Tangiers for the day.

Like NavajoRug, I'm completely bemused by the last sentence of #3's post. No explanation given whatsoever for that statement. Mdelgado, would you like to explain?

Taritta - I was going to suggest the same - keep one thread going and use your today button to find it. Do not fret that people will lose track of it - they can use their today button too. Too many threads are confusing and one has to browse to remember all you've said about your plans.

Mdelgado - Cadiz could be "better" for many things and "worse" for others. Throwing sentences around like that without an explanation serves little purpose. Considering that the OP has a bit of a problem with bus schedules, suggesting that she pushes it to Cadiz because it's mysteriously "better" seems illogical. Cadiz is a wonderful city, not the best place for flamenco though, especially compared to Jerez.

Could you come back and tell us what your thinking there was?

Cadiz does have more going on than Jerez in terms of flamenco in summer. Little chance of finding it on a Tuesday, but if you can be in Cadiz on a Thursday, you've got the Cadiz summer flamenco concert series starting at 10:30ish until whenever they're done at the Baluarte del Candelario.....usually featuring Jerezano flamenco artists!

If you do want Flamenco in Jerez, I suppose you could go to the Taberna Flamenca in barrio Santiago....and if nothing is happening ask some of the kids hanging around the street where you could hear it, you may just well be treated to a "pataita" of bulerias "a palo seco"...

Bad news I can't move my reservation which means I have to go directly from Jerez to Conil in one day. (Which I still do not how I am going to do because I just miss the bus into Conil at 1630, and I guess the next buss at 1830 won't give me enough time to get into Cadiz, maybe I should cave and rent a car for a few days, we will be four people for awhile, maybe it's worth it to see the area, but I will go back to my transportation thread to ask a question about that).

Anyway, it means I won't be able to stay in Juarez are Conil, but since I am not going to Seville, it leaves me time to spend a night in Jerez or Conil on the way back. Yes Flamenco is my number one priority, but I am also traveling with my boyfriend, so if one city is generally nicer with more things to do I would consider that in making my opinion.

Sorry for the confusion about multiple threads... you all have been very good with tips, so I will try to follow your advice on posting in the future.

<blockquote>Quote
<hr>Anyway, it means I won't be able to stay in Juarez are Conil<hr></blockquote> don't you mean Cadiz? You are staying in Conil that night, right?

Sorry I am horrible with typeos. I meant Juerez or Cadiz.

No, you meant Jerez. Do NOT go back to your other thread. Stick with this one. What transport information do you need? You'll need a big car for four people and their luggage.

No scuba diving around Tarifa, btw. Tarifa is very overrated, IMO. Nice beaches to the west, but...

diving in Tarifa :))

Shoot, no addresses, try here

Nice post, Ms Rug. Suiko, I have to say that I'm always sceptical when people say a place is 'very overrated' simply because it begs the question "By who and in what respect?" The guidebooks I have are pretty much on the button with their descriptions as far as I can see.

Taritta - please keep all your questions here and do not go back anywhere else or start a new thread. It´s the same trip we´re talking about anyway. It´ll be easier.

Yes, "overrated" is a very personal judgment - it really depends what you expect. I´ve seen people disappointed with Paris...Tarifa to me is exactly what it is so popular for - a nice laid back surfer town, with a hippie feel, a pleasant beach, couple of good restaurants. I enjoy munching on those excellent sandwiches at Hormiga Voladora, watching fit-looking people (discreetly) rest after wrestling the waves. There are worse ways of spending an afternoon.

Ok All posts well now be made here. So here are more questions. (Some repeated, but I am just not sure what I am going to do so ignore them if you feel that I have already asked and got answers to them). Oh and thanks for the scuba places, I apprecaite it.

1. I still dont know how I am going to get from the Madrid airport at 0045 to town. I tried booking with shuttle service aerocity and they refused my request! Are there are any other shuttle services, I know the subway won't work out but I don't want to take a taxi by myself either.

2. Still don't know the best way to get from Jerez to Conil de la Frontera. I land at Jerez at 1630 and from what it sounds like, I'll miss the last bus from Cadiz to Conil since I won't be able to get a bus out of the airport until 1830. Our surf camp says we should rent a car I think this is a bad idea because we want a relaxed, take it easy vacation and dont want to worry about a car. (He claims to think though that it will give us more opportunity to see the region, but I am thinking we can do this after surf camp, since we have 3 days in Conil and 4 or more in Tariffa. (Although during surf camp we are four people, so maybe its worth it for those days?? Is it worth to have a car there, even if we are just poor studnets??)

3. Is there anywhere near Tariffa/Conil worth checking out that should not be missed?

I guess we can take a taxi to Jerez, but I'm hoping not.
After re reading your comments on Jerez, I think Im definetly going to try to spend a night there, do I need to book a room ahead of time or can I just show up?

If you split the car rental price four ways, it won't be that much. Although as Tony mentioned, you'd need something of decent size. Have you checked prices - googled for it?
Tony is the expert as far as t schedules and public transport are concerned - I simply have to admit I do not know have any bright ideas how to solve your problem.

Jerez can get busy, especially cheaper places. I'd book.

cheap accommodation Jerez

Click to enlarge, tell me if you can read it, it's been scanned.

Tarrita

Q1. I'm not sure why you're reluctant to take a taxi. If it's on the grounds of cost, I can understand that but you have no other choice at that time of the morning. If on the grounds of safety, I would think that you're going to be fine. I've never heard of any solo woman coming to harm in a Madrid taxi. Otherwise, do a Google search for "transfer barajas madrid" or "transfer airport madrid": you'll get some results that might be interesting.

Q2. I gave you all the public transport details, including times and options, on how to get from Jerez airport to Jerez, Cadiz and Conil on one of your other threads. I'm afraid you'll have to go back and find them. (This is why it's best to stick to one thread - flitting about from thread to thread, looking for stuff already posted gets tiresome. Do a search under your own name - top of this page.) However, it looks as if you've decided to stay the night in Jerez. If your flight gets in on time, I think it would be a pity to wait around at the airport till 1830 just to save a few euros. Get a taxi into Jerez if you can afford it.

Just in case OP looks in - there are no flamenco concerts on Thursdays this year in Cadiz (referring to Chanol's post) - they're on Fridays, which has just been confirmed by the tourist office today. That's one of the problems I find with flamenco establishments in Cadiz - the penas do not confirm their program till the last moment. I did not comment as I did not have the info till yesterday.

Last year Jueves Flamencos did not start till 15th of July... The best way to do this is to confirm "agenda cultural" at the tourist office as you arrive. There are "actuaciones flamencas" in Jerez this Tuesday, but, if you look in, Tarrita, and you have decided to spend the 11th in Jerez, please get info at the tourist office as I do not want to be responsible for any possible misinformation. I went to a flamenco gathering yesterday - it was supposed to be in a Pena in El Puerto. After having arrived there, I found a hand written note: We have moved to Hotel Monasterio. Such things simply happen... The tablao " la Cava" in Cadiz does shows on Tuesdays and Thursdays - 20 euros for "entrada" and 1 drink.....

Hey NavajoRub, are you sure about the friday flamenco thing in cadiz? It wouldn't be the first time that you get different answers with regards to all things flamenco around here, but I heard that Antonio el Pipa is performing in that concert series on the 19th (thursday) at the Baluarte....this source came from El Pipa's guitarist who is a friend of mine.....

The website "deflamenco" has a fairly complete (but not everything) list of flamenco happening all over Spain and beyond...check under "agenda". And for those in the area, don't miss the first annual "fiesta" dedicated to the memory of Luis de la Pica.....It's going to be the WWF of flamenco events!

Hey, Chanol. I asked three times and was told Friday but I wouldn't be surprised if it turned out wrong. As you say, the usual uncertainty. Seems like you've got info straight from the horses mouth though (so to speak). If I am off work, I am going to the Luis de la Pica event. Also, El Cigala is playing in Puerto on the 17th - I actually sort of like him (shhh). Tickets are 30 euros though.

There are summer concerts at the Catalina castle in the evening but only a couple of them are flamenco related - the posters are plastered all over Cadiz. There is also a festival of international music, so one wouldn't be bored.