15-16 day itinerary

We did the same drive from Granada to Ronda and on to Seville. I really wish we had an extra night in Ronda as we felt rushed with just the 1N and did not have enough time to see the other nearby white hill towns (Grazalema, etc.). We also only had 2N in Seville and felt 3N would have been much better. So, I would suggest adding the extra 2N to those locations.

Sounds like you want to spend some time in the car driving through the country, but if you tire of car time once you get to Seville you could definitely return the car and take the high speed train to Cordoba and onto Madrid and Toledo. The trains are fast and super easy to use.

Have fun on your trip - what a wonderful way to spend your anniversary!

We actually enjoyed some of the other hill towns more than Ronda. I wouldn't exclude Ronda, it is interesting but very busy. Loved Zahara and Grazelema. It was also just an amazing area to explore. In my opinion, you could use another night in the hill towns, another in Sevilla and another in Cordoba. I would cut or reduce days from Madrid unless you are an art enthusiast and plan to go to the Prado. Segovia is a great day trip.

I agree with the suggestion to drop the car upon arrival to Sevilla. Trains are faster and less stressful.

Thanks so much! So would you all suggest we take out Valencia and fly from Barcelona to Granada?

I like all the places on your list with the exception of Valencia and Murcia. Nothing against them, but I found other places more interesting. I found Almeria much more interesting than Murcia city. Since you'll have a car and want to see the countryside, look at some of the small towns along your route since there are innumerable small chapels, bridges, castles, windmills, etc. throughout the country. Once you begin researching, you’ll be amazed at all the places to see that are off most tourists’ radar. For 15-16 days your itinerary does include a lot of driving time. I spent 18 days in northern Spain alone and didn’t have time to see all I wanted to. With regard to Jerez, it is worth visiting, but it is out of the way from the other places on your list, so for this trip, I’d suggest skipping it and using the time elsewhere.

I think you're shortchanging Barcelona. Your arrival day may not be worth much, sightseeing-wise, because of sleep-deprivation and jetlag, so I'd count what you have as three days. Then you propose to spend most of one day (I assume) going to Montserrat. Barcelona itself is somewhat challenging to manage in four full days; you'll have two.

I confess that I haven't gotten to Montserrat yet (too interested in the mondernista architecture in the city, and the art museums), but I don't think you need to take a tour there.

Have you looked at weather statistics for southern Spain? The average high temperatures for July and August in Seville are 100F. Mid-summer is not a good time of year to be in that part of the country. Madrid and the area surrounding are usually also quite hot, though not as bad as Andalucía. Barcelona's temperatures are typically more moderate, but the city sometimes has high humidity that can make 80F rather unpleasant.

In mid-summer, the most pleasant parts of Spain are the Pyrenees and points west, all the way to Galicia. Stick fairly near the coast and you're like to have very moderate temperatures (and quite a lot of clouds).

Thank you! Yes, I understand the weather will be warm. However, that is when we can travel as I am a teacher and our kids will be away at camp all summer. So, we will just make the best of things. Will look into spending more time in Barcelona.

Do you understand that the weather will be hot, not just warm. Temps in Andalucia and Madrid in summer are almost always in the mid to high 90s and temps well over 100 are not unusual. I believe Barcelona and Valencia have somewhat lower temps but with high humidity.

I encourage you to consider spending your time in the north of the country instead of Andalucia, going through some of the Pyrenees, Basque country and/or Galicia. There is plenty to enjoy. I took a quick look at daily temps here - Madrid in July last 2 years, temps were in the 90s, Bilbao mostly in the 70s and 80s.

Day
1. ARRIVE Barcelona (4N)
2. Barcelona
3. Barcelona
4. Barcelona
5. Fly to Granada (2N)
6. Visit the Alhambra
7. Pick up rental car & drive to Ronda (2N)
8. Day visiting pueblos blancos
9. Drive to Seville (4N) & drop off rental car
10. Seville
11. Day to Cordoba for the Mezquita
12. Seville
13. Train to Madrid (4N)
14. Madrid
15. Day to Toledo
16. Madrid museums (or day to Segovia)
17. DEPART Madrid

Thank you Chani! Yes, I get it. I grew up in Florida and have been to Israel 4 times in the middle of July. Nothing can be as hot as Masada in the afternoon in Jully!!!!

David, thanks for that breakdown. I will look into that. Much less switching of hotels.

I'm still not sure if I'm ready to let go of Valencia. If we do that, I will spend less time in Madrid.

I very much like Valencia and am surprised it doesn't get more love on this website. It seems to me to be the ideal place for a two/three night stop with its mix of old and modern sights and generally relaxing "vibe". But, I guess, it is relatively remote for the usual 10-14 day tourist routes of Barcelona-Madrid-Andalucia and it doesn't have any "wow" postcard sights like Granada or Sevilla. Given your limited time and lengthy list of other places you may need to skip Valencia this trip (in all honesty, much as I like it, it is a second visit to Spain sort of place compared to other cities).

If you did drive from Valencia to Granada, are you aware how long that trip is? At least five hours and more likely six. Also, I wouldn't want a car if staying in central Granada, so perhaps choose a hotel up near the Alhambra. If you did drive it in a day, then Murcia city is the ideal place to stop since it's halfway and also ideal for lunch because Murcia is a foodie capital of Spain. Also, if you only spend a few hours in the city, you won't feel you've short-changed it as there are few specific sights to see (two low-key ones, basically - the catedral and the casino). On the other hand Murcia is a pleasant city for just wandering around, eating and doing nothing in particular.

Day
1. ARRIVE Barcelona (4N)
2. Barcelona
3. Barcelona
4. Barcelona
5. Train to Valencia (2N)
6. Valencia
7. Train via Madrid to Toledo (2N)
8. Toledo
9. Train via Madrid to Seville (4N)
10. Seville
11. Day to Cordoba for the Mezquita
12. Seville
13. Train to Granada (2N)
14. Visit the Alhambra
15. Train to Madrid (2N)
16. Madrid
17. DEPART Madrid

Thank you David. We really want to rent a car and do some driving.

Here is a revised itinerary incorporating some of the suggestions above. I may have to cut 2 nights. If so, where should we cut? Thanks so much!

Day
1. Barcelona – (morning arrival)
2. Barcelona
3. Barcelona
4. Barcelona
5. Get Car and Drive to Valencia (3 h 40 min) - Stop in Tarrogona (1h20m)
6. Valencia
7. Drive to Granada (5 h) – Stop in Murcia (2.5 h)
8. Granada - Alhambra
9. Drive to Ronda (2.5 h)
10. Ronda
11. Drive to Seville (2 h) – Return Car
12. Seville
13. Seville
14. Train to Cordoba (45 min)
15. Train to Madrid (1h 45 min)
16. Madrid – Daytrip to Toledo
17. Madrid – Day trip to Segovia
18. Depart for home

Combine 14 & 15.
Drop 17.

So, you are saying do day trip to Cordoba instead of spending a night? And eliminate Segovia and a night in Madrid? The rest looks ok?

What would you think about staying in Toledo and cutting Madrid all together?

I think Madrid is nice enough, but compared to all the other places you are going to, it probably ranks at the bottom of the list. I think it'd be a shame to miss Segovia. Its an interesting and lovely city. And I would absolutely stay overnight in Cordoba, at the very least. Cordoba is such a pretty city with amazing sights. I understand the appeal of day trips. It means you don't have to pick up and move as much. But you lose time in the city and you also miss the quieter hours of the day, when the day trippers are gone. I think Segovia is excellent as a day trip while Cordoba has so much to offer that a day trip doesn't do it justice.

13..Seville
14..Early train to Cordoba (45 min) .... store luggage & visit the Mezquita ... then evening train to Madrid (1h 45 min)
15..Madrid – Daytrip to Toledo
16..Depart for home

Re, staying in Toledo ...
Depending on your flight departure time, transit from Toledo to Madrid Barajas Airport could add a further layer of stress.

re. David's point on getting to the airport. I'm not sure how often it happens, but we were in SPain in Novemeber and our train was cancelled. Completely cancelled! The next train was full we were told. So that was an unanticipated delay. The Toledo trains can sell out, too. I would purchase the Toledo to Madrid ticket in advance. Probably only a couple days, but I wouldn't buy it the day of travel.

So, I have reworked things... Can you please tell me your thoughts on this. Thanks so much.

Day
1. Barcelona – (morning arrival)
2. Barcelona
3. Barcelona
4. Get Car and Drive to Valencia (3 h 40 min) - Stop in Tarrogona (1h20m)
5. Valencia
6. Drive to Granada (5 h) – Stop in Murcia (2.5 h)
7. Granada - Alhambra
8. Drive to Ronda (2.5 h)
9. Drive to Seville (2 h) – Return Car
10. Seville
11. Seville
12. Train to Cordoba (45 min)
13. Rent a car and drive Toledo (4 h) – Quick Stop in Consuegra to see the windmills
14. Toledo
15. Drive to Madrid - Return Rental Car
16. Depart for home

Looks fine. Just some minor comments:

Day 6 - I'll repeat my earlier comment that driving in central Granada is not fun, so consider that when choosing a hotel. Since your main sight is the Alhambra, perhaps stay up near there and take the bus down to the main centre/Albaicin. Sunset isn't until after 9 in July, and if you want to break the drive from Murcia to Granada, you might consider a short pit-stop in either Lorca or Guadix for a little bit just to take in the view. Whilst I did say Murcia doesn't have (m)any major sights, I think with a leisurely lunch you're more likely to spend 4 hours there than 2.5 if you plan to see anything (the bell tower is good - Spain's tallest).

Day 8 - a short diversion takes you to the dolmens on the outskirts of Antequera. There's a big car park and, I think, a cafe. The dolmens only take an hour to walk around and are an interesting sight for a leg-stretch. But it will likely be blisteringly hot walking around the archaeological park so bring water.

Day 13 - windmills are lovely, but an alternative stop (or additional one if you have all day) would be either Ubeda or Baeza. Not too far off your direct route and both are beautiful. Baeza is the more compact one and whilst "worth" longer a couple or so hours would cover its highlights.

And to state the bleedin' obvious, don't forget to account for the time needed to pick-up & drop-off your hire cars, plus parking at the stops and city traffic in places like Valencia and Sevilla.

I'll reinforce what Nick said. I left Granada feeling like I didn't love the city like I did Sevilla (and like we later felt about Cordoba), I think it may have been where we stayed. We stayed in a lovely inn, but it was by the cathedral. It mostly just felt like a big city in that area. I think it is probably more atmospheric to stay in Albacin or just below the Alhambra.

Thanks! Nick, will definitely take your advice about staying near Alhambra. Makes sense. Also am looking into your advice to stop in Baeza. Looks beautiful! Also will stop at Dolmens.

We have decided to stay in Toledo the last night instead of Madrid and will then go directly to the airport in the morning. This gives us the chance to stay an extra night in Cordoba! We are thinking of flying roundtrip to Madrid and taking the High Speed Train to Barcelona upon arrival. We have also added an extra night in Barcelona.

Now onto planning the hotels, sights and my favorite... Restaurants!!! Any input would be appreciated.

One more question... How necessary is it to have a tour guide with us in any of our locations? We would hire a private guide, but am not sure where it would be the most worthwhile. Or can we do everything on our own? Do most of the sights have docents to tell you about them?

Here is our revised itinerary... (still a work in progress)

1. 6/28 (Fri) –Arrive Madrid – Train to Barcelona – (morning arrival)

2. Barcelona

3. Barcelona

4. Barcelona

5. Rent Car and Drive to Valencia (3 h 40 min) - Stop in Tarrogona (1h20m)

6. Valencia

7. Drive to Granada (5 h) – Stop in Murcia (2.5 h)

8. Granada - Alhambra

9. Drive to Ronda (2.5 h)

10.Drive to Seville (2 h) – Return Car

11.Seville

12.Seville

13.Drive to Cordoba (45 min)

14.Cordoba

15.Rent a car and drive Toledo (4 h) – Quick stop at Windmills

16.Toledo

17.7/14/19 - Drive to airport in Madrid and Depart for home

A lot of Barcelona sights have audioguides.