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Well I've never been to Spain!

These comments are not useful, not to mention that they say much more about yourselves than you probably wished others knew.

Depending on when you go, I would recommend traveling to Palma de Mallorca - just off the mainland to the East in the Mediterranean. The golf is fantastic with wonderful views, pristine fairways and immaculate greens. Downtown Palma is like Vegas, without American conservatism. It's suitable both as a family vacation or a trip out with the boys. Palma in the Summer is phenomenal. As I said, it's kind of like Vegas (night life), so you can expect to see people coming in from all over Europe. Packed topless beaches, cantinas, tons of ancient sites to see (Romans used to own it), architechture, shopping and wonderful Mediterranean food and wine.

I spent 4 days there last July, stayed at the Gran Melia (very nice) along the Southern waterfront. It's about 45 minutes from where stayed to reach the golf course (Alcanada) on the northern side of the Island. Played 2 of the 4 days while I was there. There is lodging available closer to the course; however, there are courses closer to where I stayed. I chose what was being touted as the nicer course on the island and I wanted to stay where things were happening. Wasn't just a golf getaway for me.

Palma is best visited in the Summer, but late Spring would likely be just as nice. Palma is technically a part of Spain, but the local populace does not view themselves as such. Additionally, because it is an island that consistently receives visitors from all over Europe, they are not experiencing the affects of the hurting economy and you do not see the demonstrations, hardships and strife that the rest of Spain is experiencing right now. From a force protection/security standpoint, of course there is crime everywhere, but the crime rate in Palma is relatively low. Most everyone speaks English and are very friendly.

I'll post some pics of the golf course so you can take a look for yourself. I'm also very happy to answer any questions you may have, if I can.

I was able to play Valderrama and I recommend it highly.

Thanks a bunch for your comments and suggestions! We'll look into the area. Did you only play the one golf course. We plan on playing at least four times and maybe five. It's actually a golfing vacation but we do want to do some sightseeing. We're not much for right life. We prefer to be in bed early. So far the green fees I have seen quoted seem reasonable; $65 and up with courses like Valderama (recommended below) more expensive. I don't mind paying for golf but we can't afford $200/person and up course. That gets expensive quick when there are two of us. So, we are trying to pick an area, then focus on golf courses and hotels.

I just did a quick check, June 6th (weekday), $323/person. Wowser! I guess I won't be playing Valderama since I am on my own nickel. Man that's expensive.

Just got my first estimate for golf, rental car and hotel in Spain for 2 people. $3,010/person for 7 nights, 5 rounds of golf, a rental car, and breakfast each day in the hotel which is usually rolls and coffee if I remember correctly. The estimate does not include air fare from Houston to Malaga, Spain. Anyone have any idea if this estimate seems reasonable?

They're just ribbing you a little, man. It's lyrics from an old song by Three Dog Night. The title of your post left the door open for that one. ;-)

Who's three dog night?

I'm a Frankie Valle and the Four Seasons, Buddy Holly and the Crickets, Chuck Berry, Elvis, Fats Domino, Johnny Cash, etc.kind of guy.

Decided this wasn't useful.

Need to make it bigger.

I think we have decided to go to Malaga, Spain. There are nice courses nearby, a beach and Gibraltar is not very far. We were unable to get to Gibraltar last time and we want to go there this time. The pictures that we have seen do indicate that there are some fantastic Mediterranean views and mountain views from the courses.

Questions:

Tipping, what did you tip, if you tipped.

Do you remember what the taxes were on your hotel? We estimated 30% total taxes since we had nothing else on which to base the taxes. We assumed that 30% would be conservative.

Did you rent a car while you were there? If so, give me some particulars.

Thanks.

gsollars,

Sorry for the delay in my response. I do not get on here nearly as often as I should. In response to your questions, unfortunately, I'm not going to be much help. When I traveled to Spain it was at the expense of the US Navy, I had quite a lot of money socked away at the time, and didn't give much regard to how much I was spending. I do not recall what the tax rate was, but I can tell you that my room was ~280 Euro/night, so about $360.00. The Navy was also kind of enough to give me a lift wherever I needed to go, so there was no need for me to have a rental. Sorry that I'm not really helping you out. You mentioned Gibraltar - here are a couple of pics I took as I passed by the famous landmark.

Here are a few pics of the golf course, Alcanada.