well, i'm presetly in morocco participating in a study abroad program...we have visited a lot of morocco, and so far Chefchowan is by far the best! it is in the northern part of the country and is definately a must see. a small town, at the base of some mountains...the train system in morocco is also excellent, so its real easyt to get around.

the Mezquita in Cordoba is also a must if you go to Andulacia.... it is really interesting to see how the cathedral is incorporated into the mosque. It also houses the oldest Moorish garden (i think it's called el patio de los naranjos or something).... and 2 days for each of the major cities (sevilla, granada, and cordoba) should be enough time to hit all the major sights. You'll be mad tired, but at least u will have seen everything!

Al Maghrib can be done for the same cost (maybe even less) as a domestic trip, if you plan accordingly. Flake59 is right.... eveything is very reasonable there- food, transportation, NICE hotels, souks, etc.... Casablanca is OK, Marrakesh is great, with J'maa el F'naa (which is very different from Khan el khalili in cairo) and al koutoubia mosque.... but yes, be careful of pickpocketers everywhere! in morrocco AND spain....

Well, I love Spain and have been many times, and I don't mean the areas frequented by the brits eg Ibiza and the costas. I would say go to seville as it has a great feel about it and has lovely moorish architecture, as does of course the al-hambra in granada. that's just a lovely little city, even apart from the almighty al-hambra. i love the arab influence in Southern spain, and a snippet is when we were on a bus in granada, they were playing flemenco music and people were just sitting and standing and very easily tapping out beats with their feet (which is not a very london thing to do). the flamenco scene is great, just try to avoid the touristy places offerring shows, much better to find something small and intimate and cheaper. since you speak spanish that should be no problem. also if you are going in august, i would recommend the tomatina festival in bunol near valencia - a massive food fight! THere are some quiet places between granada and sevilla, with some caves (i haven't seen them yet but i think i may be going for a quick few days in august)

As for Morocco, I went via the ferry from algeciras in southern spain to tangiers in Mor, then caught the 10 hour train to Marrakesh. I loved Marrakesh, the Medina (main square) is lovely with amazing smell of food and hundreds of mini restaurants. You can easily get away with English and Spanish, and of course Arabic is perfect. THe souk is nice too and bought out the bargainer in me. We also went to the Atlas mountains, lovely. If you can fit it in, take a trek to the desert too.
Fez was a bit too much for us, and as it was 2 girls, the hassle factor was huge. It was the blasted kids that really bothered us non stop and the souk is massive, so we got lost which really scared us when a few guys started following us. However, I really have fond memories of Morocco. Eating is dead cheap, and if you don't look white, you won't get conned.

Just to make you jealous Mo, I went the live8 concert in london last weekend, and saw U2, Pink Floyd, Coldplay, THe Who, and too many great bands to mention.....

Hopefully you haven't left fot your hols already!

places to be in Morocco?? MARRAKECH, TETOUAN, AGHADIR, and CASA to get hit by the have-havenot divide.

but careful from the pickpockets in morrocco.

SPAIN: SEVILLA & GRANADA.

July and the first week of August will be more expensive since it will be the peak of "holiday" season... on the other hand, this is when a lot of festivals and parades take place.... Morrocco is cheap any way you cut it... my advise - get a copy of the Lonely Planet for Spain and Morrocco.... it gives excellent information on major sites, smaller attractions, and a wide range of places to stay based on price and location....read it a few weeks prior to your trip or make your itenerary around it.... that's what I do....

agree with zzaid re ave and time in each city. def add seville to the itenirary and climb la giralda and watch flamencos.. read my andalucia journal in this village for more details.. plan to spend some money since dollar is sooooooo weak right now compared to euro.

i reco going thru tarifa to goto morocco. tarifa is such a better option compared to algeciras.. algeciras is just a crapy harbor town.. i went to fez marrakesh and took the desert safari. read morocco in my personal journals.. or in NewPlaces village for more info. have fun!

Hi there - I actually just came back from Spain a week ago. My husband and I flew to London - took the eurostar to Paris, took the train to Madrid, the AVE to Cordoba, and a bus to Granada. Basically then we back tracked the whole way. I think two days in each place should be enough - as long as you plan it well. You might want to add Seville to your list too. Unfortunately we ran out of time so we couldn't go. Hope that helps!