Andalucia in Jan - Weather & Itinerary Advice

I did a similar trip, although not as many days, where I arrived in Madrid for 2N and then traveled to various cities - Cordoba, Granada, Seville - and then back to Madrid for a final night before the flight home. In hindsight, I would have done 3N in Madrid before venturing off to other cities, just to have more time to recover from the long flight there and not have to pack up and travel so soon again. So, you may consider shaving a day from another city (as difficult as it is, I know!) to add to your first time in Madrid. Have fun planning!

Edit to add: Or, depending on how early you arrive in Madrid, you could consider immediately taking the high-speed AVE train to Seville or Cordoba the same day, and then ending in Madrid for more nights. The AVE train from Madrid takes about 1hr 45 min to Cordoba, and 2hr 15 min to Seville. The train is much more comfortable than a plane, with more leg room and a beverage/food car. Although, I understand that would be an awfully long travel day for your mom. Just a thought to consider.

I love Cordoba but I think you should take a day from there and add it to Madrid as there is so much to see. Consider a day trip to Toledo from Madrid.

Thanks so much to both! The added night in Madrid for fatigue purposes is a good idea and I may regret not doing that but I'm loathe to miss a night (and day trip opportunities) in/from Seville. I will have opportunities to see Madrid at other times as my work will likely take me there and my mom is yearning for some sun. My one concern is Granada, if we don't do the Alpujarras as a day trip is 3 nights too many - should I add a night to Cordoba and try to see Toledo? I wish reservation policies were more flexible -- if it is raining (or snowing) it would be nice to be able to pivot, but perhaps that could be done with other day trips. Would love to hear your favorites from any of these cities. Thanks!

Hi Jennifer,

I like your itinerary, given your constraints. It's well-paced. I've been to those places in February in recent years and the weather was very mild with little rain and lots of sun. You won't need sandals but do take sunglasses.

Sevilla - Ronda is way too far for a day trip. Seeing Jerez and Cadiz in one day will be a long day. Go to Jerez on a day when there's a late morning horse show at the Royal Equestrian School, then enjoy the town and tour a sherry bodega - Tio Pep's the most fun. To fit in a few hours in Cadiz, you'll need to do the sherry tour in the morning before the horses. Or just spend a less stressful day in Cadiz and see the horse show in Cordoba at the Royal Stables.

Granada - you'll want a full day for the Alhambra, then one more day for the other sights, so keep 3N there. Caveat - if you are talking about a trip this month - make sure you have tickets to the Alhambra before committing to a stay in Granada.

Cordoba - it's my favorite Spanish city, so 3N is great. It's a gem.

If you need to change your itinerary depending on when you can get the Alhambra tickets, you could go there from Madrid, then Sevilla and Cordoba. Or you could go to Cordoba, then Sevilla, then Granada.

If you're going to be in Madrid, visit Toledo. It's easy by train and infinitely nicer. In fact, consider spending nights in Toledo. Lodging and food is both better and cheaper. Madrid has some five star experiences but it's much more expensive than Toledo and has no historic character. Toledo is a beautiful city. It can get crazy cold in the north, whether Madrid or Toledo, so be prepared.

RS book was worth the money when I visited Granada. There are more things to see in Granada, it's not just the Alhambra. I showed up with no Alhambra reservations but used the options in Rick's book to find tickets at a good visiting time. It was an unseasonably cold April and the weather was low 30's with significantly lower wind chill, we drove through a snow storm between Jaen and Granada. So be ready for cold and hope to be pleasantly surprised.

Cordoba is great for one full day. Two nights is really plenty unless you have time and just want to slow down.

I liked Ronda but it's not really a day trip, maybe take one night from Cordoba and use the bus to get there between Granada and Sevilla?

Jerez is a great day trip. It's really the only place in Spain that has drop in visits to bodegas (in this case for sherry). We went to Tio Peppe and Gonzalez Byass, within walking distance of each other but different experiences.

Cadiz isn't a very well preserved place. It's mostly run down hotel buildings with very little redeeming charm. It was a disappointment for me.

Seville is likely to be the best for weather but still not particularly warm. January can be a rainy month although unlikely to be more than a day or two. Ronda will be chilly as the elevation is quite high especially in the morning and evening.

All great suggestions, thank so much! Brad, I took your advice and we are going directly to Toledo instead of staying in Madrid on the front end. Interesting about Cadiz, I am definitely looking for historic character and culture so if it is not worth it we'll cut that out of our itinerary. Chani, thanks so much for your advice about the Royal Equestrian School, that sounds fabulous, we'll definitely go there, and given everyone's concerns about the Ronda day trip I think we'll either try to do it from Cordoba or just pick something closer to one of the other main stops. Someone on another forum suggested renting a car and heading to Ubeda and/or Baeza. So we're now doing:

2 nights in Toledo at Entre Dos Aguas Boutique Hotel

5 nights in Seville at Hospes Las Casas del Rey de Baeza Hotel, with day trip to Jerez
3 nights in Granada at Rosa de Comares
3 nights in Cordoba at Apartamentos Casa del Aceite (so my daughter can do laundry before heading to Florence for a study abroad semester)
1 night in Madrid before our flight home to Portland

I'm still figuring out transportation between each, I know there is a high-speed train for parts of the journey and for others we may be on the slow boat. Thanks to all for your interest and advice!

Could you take a night from Cordoba, to enable a stopover in Ronda ??

• 2 nights in Cordoba

ALT 9366
Dep 10:39 CORDOBA-CENTRAL (Spain)
Arr 12:20 RONDA (Spain)

• 1 night in Ronda

ALT 9331
Dep 16:31 RONDA (Spain)
Arr 20:35 MADRID-PUERTA DE ATOCHA (Spain)

• 1 night in Madrid before flight home to Portland