Andalucia Itinerary advice

When you arrive in Madrid take the next flight to Granada instead of sleeping in Madrid. I’m assuming you already bought your airfare. If so, can you make changes? If not, then buy a separate ticket.
You’re not allowing enough time for Ronda that’s more of a blockbuster sight than Grazalema, Zahara and Olvera. Spend a full day in Ronda.
Cordoba is a day trip from Sevilla and Toledo is a day trip from Madrid by direct train. Drop off your car in Sevilla and take a direct train from Sevilla’s Santa Justa station to Madrid.

Your itinerary is well planned and covers the key spots. Here are a few pointers:
Two nights in Granada is ideal; be sure to reserve tickets for the Alhambra in advance. For your free day in Ronda, Grazalema is great if you’re after mountain landscapes, while Zahara offers a quieter vibe with a hilltop castle. As for Córdoba or Toledo: Córdoba is more convenient location-wise and has the unique Mezquita. Toledo, on the other hand, has a medieval feel with panoramic views, though it’s a bit farther from Madrid.

Day 9 is easy because you stop in Cordoba on the train line from Sevilla to Madrid, whereas for Toledo you would have to go via Madrid.
Are you dropping the car in Sevilla?
What is your travel to Madrid like? Could you press on to the train on arrival day?

Thanks so much for your replies. Very helpful!
@MaryPat - we arrive in Madrid late morning, so am now thinking of getting a driver to drive us from the airport straight to Toledo (not sure of cost by may be worth it). If we get to Toledo by lunchtime, would it be enough time to have the afternoon, and evening in Toledo, and then leave in the morning by train to Madrid, and then on to Granada. That way we could still fit in Toledo.
A full day in Ronda is a good suggestion, it looks beautiful. Perhaps spend the whole day in Ronda, and just do one hilltop town the next morning on our way to Seville. Then on our way from Seville 3 days later to Madrid, we can still stop for a day and overnight in Cordoba. It will be very rushed in Toledo, but at least we get to see it.

@leonelapuzma Yes, we have 2 nights in Granada and one full day - and we have already booked Alhambra tickets :) As suggested above we are thinking a full day in Ronda, and then one hilltop town on the way to Sevilla, but which one is the question? Grazalema, Zahara, Olvera or even Setenil de las bodega? And are they all similar enough that seeing just Ronda and one town is enough? We have to get to Seville by early afternoon to check into our hotel, as that evening is the Kings day parade, starting at 5 and the streets will be crazy.

@Valadelphia - Yes we're returning the car in Seville. Regarding pressing on to train on arrival day - I wonder if it would take too much time to get from the airport to Atocha station, and then get the train to Toledo, which is why we're considering a driver, or would a taxi straight from the airport to Toledo be feasible?

Just as an FYI, in September of 2022 we hired a driver from Toledo to the Madrid airport and it cost us $150.00. We were 4 adults with 4 pieces of luggage. We used zonetransfers.com which is a Spanish company.
We used them again last month, very reliable.

I think it is fairly straightforward travel from MAD to Toledo, but after an overnight flight, I'd have no hesitation to splash out for a driver. I have done an hour or so drive after an overnight flight (or rather my husband has), but I personally would not be eager to do the drive myself because the driving around Madrid is fairly hectic--lots of traffic on beltway. That is probably the best way to fit in Toledo, and you still get to see Cordoba (I have managed to not make it to Toledo on three visits).

I think you wanted some rural and nature around Ronda, but the time just might not be there. While you are in Ronda, if you don't get to to Grazalema or Zahara, you could just do the hike out of town near the gorge, or hop over to Benaojan for the rail trail:
https://www.andalucia.com/rural/walking/railway.htm
You might be tired after the caminito anyway, and there is plenty to keep you occupied in Ronda for a day.

Good plan, but don't miss Toledo.

If you’re there during the summer the days will be long enough so you can enjoy a full afternoon in Toledo. I spent the night once in Toledo and when the tourists left at the end of the day Toledo shut down. With that said ask your hotelier where you should go for dinner. I believe some places open around 9p but after a night of no sleep you’ll be ready for bed then.

Thanks for your replies!
We will be there in winter (this coming January) and the days will be short. The more we consider, the more we think going to Toledo on day 1 is not a great idea, much as we would love to - but by the time we get there will likely be after lunch, and we will be wiped after an overnight long haul. So I think we're back to staying in Madrid, and leaving for Granada the next morning, and then its a toss up between Cordoba and Toledo for our last day and night.... Which leads me to think - as we have two half days and two full days in Seville, should we stay in Seville, or take one of the full days to do a day trip to Cordoba, and then go to Toledo on the last day, or will we be short changing Seville?

Thanks also for the advice on Ronda - we'll definitely spend the whole day there.

I spent one night in Cordoba as you are thinking about doing. I had a wonderful dinner and liked the street my hotel was on. The next morning, I visited the Mezquita and found it redundant. The scenery inside never changes. All my photos look the same. The next morning, I toured what was left of the old town that wasn’t much. I suggest skipping Cordoba and going to Toledo instead. No need to spend the night though.

Mary Pat - great advice - we honestly don't really feel the need to see the Mezquita, I've herad it's impressive, and I know many people go there for that reason, but we are much more soak up the atmosphere, do walking tours and wander around kind of people, and we will do the Alhambra, and the cathedral in Seville and that will be enough for us. If there is nothing else particularly special about Cordoba and it has a similar feel to Granada and Sevilla where we will be spending more time, I feel happier about missing it and not short changing our time in Seville. We'll head to Toledo in the afternoon, spend the night and most of the next day and that should work great.

Thank you to all of you for your advice and suggestions, I love this forum!

We did a 17 day road trip through Andalucia in 2023. Highlights for us were: hiking the El Caminito del Rey; the Mezquita; and, the rooftop tour of the Seville Cathedral. After walking the Caminito, we visited Ronda and, unlike others, found it to be (in September) extremely crowded, touristy and unwelcoming. Happily, we stayed outside Ronda near the small town of Arriate which was lovely. A day spent driving through the white villages was perfect: Olvera was our favorite. For what is worth, my suggestion would be drop a day from Ronda and allocate it to Cordoba.

I visited the Mezquita and found it redundant

Apologies, but I could not disagree more. I can see that someone might say that when comparing the Alhambra in Granada and the Alcazar in Seville, since the Alcazar was modeled after the Alhambra.

Now, as to whether or not you have time for a day in Cordoba - that’s different. We all have to make choices when we travel. And we can’t see everything. I’d be hard pressed to choose between Cordoba and Toledo - a matter of personal preference and convenience.

One option to consider: push on to Cordoba on arrival day (not sure how long the journey is from Melbourne but you might as well head on instead of aimlessly wandering Madrid for a few hours) - sleep your first night in Cordoba, and the next morning see the Mezquita, then on to Granada in the afternoon.

You all are not making this easy :) We want to see it all and wish we had more time! Ok – so perhaps if we can take the last morning away from Seville, as we have 2.5 full days there then, would it work to leave in the morning, stop in Cordoba from around 9am to 3pm, (Mezquita and old town) and then go on to Madrid and from there Toledo for the night and most of the next day? Too much? Perhaps we can decide the day before if we’re ready to leave Seville, and then we’ll include Cordoba, otherwise not. If we're deciding between 2 out of 3 (Alhambra for sure and then which would you choose between the Mezquita or the Cathedral in Seville, as I think 2 are enough for us.)
For Ronda, we will be there in winter, so hopefully not crowded, although it will be over a weekend. I think there we will be flexible, if we love Ronda we’ll spend a bit more time, and if we’ve had enough we’ll go to another of the hilltop towns in the afternoon of our full day, maybe Olvera as suggested and Setenil de las bodega which seems to be on the way. Then the following morning stop in Zahara de la Sierra on the way to Seville. I think stopping in Grazalema takes us a bit out of our way, unless anyone thinks it’s more worthwhile than one of the others, although I guess everyone has their favourites.

So many questions, sorry :) Really appreciate all the advice.

There are two potential issues with a spur-of-the-moment decision about seeing Cordoba:

• You'll want to take one of the express trains from Seville to/through Cordoba and on to Madrid. Tickets for such trains can be very reasonably priced if you buy them quite early, but bought shortly before the travel date, the price can escalate a lot. You can take a look at renfe.com and compare prices for the same trip today or tomorrow with prices for travel in one month or two months. The fare differences you observe are the price of flexibility.

• Trains on the Barcelona-Madrid-Cordoba-Seville line can sell out and do so with some frequency. I've sometimes seen almost every express train marked "Full" when I've checked the schedule for the current or next day. It certainly doesn't happen all the time, but several full trains in a row are not a negligible risk. Those trains are super fast, so switching to a bus for a segment of that route is very undesirable when you don't have a great deal of time in the area.

Alhambra v Mezquita vs Cathedral
Other than the Alhambra, which requires tickets and is much larger, just play it by ear. I found the cathedral dark and repellent (that gold hides a lot of blood) and the Mezquita fascinating with its mix of religions on one site--just opinions that are likely meaningless to you. But when you talk about squeezing in all these villages, I think you should slow down--you are not likely to get much out of a drive by of so many places, so I'd take it all in a bit more leisurely.
I would definitely press on at arrival--a jet-lagged day in Madrid will probably not get you much more than a nap on a train en route to one of your other destinations.

@acraven – Excellent point about booking the trains – makes it a little tricky to be spontaneous.

@valadelphia – We would see the Mezquita if we’re in Cordoba, but we’re not going to Cordoba FOR the Mezquita, and maybe we’ll skip the Cathedral in Seville. We are not really mosque/cathedral people and far prefer to just wander the old towns and do walking tours and soak up the atmosphere, rather than seeing historic buildings, so I won’t be devastated to miss the Mezquita. Cordoba as a town sounds lovely, would love to see the old town and the patios, but would also love to spend time in Toledo without rushing to see both.

Sorry, this thread is getting very long winded! Just if we are now going to book the train in advance as suggested, we want to make sure we’ve made the right decision. SO last question :) - If we leave Seville earlyish in the morning, do you think it’s rushing it to stop off at Cordoba for a few hours, possibly see the Mezquita and the old quarter, and then head off to Toledo (via train to Madrid) aiming to get there around 4 – 5pm? We will then have the evening and the next day in Toledo, until we have to get back to Madrid by around 7pm.

The Seville to Cordoba bit is quite doable. If you were to take a very early train, you could arrive in Cordoba in time for the Mezquita free entry hours from 830-930am. A few days ago, there were 100 or so people waiting for free entry, far fewer than during my later paid entry. It took about 10 minutes to get inside. They start shooing visitors to the exits before 930. So you've got maybe 40 minutes for the free visit - enough time for a good wander.

Since you're not Cathedral people, you may not mind that you can peer into the central cathedral during free hours, but can't go in.

If you go later, you'll have to decide what time to buy your timed entry.

Be aware that the Cordoba Train Station is about 1.8km from the Mezquita. I took a bus into town and walked (with luggage) back to the station. They took about the same amount of time, with waits for the bus and the walks to the stops. You could also take plentiful taxis.

I saw a luggage storage place en route from the train station into the old town. I'll never remember the name of it.

ETA: I found it on my walking route!
Nannybag Luggage Storage
https://maps.app.goo.gl/3RLe84Kj7zinDjk36

If you did that very early plan, you could then wander to visit some of the beautiful Cordoba Patios, which may run more to your tastes. In November, they were still colorful, though perhaps not as flowery as in the spring. Still, I enjoyed the wander.

Sorry, this thread is getting very long winded

Nothing wrong with that!!

As a counterpoint, I didn't much care for Córdoba. The culture of bullfighting I found oppressive, and I'm in no way an animal rights activist. I missed the Mezquita, which might have salvaged the visit for me. Otherwise the city seemed unremarkable to me, though the small museum of Judaism in Spain was interesting. Obviously others disagree.