Timeshare exchange Spain recommendation request - pre-Barcelona departure?

[erdoran]

I'm cruising out of Barcelona October, 2011 and was thinking of trying to do a timeshare exchange for the week before to somewhere in Spain. At this point there are resorts with availability in

Alicante.

Almeria.

Castellón.

Gerona

Ibiza

Lerida

Malaga

Pas de la Casa

Tarragona

 

Since I have a long time until my cruise, obviously the availability will change. If it matters, I exchange through RCI using weeks.

 

Any recommendations for location and resort(s) for a weeklong pre-cruise stay? I cruise out of Barcelona Sunday 10/23/11 so my plan is to arrive in Barcelona no later than 10/22. One thought I had was Ibiza, and then the ferry to Barcelona, but I'm only beginning to consider what to do. I'd really like recommendations from anyone, either with RCI exchange recommendations (even if not on the above list) or any thoughts in general about things not to miss in Spain.

 

For what it's worth, I like local culture rather than international glitz, and prefer country to city. I love beaches but am guessing late October is too cold for swimming.

 

Or would I be better off staying in Barcelona for a few days pre-cruise and exploring? Or can anyone recommend a 7 day or less tour of Spain & area that isn't overpriced and that could be tied in with the cruise? Or--are there relatively unknown flight options with interesting stopovers? (e.g. Flying to UK via Iceland without extra airfare cost)

[hkto]

If you are not 100% committed to staying in timeshare for 7 days then are many interesting areas to visit:

 

a) Andalusia (Sevilla/Cordoba/Granada) and sometime in Malaga

b) Madrid and side trips (Segovia/Avila/Salamanca/Toledo/Escorial)

c) Catalonia (Barcelona/Tarragona/Gerona/Figueres/Monserrat)

 

Plans A and C can be based in one of your choices (Malaga/Tarragona/Gerona) but not for entire 7 days.

 

Sea in mid October may be still ok especially in the south (Costa Del Sol)

Edited August 1, 2010 by hkto

[catllar]

I'd avoid Pas de la Case like the plague - it's a dump. I live about 100kms from and you couldn't pay me to stay there! Tarragona is interesting - has amazing Roman rermains and you are on the delta of the river Elbe with its birdwatching and canal network (just steer clear of the petrol refinery)

[kpitch]

We exchanged for a week in Salou, about 2 hours from Barcelona. Many would consider Salou a tourist city, and along the beaches and waterfront streets, it was a tourist town. However, we found the back streets interesting with shops, markets, cafes and less crowds. Salou was a good base for side trips to Tarragona and Cambrils and the beaches were very nice. We thoroughly enjoyed our stay there.

 

Kathy

[English_in_Spain]

As I said in another thread, is the timeshare in Alicante actually in Alicante city or in one of the nearby resorts? That would make a lot of difference.

If you can let me have the name of the place I could perhaps advise.

[erdoran]

Carol, thanks for the assist! I'm still uncertain what I want to do. Here are the exchange options at the moment, subject to change:

 

Albir Garden (#2827) 4 available units

Alicante

,

Spain

Bahía Azul (#2587) 1 available unit

Alicante

,

Spain

 

Club Atlas Nou Espai 1 (#2441) 6 available units

Alicante

,

Spain

 

El Palmar Holiday Club (#1265) 6 available units

Alicante

,

Spain

El Retiro Holiday Club (#1471) 6 available units

Alicante

,

Spain

Flamingo Benidorm (#2803) 1 available unit

Alicante

,

Spain

 

 

Gruphotel Ogisaka Garden (#2928) 5 available units

Alicante

Parque Denia Club (#3053) 5 available units

Alicante

,

Spain

San Vicente Holiday Club (#1461) 3 available units

Alicante

,

Spain

 

None of them are very highly rated. They actually all seem to be some distance from Alicante, even though they all say they are Alicante. Some seem to be in Denia.

[English_in_Spain]

All of those links failed.

You must remember that Alicante is the name of the province as well as the main city so you could be quite a long way away from the city.

I would be very careful choosing somewhere if you have no details as you could end up in a package holiday type place.

The only one I know is Flamingo, Benidorm and I would certainly avoid that.

[John Bull]

As Carol's first post, the places you have been quoted are vague districts, which makes it difficult to advise.

 

The timeshares in Spain are mainly in purpose-built out-and-out package-holiday resorts along the med coast.

Although still a great deal warmer & sunnier than northern europe, in October most will have a rather bleak "out-of-season" atmosphere - more so the further east that you go. The beach-fronts will have a bit of atmosphere during the day, but in the evening there's likely to be only pockets of life......... with the possible exception of the Costa Del Sol (along the coast either side of Malaga, Andalucia), which is the warmest part of the med coast & attracts a fair few winter visitors and snowbirds.

 

Some established towns that have latched onto tourism, such as Nerja or kpitch's suggestion of Salou, will have a bit more life though most timeshares will be in sprawling "urbanisations" away from the centre.

 

So very few timeshares will be in ideal locations, but may be ok for you as a base from which to tour by car.

The Costa del Sol would be your best time-share bet, there's plenty of the real Spain in the hinterland - places like Granada, Tarifa, Jerez, Cadiz, Seville, Ronda & the "white villages", etc depending on just where along that coast you are based. But Barca is a long way - about 600 boring interstate miles or a flight.

 

Much of the coast between the Costa del Sol & Barcelona is backed by scrub-covered hills with very little of interest.

 

In Catalonia (Catalunya) around Barca is your other main option - apart from the city's attractions, it is day-trip distance to places like Tarragona, Gerona (Girona), Andorra, Tossa de Mar, the french border. And of course, handy for your cruise. Geographically, Andorra & Tossa are both on a limb & unsuitable as a base.

 

John Bull

[gbucky]

Did you recently get an offer from RCI about cruise and deal? I am RCI member too.

[erdoran]

No--I had booked this trip directly through NCL and only thought about doing an exchange after I had the cruise all set. I have booked another cruise thru RCI previously, but I can't go into detail because we aren't allowed to recommend travel agents. If you want to email me about them you can email madhatterdinners@gmail.com.

[Eightydays]

You should consider Malaga. Athough it will be a 5-hour train ride from Malaga to Barcelona on the AVE train, there is so much to do in that area of Spain. In addition to spending time in Malaga, you can visit Granada, including the Alhambra, Ronda, the whites cities of Nerja and Mijas, and even Gibraltar.

 

That's what we are doing next summer before our Barcelona cruise, except we are staying in Marbella.

[bonnieg]

I am a RCI member who has exchanged a few times to Marbella on the Costa del Sol. We love this area of the Andalusian region. There are many great day trips to villages like Rhonda, Arcos del la Frontera, Nerja. Also Granada and Sevilla are around 2 hrs away which you can do as a day trip or overnighter. I would only exchange if you can get a gold crown resort. The McDonald resorts are very nice. Last time we didn't get a gold crown and the place was a dump. It's very easy driving in this area. It is far from Barcelona, but a very nice place to visit.

[debbeck]

I have to agree with the Malaga suggestion. We had a time share in Malaga a few years ago. It is a very touristy beach destination but it is conveniently located within 1 to 2 hours of a lot of wonderful Spanish sights that should not be missed. We went to Granada and the Alhambra, Ronda, Seville, Marbella, Gilbraltar, and even a day trip across the Straits of Gibraltar to Morrocco. Malaga has food choices for all tastes because of all the tourists and very nice beaches. Rent a car...roads are great and you can see amazing sights in just a week! Have fun! We loved Spain!

 

(Malaga is about 500 miles, I think, from Barcelona so you would need to fly or go by train to get to the cruise)

[AVAD]

We are cruising out of Barcelona in March and also have access to timeshares with RCI. We wondered if any of the areas would be possible destinations without renting a car. My sister had a wreck in Spain a couple of years ago while sightseeing in the Malaga area and it was a nightmare since they couldn't speak Spanish. We are hesitant about renting a car and wonder if it would be worth possible or enjoyable trying to get around with public transportation.

Thanks :)

[Ainhoa]

We are cruising out of Barcelona in March and also have access to timeshares with RCI. We wondered if any of the areas would be possible destinations without renting a car. My sister had a wreck in Spain a couple of years ago while sightseeing in the Malaga area and it was a nightmare since they couldn't speak Spanish. We are hesitant about renting a car and wonder if it would be worth possible or enjoyable trying to get around with public transportation.

Thanks :)

 

I notice that the original poster mentioned Girona (Gerona) as a possible exchange. This is an interesting small city with a lovely walled medieval area, good restaurants and not too far from Barcelona. You can take the train from Girona station to Sants station in BCN. There are regular trains throughout the day. From Girona station, you can also take the train north to Figueres, a half hour journey (Dali museum) and even on to Perpignan in France. One and a half hours will bring you to Barcelona from where you can take lots of different journeys.

[waterbabies7415]

I'm cruising out of Barcelona October, 2011 and was thinking of trying to do a timeshare exchange for the week before to somewhere in Spain. At this point there are resorts with availability in

Castellón.

Gerona

Ibiza

Lerida

Malaga

Pas de la Casa

Tarragona

 

Since I have a long time until my cruise, obviously the availability will change. If it matters, I exchange through RCI using weeks.

 

Any recommendations for location and resort(s) for a weeklong pre-cruise stay? I cruise out of Barcelona Sunday 10/23/11 so my plan is to arrive in Barcelona no later than 10/22. One thought I had was Ibiza, and then the ferry to Barcelona, but I'm only beginning to consider what to do. I'd really like recommendations from anyone, either with RCI exchange recommendations (even if not on the above list) or any thoughts in general about things not to miss in Spain.

 

For what it's worth, I like local culture rather than international glitz, and prefer country to city. I love beaches but am guessing late October is too cold for swimming.

 

Or would I be better off staying in Barcelona for a few days pre-cruise and exploring? Or can anyone recommend a 7 day or less tour of Spain & area that isn't overpriced and that could be tied in with the cruise? Or--are there relatively unknown flight options with interesting stopovers? (e.g. Flying to UK via Iceland without extra airfare cost)

 

This original post is 3+ years old. We are planning a Barcelona cruise and would like to do the same thing by exchanging with RCI for a 7 day timeshare as close to Barcelona as possible. Tarragona seems to be the closest and I was wondering if anyone knows this resort:

(it's Not a gold crown or any award resort-makes me nervous)

Estival Park (#2579)

Tarragona, 43480, Spain

Or

What would your recommendations be? I'm not very familiar with Spain's geography but I am trying. I also understand Tarragona is not only a really good base for day trips but also a nice destination itself.

Thanks for all suggestions,

Kim