32 days in spain

My favorite cities in Spain are Toledo and Seville. Of course, Barcelona, Madrid, Segovia, Granada, Bilbao and Salamanca are great as well.

Not so fond of Costa del Sol, but Ronda is nice.

You need AT LEAST
4 days in Seville
2 in Cordoba
4 in Barcelona
3 in Madrid, more if you do day trips to Toledo and Segovia (those two cities are a MUST).

Also, strongly recommend the Basque region, especially Bilbao. It is fantastic. Recommend minimum of 4 days in that area.

Seville - 3 or 4 full days
Cordoba - 2 full days
Ronda - 1 full day
Malaga - haven’t been to it in decades, so won’t comment
Grenade - 2 full days
Madrid - 3 or 4 full days will give you a good feel for the city
Barcelona - 5 full days

There are plenty of opinions on this, but is comes down to what you want to see in each place and how long it will take to see them. A location some people could spend a week at others are bored of after two days.

We get rental cars and don’t use public transportation from place to place

My memory may be off but I think the only train challenge location of the ones on your list is Ronda-- bus (or rental car) I believe is easier.

Looks like a great list of stops!!!

Caminito del Rey is a good day trip from Malaga (and so is Marbella if you like posh or Nerja if want quainter. ) Costa del sol area (and Seville) are typically warmer. We spent a month down in Malaga one Jan/Feb and were lucky with perfect weather almost everyday. Malaga doesn't have the marquee sites like the other places but we enjoyed it. (We took Spanish classes at CILE to pass the time.)

I'd give the most days to Barcelona, Seville and Madrid just as others above suggested.

Happy travels!

I agree with the general time suggestions offered by others.

I wouldn't day trip to any of the places you've listed. In most cases my reason is that they have so many sights to see and areas to explore that a day trip wouldn't provide enough time. I'd go with a minimum of three nights even in the smaller places, with the exception of Ronda.

In the case of Ronda, you might get by with a day trip if the traveling in and out were a bit more convenient. I'd rather have insufficient time in Ronda than in the other places you list; Ronda's nice, but it's a more minor destination. However, many people who want to see Ronda also wish to see one or more of the white towns, of which Arcos de la Frontera, Grazalema and Zahara de la Sierra are the most often mentioned. Those are all small, and each can easily be seen on a day trip (in just a very few hours) if you're willing to spend a good bit of time sitting on buses; not all are best reached from Ronda if you don't have a car, however. A lot of folks rent a car for a small chunk of their trip to facilitate seeing the white towns more efficiently. Typically, one end of that driving segment is Granada.

Of the white towns I've mentioned, Arcos needs more time than the other two. Via public transportation Arcos is most easily reached by bus from Jerez (visited for horse shows and sherry houses), which is on the way to the historic city of Cadiz. There's also bus service from Seville, but it's a lot of bus time. Grazalema can be a day trip by bus from Ronda. Zahara I'm not sure about except that as of 2019 the bus schedule did not permit a day trip from Ronda.

Central Spain (Madrid, Toledo, Zaragoza, Segovia) could be cooler in the winter than you're expecting. You might want to check historical weather data so you know what to expect. Barcelona, though farther north, is usually warmer in the winter since it's in the coast.

I would probably reorder the itinerary. Sevilla is a small airport so you'd have to make a connection in Europe. If you can, fly direct into Madrid and out of Barcelona.

Madrid If you are really into European painting, allow 2 full days for the 3 art museums. While there's enough to enjoy in Madrid for another 2 full days, I find it to be the least interesting place in Spain and one of the least interesting European capitals. OTOH it is convenient for a couple day trips, including Toledo. I loved Toledo, but it is much better as a 1-2N stay. It's les than an hour by train from Madrid on a spur line, so you have to connect through Madrid to go anywhere else.

Cordoba Since it's between Madrid and Sevilla, I'd go here, then Sevilla. You can see the highlights of Cordoba in a day trip. it's possible to leave your luggage at the bus station across the street from the train and then continue to Sevilla or you can day trip from Sevilla during your stay there. BUT since it is my favorite Spanish city, I highly recommend a 3N stay. It's generally quiet in the evenings, quite romantic to wander the historic center before and/or after dinner. BTW dinner in Spain is typically eaten after 9 p.m. While most good restaurants won't be open for dinner before 8 - or later - you can always find tapas places where you can eat heartily.

Sevilla At least 3N here. There's a lot to see. This is the place to enjoy flamenco and the tapas are said to be the best in Spain, hence the best in the world. You can day trip to Jerez by train to see a horse show at the Royal Equestrian School (not offered daily, you must book in advance) and tour a sherry bodega or two. Cadiz is farther by train but also doable as a day trip.

Ronda If you are prepared to rent a car, you could spend 3N based in Ronda to visit some of the hill towns. Leave Sevilla in the morning, stop at Arcos and maybe more depending on the time (Arcos needs about 1/2 day). Spend a day in Ronda to see the sights and another day going to several towns and enjoying the very scenic driving, with pullouts for viewing and photo ops. Then drive to Malaga for 1N and then to Granada and drop the car. Without a car, I would probably skip Ronda. Without being able to enjoy the hill towns, it's not worth the time and hassle for a single day there - and you really don't need more.

Granada 3-4N allowing 1 full day for the Alhambra. I spent 4N here and felt it was one too many. I highly recommend a night visit to the Alhambra's Nasrid Palaces in addition to a full day visit. I realize this plan means a long travel day to Barcelona, but if you sandwich Madrid here, you end up with about the same amount of train travel, just split in two. Some people prefer to fly, it may shave an hour or so off your travel time, but I prefer a long comfortable train ride to the hassles of air travel.

Barcelona is a gem. You can easily spend a week here and still want more. Then there are all the great day trips.