9 days itinerary for Spain

9 days. 5 cities. Do the math.

Each time you pick up and move from one location to another, you will consume half a day at best, often more, sometimes most of that day. Yes, it can be done (although there are parts of Spain, eg Granada, where connections are not as quick and efficient as many people expect), but maybe not the best way to experience the places.

Most of your days you will be getting up somewhere, traveling to someplace else, getting settled in there...that's a lot of moving around and not a lot of time to spend actually being somewhere.

May 2 - arrive in Madrid. Do you arrive early enough to take the train to Toledo since that's your desired destination?
May 3 - Toledo. Remember you will have jet lag today.
May 4 - train to Seville (If you are able to add an extra day, I would stop on the way to see Cordoba's Mezquita)
May 5 - Seville
May 6 - train to Granada
May 7 - Granada (reserve your Alhambra tickets as early as they become available.)
May 8 - train or fly to Barcelona
May 9 - Barcelona
May 10 - Barcelona
May 11 - fly home

Personally, that is a lot of towns for your allotted number of days! Is it possible to add two more days to your trip? You barely have time in Seville right now.

Alhambra tickets are already sold out many days in May 2019. If that is the reason to go to Granada check before traveling there. Some have success booking Alhambra tickets via group tours or through their hotel. It is faster to fly from Granada to Barcelona.

Jean's itinerary is about as good as any you will be able to come up with.

That said, I think your plan is too many places and not enough time in any of them (except perhaps Barcelona -- another place where you need to anticipate crowds at popular attractions, get tickets well in advance, and plan your days carefully).

Jean's suggestion to push on to Toledo upon arrival makes some sense (you won't be able to salvage much from that evening anyway) but the problem is you will probably collapse in your hotel bed the moment you reach Toledo, and will want to sleep in a bit the next morning to recover...and that means you miss out on the best way to see and experience Toledo: outside of the mid-day crush of day-trippers.

Honestly, I think you need to cut out at least one stop, maybe two. It's a shame because that part of Spain is rich with such great places to visit, but you risk missing them anyway as you blow through too fast.

Add 4 or 5 more days to your trip, and it all looks much better...

With only 10 days-not counting your arrival and departure days which are a wash it's absolute madness to see all those cities and travel by train, which takes up half a day on its own. If you don't have tickets to the Alhambra skip Granada for now. If you like cultural experiences I'd leave at least one day in Madrid for looking at the food markets, Prado or other art museums, Retiro Park and/or Royal Palace. You also need three full days in Barcelona, IMO. Below is an idea of how I would travel.

Madrid- May 3/4 leave early on the 5th

Seville- May 5/6/7 leave in the afternoon

Barcelona- May 8/9/10

Thanks for the feedback. Makes planning so much easier. I can extend my itinerary for a day. Here’s how I plan

May 2 We reach Madrid 8.30 pm
May 3 spend the day in Madrid
May 4 day trip to Toledo
May 5 leave for Seville from Madrid in the morning
May 5/6/7/8 Seville
On May 8 we do a day trip to Granada from Seville with a guided tour
May 9 fly out early morning from Seville to Barcelona.
May 9/10/11/12 stay in Barcelona
May 12 late evening fly out of Barcelona

Please suggest if this is a better itinerary. This way I cover most with stay in just 3 major cities. Also would the day trip from Seville to Granada with a guided tour ensure me a ticket to the Alhambra??

Only company enquiries can determine whether entry into the Narid Palace of Alhambra are guaranteed. Personally, I would stay in Granada overnight and fly to Barcelona from there but I don't know the group dynamics. I would at least know torus from Granada would include Nazrid Palace.

There is at least one tour company marketing Alhambra tours that do not include the Nasrid Palaces. Be sure you know what you are getting. The tour description should be explicit, or you have to assume you are not going into the most important part of the complex.