12 days itinerary in the south of Spain

I assume your travel days are in addition to your in-country days. Change “days” to “nights” in your itinerary and it is doeable. The one night stays in Nerja and Ronda should be sufficient since both towns are fairly small. What I like is you’re not trying to cover the entire country and the time needed to drive between locations is under a couple hours. Other than on your arrival day, to make the most of the rental car look for places to stop between your destinations. For example, between Nerja and Granada there is a aqueduct at Almuñécar and the town of Lanjarón is worth a short visit.

Look for hotels that offer either free parking or on-site pay parking. Parking can cost €11-€25 per day. Parking garages will generally be more expensive than a hotel’s parking rate.

Hi
It is actually all “nights” plus the two days traveling . Thank you for the parking tip which is an essential.
I will do more research for more places to stop during our drives .

My suggestion would be:

Malaga 2 days (skip Nerja)
Ronda, 1 day (mostly to walk the El Caminito del Rey: stay/eat in Arriate)
Sevilla 3 days
Cordoba 2 days
Granada 2 days
Frigiliana 1 day
Málaga 1 day

We did the same, picking up a car on arrival to Malaga, and thoroughly enjoyed our self-drive trip. Have fun!

I really like your itinerary, I can put it together.
Is it worth staying at Frigiliana for one night ? Or stay 3 nights in Granada instead ?
Thank you for replying

If going to Granada, you must see the Alhambra. Book your tickets to the Alhambra ASAP.

Frigiliana is lovely and worth a stop en route back to Malaga. We did not spend the night there. Instead, we spent a couple of nights in Nerja (where we would not return). Another day in Granada may be worthwhile. Alternately, we enjoyed Malaga. Please note, driving in Sevilla is a bit hectic and in Granada is crazy so best to find parking near your accommodation and drop the car.

Have a great trip!

Thank you for your inputs :
What do you think about this itinerary ?
Malaga 2 days (skip Nerja)
Granada 3 days
Cordoba 2 day
Sevilla 3 days
Ronda, 1 day (mostly to walk the El Caminito del Rey: stay/eat in Arriate)
Málaga 1 day (last day to go home the next day

You have a very doable itinerary. However, I recommend taking the trains instead of renting a car. Having a car for many of these towns, especially Malaga, Seville, Cordoba, and Granada will add more stress to your trip. These towns have very narrow and often times one-way streets that are difficult to drive in. And many of these areas are pedestrianized. The train and bus system in Spain is awesome! They are dependable, clean, comfortable, and modern. So are the ALSA buses. We visited the 4 towns I mentioned and we used trains and the ALSA buses. Not once did we need or use a car. It was so easy and stress-free

You really only need a car to get to Ronda. Perhaps pick up the car when you leave Malaga, make your stop in Ronda, and then drop off the car at your next destination.

I have no insight on Nerja and Malaga, but my partner and I visited your other planned destinations for the first time in Sep 2023:
Seville 3 nights
Ronda 2 nights
Granada 2 nights
Cordoba 1 night

This itineray worked well for our travel style. Our trip report might have information useful for your planning: https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/trip-report-spain-aug-sep-seville-ronda-granada-cordoba-madrid

Thank you for the detailed itinerary , it was vey helpful.