12 days total spain itinerary

I do not think this is a good plan. You are trying to fit in too much in a very short time.
I would skip Barcelona and concentrate on Andalusia. Fly into Sevilla and spend 3-4 nights with a daytrip by train to Cordoba. Rent car upon leaving Seville...

Why Marbella? Do you expect beautiful beaches there?

Fly home from Malaga.

Too much in too little time.

Take a day offf Granada and add to Seville. Skip Marbella, add more time to Barcelona and Seville. Also, you missed Madrid and Toledo, do on another trip.

Another vote for Cordoba (or Ronda). Malaga would be better than Marbella - more interesting, has beaches, has train (Marbella doesn't) and international airport.

If the majority of the trip is to Andalucía, it makes no sense to fly into a city on the opposite side of the country. A place like Sevilla or Malaga makes more sense and would give you more time in the southern cities. You can visit Barcelona on another trip.

Thanks all. Here are some answers to your questions. Yes, I wanted to go to a beach. Are there nice beaches in Malaga? Yes, I will miss Madrid and Toledo. I want to go to Barcelona. I know it’s on the other side of the country. I’ll probably fly in and out of there back to Los Angeles. Other cities don’t fly non stop to L.A. Not sure anyone really answers the questions I asked.

I did Costa del Sol 40 years ago and was very disappointed. Crowded, beaches were not so wonderful compared to Florida.

Costa del Sol has ugly beaches and even uglier concrete high rises.

There are far nicer beaches further west. The beach is Malaga is dark grey hard sand but at least it's IN Malaga so you can see the city. IF you are looking for great beaches, you should go to Cadiz province.

Or you could go to the beach in Barcelona.

Is there a reason you can't take a flight connecting in Madrid, for Sevilla?
You are going to waste an awful amount of time flying from place to place, dealing with jet lag, etc. So you really have only about ten days actual time in your destinations, minus the better part of the day it will take you to get to Andalucia from Barcelona, and then what--do you have to backtrack and fly BACK to Barcelona to get home?
If that's true, you might have to spend a night at the end in Barcelona...
Plan out each day and see how much time you have to see anything...

Day 1, leave LAX
Day 2, arrive BCN....most of day wasted due to jet lag
Day 3. Barcelona
Day 4 Barcelona
Day 5 Fly to.....waste at least half day doing that...
Day 6. Half the trip is over and you've had only two full days in a Spanish city...so let's say: Half day in Sevilla
Day 7. Full day Sevilla
Day 8 RT to Cordoba by train; sleep for the third ight in Sevilla
Day 9 Take train from Sevilla to ....... (Granada? OR Rent car on Day 8 and drive to Cordoba and sleep there, heading for Granada on Day 9. so now only half day left to see Granada
Day 10 Granada (??).
Day 11..drive or train to Malaga; sleep overnight
Day 12 Fly to BCN and on to LAX IF you can connect with your flight to LAX in time.

I got tired writing that and there is still no beach time..

Complicating things even more for you ice that you have to buy timed tickets for the "main sights" in Barcelona, and in Sevilla, and for the Mezquita in Cordoba and the Alhambra. So you will have to make sure you arrive at the exact time printed on your ticket. What's the main reason for going to Barcelona..is it Gaudi? Or just seeing the city and not bothering with the timed sights?

You can work it out but its best to do it like that to make it easy to see just where your time is going.

I just came from 5 nights in Sevilla...I flew there from NYC. Now I have a rental car to visit places in western Andalucia (including gorgeous beaches; I just returned from a seafood lunch on a glorious white sandy beach near where I am staying.) Fly home from Jerez via Madrid---leave Jerez 1:40pm, arrive USA that night.

Is this your first trip to Spain?

I wouldn’t say the beaches along the Costa del Sol are ugly; they are beaches. That stretch of Spain is extremely touristy, full of ex-pats, and lacks the Spanish charm and authenticity of other areas. You’d have an easier time getting good fish-n-chips or bangers & mash than a good paella. If all you want to do is hang out at a beach then it’s fine. Some people thoroughly enjoy the Marbella area and all its resorts. Since I don’t seek out beaches when I travel to Spain, I avoid that area.

I always have a rental car when visiting Spain and the last time I went to a beach it was far east of Malaga at Mojácar. There were very few tourists. You don’t have the luxury of a rental car, so with your limited time Marbella would probably be a nice place to wind down the trip.

I think I'm with you on this one. I looked at photos and they looked uninspiring. I'm going to skip the beaches. So now, I'm looking at starting in Barcelona (3), taking the train to Madrid (2) - toledo day trip, train to Seville (3), rent a car and visit Ronda (1), Granada (2), fly out of Granada. For some reason, I'm not keen on Madrid, and would prefer to skip it, that's why my original idea was to fly from Barcelona straight to Granada and then visit the southern area from there. Thoughts on this? I really want to visit Barcelona.

There's no rule stating that you should see Madrid, so feel free to skip it and fly or take the train from Barcelona to Andalucía bypassing Madrid. This lets you allocate a 4th night to Barcelona and an extra night wherever in Andalucía. Maybe Seville for a day trip to Córdoba, or Ronda to have more time touring small villages.

we had a fabulous 14 nights in barcelona and the costa brava a few summers ago. we had plenty of time to explore the city with several easy day trips: a beach trip to stiges, a day in Girona both by train. then six nights on a beautiful beach/small harbor in Callela de Palafrugell maybe two hours north of barcelona on the Costa Brava. we enjoyed lots of beach time and coastal hikes there and also two day trips, one inland to Besalu and the other north to Cadaques. it was a fantastic itinerary for us with only day trips with some driving or train time. Epic really. this year we are spending 12 nights focusing on Andalusia. flying in and out of Madrid but not spending time there just renting a car. we'll have 3 nights on the beach at Calpe; 2 in Girona; 3 at the beach in Nerja; and 3 in Seville. wish we had more time but alas, i would need to retire.

Sounds much better!

I would skip Ronda and take a day trip to Jerez instead. It's not overwhelmed with daytrippers like Ronda and in my opinion, has more to offer. It's a beautiful, small "white city," and only an hour from Sevilla by train.
If you are interested in food, Jerez has great restaurants.I spent 3 nights there in 2023 and will return at the end of next week, before flying back to the US from Jerez airport.

We flew from LA to Barcelona for 6 nights (spent extra time there for a big festival), took a fast train to Seville for 5 nights, took bus to Granada for 3 nights, train to Cordoba for 3 nights, train to Madrid for 5 nights. You could definitely spend less time in each city and take a flight from Barcelona to Granada. I would check for Alhambra tickets and plan the itinerary around those dates. You also need to book La Sagrada Familia tickets ASAP. We loved the Cordoba Mezquita night tour, try to do it if you spend a night there (I don't think they have it every night). We enjoyed Madrid more than we expected to but you certainly don't have to go there. But you might want to fly home from Madrid instead of going all the way back to Barcelona. If you make time for Madrid, try to squeeze in a day trip to Segovia.

I still do not understand why she would not fly home from Andalucia rather than traveling to Madrid or Barcelona and then getting a flight home. (??)

Which airline are you flying to Barcelona?

No matter what, I’d have a connection somewhere. Whether it’s Paris, London etc. I can get nonstop flights from LAX to Barcelona.

I guess you've decided but why can't you take a non-stop LAX to BCN, take your trip to Andalucia, and fly home on one ticket from Andalucia via whatever airport you choose? Not take a SEPARATE flight back to Barcelona, have to either spend another night there at the end OR fly to BCN on two separate tickets, meaning you will have to collect your bags and check I again for your flight home?

Like this, as one example:

LAX-BCN

SVQ-MAD-LAX. or SVQ-BCN-LAX

You know what I mean by one ticket, right...where you get your boarding pass for both flights when you check for the first flight, and your luggage gets checked through to LAX. Maybe I don't understand but I thought you were considering doing a flight from Malaga or Sevilla or Granada to BCN and then taking another non-connecting flight back home.

Yes, that’s exactly what I would do. LAX to BCN. Whatever the last city is in Andalusia. Say it’s Seville, fly to BCN to LAX. See how I’m in and out of Barcelona back to LAX? I know it gets confusing. Basically I want a bar Leon south spain itinerary. 12 days (14) with flights.

Oh, good!!! Now I understand!!

Are you absolutely set on Ronda and Granada?

If you wanted beach time, you could take train from Sevilla to Cadiz. Cadiz is much. more interesting than Ronda, to me. Spend a night or two there, then rent car and drive to Vejer. Gorgeous white hill town within 20 minute drive of some of the most beautiful beaches in southern Spain; this area is the COSTA DE LA LUZ. You can get a hotel on one of the beaches, or in Vejer itself. (I'm writing this from my hotel there right now!!)
If you love seafood, and gorgeous, blindingly white hill towns with far less tourists than other beach area in the South, this is the place to be!!!

https://www.cntraveller.com/gallery/costa-de-la-luz-andalucia

https://theluxuryvillacollection.com/costa-de-la-luz-beaches/

At the end, drive to Jerez. If you have time, spend-2 nights there after dropping car. Fly to BCN from Jerez and back to LAX.

Hi. I’ve decide to not do any beach time. I really want to see the Alhambra.