Hi Second trip (previous was dedicated to Madrid and Barcelona only) in September. We like museums / art and nature, good scenery.
Flying into Madrid, Coming back from Seville.
2 nights - Madrid upon arrival. Rent car on the last morning of Madrid stay;
2 nights - Granada,
2 nights - Cordoba
3 nights - Seville
Does the allocation and sequence makes sense?
Why not the train?
Since you have been to Madrid before, I would head to Cordoba on arrival since it is the closest (by train).
ETA
A while back, you asked about a driving trip that would take in Extremadura, where a car would indeed be useful. This itinerary focuses on the main towns of Andalucia, which are so well linked by train that I don't think you will find much advantage to renting a car. In fact, it may limit where you stay because you will require parking. If you devote the two Madrid nights, you might find you can squeeze a nice scenic drive in through some villages, but I would dissuade you otherwise.
Three nights is tight for Seville.
I like the idea of getting to Cordoba on your arrival day, then going to Granada and Seville. Yes, it's tricky to figure out a reasonable departure time for the train when you can't be sure your flight will be on time, but it would give you extra time for Seville and avoid the churn involved in checking in and out of a Madrid hotel.
I agree that renting a car for the Andalusian cities you want to visit is not a good idea. It would be very stressful because these cities have many pedestrianized areas along with very narrow streets and very little parking. Parking and attempting to drive through these cities add a lot of stress to your vacation. All of these cities are well connected by trains and ALSA buses. The buses are clean, air conditioned, reliable and modern.
I also agree with the suggestions to omit Madrid since you have already been there and head straight to Cordoba. That way you can add an extra night to Seville, a wonderful city with many important historical sites and beautiful parks and neighborhoods for exploring. Gorgeous architecture, plazas, fountains, and parks. And then add the other night to either Cordoba or Granada.
Did you visit Toledo when you visited Madrid last time? If not, you could spend 2 nights in Toledo instead of Madrid upon arrival. If you do this, when you leave Toledo to head to Cordoba, you will need to change trains in Madrid. That is what we did. It’s not stressful; it was an easy transfer. This option does make for a busier trip, however.
Yes we did visit Toledo and loved it. Spent enough time not to come back.
So then we will consider abandoning the idea of the rental car and Madrid stay.
Upon arrival will take train to Cordoba. Will spend 3 nights in Cordoba, 3 Granada and 3 in Seville.
Will we have enough to do there w/o the car? Is distribution of days seems right to you?
Line up your must sees in each city. I did a similar trip recently. Worked for me - if you need an extra day somewhere, I found 2 nights for Cordoba - one full and one half day- fine for my interests. Small but charming historic area that doesn’t talked long to traverse - if that area holds all your interests.
I also have found Seville of less interest than many on this board. Not a criticism, just a reminder that all travelers have personal preferences. Your Seville plans would work for me.
Unless you want to drive to places outside your main cites/towns, train works fine for your destinations. Granada connections are awkward to/from Seville. Correct me if I’m wrong, but trains go through Codoba. You could explore reordering cities according to optimal routing.
Per your update of 3 days each in Granada, Cordova and Seville- we just visited all three in the past month. Based on our experience, I would suggest 2 nights in Cordoba (plenty, small city), 3 in Granada and 4 in Seville.
We spent one night and nearly 2 full days in Cordoba and it was enjoyable and plenty of time. We even had time to explore the ‘new’ town for a few hours. We adored Sevilla (spent 3 weeks here!) so I might consider only one night in Cordoba and 5 in Seville.
So the main question here then is - will I have enough to see in the Seville itself without the car to venture out? or you all are saying I can have a view day trips via train/bus?
Also - do I have space to add a night in Caceres? Does it make sense to do that?
Granada is the outlier location wise. If you wanted to add Cáceres, drop Granada. You could make a nice loop Madrid-Cáceres-Sevilla-Córdoba-Madrid and save yourself a few driving hours in the process. Cáceres to Sevilla is only about a 2.5 hours drive so you’d have time to stop in Mérida or Zafra to look around.
