I'm excited for you to be planning to such an amazing vacation. You’re sure to get your fill of cathedrals, sun, late nights, amazing views, wine and olive oil. But you probably won't get enough of the breathtaking scenery, meticulous architecture and lively atmosphere. Take time each day to wander the narrow streets and enjoy a seat in the many plazas. It's been a while since my year there, but below are some ideas off the top of my head of the places you asked about (Málaga, Almuñecar, Salou. Find a guidebook and follow some of their recommendations too.
MALAGA – Malaga is a coastal/port town, with some resorts and nice beaches. This is where I first learned that Spanish women don’t need to wear tops on the beach. This is also where Picasso is from, so they might have a good museum, I don’t remember.
Day Trips from Malaga
1. GRANADA – This is where I lived for the year and was never bored. It’s about an hour from Malaga. You could have a very full day here. So if you go dedicate the day to Granada. You must see the Alhambra. Maybe even buy tickets in advance. This is one of the marvels of the world. Be sure to check out the Arab gardens in the back too, called Generalife. Walk a few streets among the remaining minarets and Moorish arches on the hill of the Albycin. When I was there this was Spain’s largest university, so there is a lot of youthful energy. Check out some café’s and enjoy a Spanish tortilla (more like a round egg and potato omelet).
2. ALUÑECAR – Just east of Malaga, this is a nice half-day visit in a picturesque white-hill town that shows how much the Moors influenced Spanish architecture (and that of Latin America as well).
3. RONDA – A quaint romantic city set on a mesa and split down the middle by a huge gorge. This might be a good day trip, especially if there’s a bullfight or a festival.
4. LAS ALPUJARRAS – a real getaway in the mountains south of Granada, and east of Malaga. You can take a bus up through these pristine tiny white timeless villages. Mabye you could do this and Almuñecar in the same day.
5. SEVILLA – A big city, with amazing museums and the world’s largest Gothic Cathedral (which is appreciated better from the inside with it’s huge columns). Aside from the cathedral, there’s nothing here that Granada doesn’t have (Granada has one of the world’s largest Baroque Cathedrals).
Alicante
Day Trips
I don’t know this area at all. But they beaches are nice and less busy than other parts of Spain. Consider a day trip to Valiencia or Murcia; these are cities with a lot beautiful buildings and great restaurants.
Salou
Day Trips
1. BARCELONA – Take the time to check this place out thoroughly. I’d say make two day trips up here. There is a train that runs very regularly along the coast. Should take less than an hour to get you from Salou to Barcalona. Look up the architect Gaudi and see his crazy imagination at work. He’s long been dead, but a cathedral he designed (Sagrada Familia) is still under construction and will be for another 50 years. He designed apartments, parks and more. There’s a couple open-air tour busses that are really easy to buy passes for and get-on and get-off of to see most of the attractions, on is red one is blue. Heck, spend there days here if you like.
Via Ramblas is the center of the tourism, try and spend part of an evening here too. If I haven’t mentioned it before, Spaniards love to stroll at night. So if you’re out and about, you’ll be amazed at all the people-watching opportunities. Don’t forget to try and see a Salvador Dali museum, his birthplace Figureres, is not far from here.
2. MONT BLANC – If this appeals to you, this is another quaint, romantic town similar to Ronda, but surrounded by a giant wall. It might be a nice lunch stop if you made it to see some of the famous Monasteries in the area
3. Monasteries - Poblet and Monserrat are pretty cool places, even if just for the architecture, but also for the serene settings.
OTHER CONSIDERATIONS
GUIDEBOOKS – I highly recommend the Eyewitness Guide to Spain for all it’s little maps and colorful pictures. It does a pretty good job of introducing places as well. You can always rely on a Lonely Planet guide book to provide you the essential information.
FESTIVALS – I didn’t check, but you should check to see if there are any festivals corresponding with your trip. Spain has so many. I swear, Spain rivals Brazil to be the biggest party place. On that night, you should plan on partying one night really late because most of the places don’t start happening until 2a.m. or later!
FOOD – Spain’s food is not spicy. It is a heavy Mediterranean Cuisine, with lots of potatoes and olive oils. I think it is delicious, but many react differently. Picky eaters often like their pizzas (Margarita style), or just settle for Bocadillos (sub sandwiches, but with good bread). Mornings are often un-fasted with churros (deep fried dough) and chocolate with Café con Leche (Spaniards like their strong coffee, but diluted with milk). In southern Spain you’ll find food being automatically served with your drinks, these are called TAPAS. Traditionally, they’re free, but some places charge you. Often you can make a meal just by drinking and eating what they serve you (sometimes the just serve olives and nuts, other times they serve sandwiches, pizzas, seafood and other gourmet dishes).
BULLFIGHT – As politically incorrect as it may be, the bullfight is as much as part of Spain as Catholicism. They’re guaranteed to be bloody and entertaing. Check schedules, you may get to see one in Malaga. Or one in Spain’s oldest plaza de toros in Ronda or in Spain’s largest plaza de toros in Sevilla. But, you’ve seen one, you’ve seen ‘em all.
The EURO – Spain is part of the European Union, so it uses the Euro, which is stronger than the dollar these days, so you may find even Spain to be expensive.
GYPSIES – Spain is one of the many places where you find large permanent gypsy settlements, especially in Southern Spain. To be honest, they look like Mexicans (darker, more rounded). I mention this because you’ll surely be encountered by some gypsy women trying to hand you rosemary and read your palm for “free” and demand money from you in a very shameless way. My recommendation is to smile and keep on walking.
Terrorists – ETA is a Basque separatist group that was pretty active bombing public figures up until a couple years ago. In fact, I think they’ve declared a “cease –fire” of sorts. My point is, don’t worry about them.
TRANSPORTATION
TRAINS -- I traveled mostly by bus. I took the “AVE” train from Sevilla to Madrid, which is super fast. The rest of the trains are more conventional, and cater to passengers, but depart less frequently than busses.
You probably could comfortably do the main moves by train (i.e. Madrid to Malaga, Malaga to Alicante, Alicante to Salou, maybe Salou to Madrid). But your daytrips you’d be best to use the busses.
BUSSES -- Most times you can just show up to the bus station and take off within a few minutes. But if you want to plan ahead, they print out bus schedules, and sometimes have them online. Lonely Planet will have some schedules for major bus routes, Eyewitness Guide doesn’t.
CAR RENTAL -- I rented a couple cars from Europcar and had no troubles. The model car I liked was the Peugot 206, which was a very nice, fast, comfortably small car back then. FYI: Gasoline is “gasolina” and diesel is sometimes “gasoil” or “gasolio” or just “diesel.”
MOROCCO – If you were feeling more adventurous, I’m sure you could easily arrange a tour of much of Morocco for 4 to 6 days from Malaga. A travel agency would be the best source of information, but you’d bus from Malaga for an hour to the southernmost tip of Spain to a city called Algeciras. From there you would ferry for a couple hours to Tangiers, where you’d meet up with a tour that would take you around for a few days, including Casablanca, Rabat, Fez (and Marrakech if you did a 7 day trip).
Though they share many cultural similarities because of their close histories, Morocco is an amazing contrast to Spain. You’d be surprised how lush and vibrant the country is and that the desert is only a small part of the country in the East side of the Atlas Mountains near Marrakech. The markets are fascinating, hustle bustle, places where you will definitely feel out of place, but never unsafe. These are places where thieves are severely punished; especially those who get caught preying on tourists because tourists are the lifeblood of many honest entrepreneurs.
But the food, the language and the overall feel would be a huge shock. This would be less relax, more adventure … even in a guided tour.
