9-Day Andalusia Itinerary

Are flights booked? If arrival/departure is Madrid, you will definitely want to scale back.
The bus does pass through Ronda, so you could break up one of your journeys. I did love Cordoba as well, but it is possible to stop over or do a day trip if something else takes priority.
Sevilla should get the most days. Granada I’d give at least two nights if it is included.
If the seaside is important, I would think September would be better.

Assuming you’re referring to 9 full days, meaning 10 nights (N) then consider 4N Sevilla, 3N each for Granada and Córdoba. The end of September or October isn’t going to matter with regard to temperature. Either works.

To me, there are much better ways to spend your limited vacation time than going to the beach. If your trip was longer, then I’d say go for it, but 9 days isn’t long at all especially since parts of no less than 2 days (and probably 4 depending on where you’re flying in and out of) are travel days. Getting from your hotel to the train/bus station, waiting for the transportation, travel and getting to your hotel from the train/bus station takes away time from visiting the place you’re visiting.

Thank you both! We do not plan on flying into or out of Madrid, it's not part of our itinerary.

Jamieelsabio, how would you recommend planning this trip? I also agree that there is probably too much travel involved, especially for my husband who has never travelled to Europe. Do you recommend splitting our time between 2 cities? Maybe sprinkle a day trip?

Having no idea where you plan to arrive to and depart from it is hard to help. All things being equal: maybe, 2 days Malaga, 3 days Seville, 2 days Cordoba and 2 days Granada? Would skip Ronda and Nerja. We always rent a car and drive so can’t speak to public transport options. Good luck.

If you have 10 nights-

Seville 4 nights- (could day trip to Ronda by bus- we enjoyed our 2 nights there but don't think it should be a priority on a short trip)
Cordoba 2 nights
Granada 2 nights
Malaga 2 nights

Sevilla, Cordoba, Granada---for the first visit to Andalucia, those are the highlights.

I'd leave Malaga and Ronda for the next trip.

Beaches in that area are not worth spending time at, with your limited amount of days.

Best beaches in Andalucia are further west, in the province of Cadiz, and most of the best ones are best visited with a car. (Or very far east, closer to Almeria/Cabo de Gata--neither will fit into this trip unless you extend your time)

If you are coming from the US, I recommend doing as I do: fly into one city and home from another. You will have to make a connection, probably in Madrid. But flying in and out of Andalucia will save you time.

A few months ago, I flew into Sevilla, and home from Jerez--both flights connected in Madrid.
Will do the same thing when I return to Andalucia in March.

Like mml, I always have a rental car, but maybe fly into Granada and out of Sevilla (or vice versa), with Córdoba in between. That would eliminate backtracking and cut down on the number of moves and travel time. As ekscrunchy stated, you will connect to the domestic flights in Madrid and that’s just the way it is.

I like ChristineH's itinerary. That is exactly what we did (minus the day trip to Ronda) and it worked perfectly for us. We traveled exclusively by train and ALSA bus, and that worked out perfectly for us as well. You don't need a rental car on this itinerary. I think it would cause more stress.