Andalucia / Madrid itinerary - are we trying to do too much?

I'd say so. Any particular reason you're going to so many different places in 11 days? I would just pick 3 cities max.

Since you will have a rental car, rather than visiting Córdoba as a day trip, go from Ronda to Córdoba and spend a night, then go to Sevilla to turn in the vehicle. Córdoba is only a couple hours drive from both Ronda and Sevilla. By spending a night in Córdoba you could see more of the city.

You could also switch the itinerary and go from Granada, to Córdoba, to Ronda, then Sevilla. To give you more time in Sevilla you could cut one night from Madrid.

I feel that while fast paced, it is doable, although there is a lot of travel time getting from place to place. Since you’re coming from London, unless it’s just a layover, there shouldn’t be any jet lag giving you more time on arrival day to see Malaga.

We are spending 4 nights in London visiting my son. We have never been to Madrid, and thought it made sense to add Madrid as we have better options to fly home. We added Malaga for a night since we are going to fly from London to Malaga. Do we keep Malaga for a night? Worth spending a night in Ronda? Have even considered not spending anytime in Madrid - but don't know if/when we may get back there.

For me, the main issue with your itinerary is the single full day (plus some hours) you'll have in Seville. There's a lot to see in Seville; I'd want to have three full days there. Unless you're big art fans for whom Madrid's art museums are a major draw, I'd recommend shifting one night from Madrid to Seville. It's not that Madrid isn't worthwhile, but to me Seville is a more distinctive city. And it will be easier to return to Madrid on a future trip if you want to do that.

For the trip from Malaga to Granada, you might take a look at the bus schedule as well as the train schedule. There aren't very many trains in and out of Granada, so some visitors end up taking a bus instead. Spain's intercity buses are quite comfortable. Although the train may be faster, in many cases the bus takes a more direct route, so there may not be much difference in the trip duration, and I think buses are more frequent.

I do agree with all the other posters that you are trying to see too many places in a short amount of time. You definitely don't have much time for Sevilla which is an amazing city with lots of important and interesting sights. I think you will find your current allocation for Sevilla to be unsatisfying. Acraven has made a good suggestion to take a night from Madrid and add it to Sevilla.

Regarding transportation, we did use the ALSA bus several times during our visit to Andalusia. They are wonderful. Clean, on time, efficient, and modern.

Are all of the flights booked? Did you check London to Granda, Sevilla, Jerez? Have you said what month the trip will be?

I also think you are trying to do too much. I agree with the suggestion from acraven and kmkwoo to move a night from Madrid to Seville. My trip report from November might interest you.

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/trip-report-analucia-and-madrid-in-november

I hope you have a great trip.

As an FYI - NOTHING booked, somewhat last minute - hoping to do this first week in May. Would those of you who have made suggestions - suggest taking one night from Madrid OR taking out Ronda and spending either way the extra night in Sevilla.

I appreciate everyone's input.

I’ve given Madrid short shrift at least twice, as the way I see it, it’s got a high chance of being included in any Spain plan due to flight logistics. I’d make sure you were able to see all you are interested in seeing in Andalucia if you have concerns about ever getting back.
I’d work on eliminating that Malaga night, even though I liked Malaga, I would not rank it as high as Cordoba. Sevilla, Granada.

Although I enjoy Ronda, I'd rank it well below having sufficient time in Seville. I'd also rank it below Madrid, but there's something to be said for including a smaller town in an itinerary. Again, I'd emphasize Madrid's importance to art lovers. It also has interesting neighborhoods, the Royal Palace (I don't like palaces, but very many people do), etc. Probably because it is not as old as so many other cities in Spain, I don't find Madrid's architecture as interesting as a lot of other options.

One additional thing about Ronda is the travel time required--including time to pick up and drop off the car. I find it much more relaxing to use trains and buses. Rental cars definitely have their place in southern Spain if you want to see some of the white towns (Arcos de la Frontera, Grazalema, Zahara de la Sierra, etc.) efficiently, but you don't have time to branch out in that way.

Just realized I can fly from London directly into Seville - so now thinking, skip Malaga - start in Sevilla, add a night and then spend time in both Cordoba and Granada - and take train from Granada to Madrid? Thoughts?

I have had the opportunity to visit all of the cities except Ronda, and was in Granada (4 nights) and Cordoba (2 nights) last week. Malaga is nice and worth a visit, but not if you are sacrificing time in Sevilla, Granada or Cordoba. All three have plenty to see and merit multiple days. Cordoba should be the last stop before heading to Madrid as the train is nonstop from Cordoba and I believe that you have to go thru Cordoba if travelling from Sevilla to Madrid. Easy two hour fast train from Cordoba to Madrid, almost hourly.

If you can fly into Sevilla, I’d do that and gladly skip Malaga.

With my initial spur of the moment I Think I'll Book a First Trip to Spain idea back in December, I had a number of cities planned with daytrips. I was hoping to fly in/out of Barcelona, Seville or Malaga. Madrid was not in my plan. However, the flight arrangement that worked best for me was in/out of Madrid. After much research, I am satisfied with the amount of time I've chosen for each base city and realize that the day trips to Ronda and Cadiz would take away valuable time to explore those base cities.

Arrive- Madrid-train to Seville

• Seville 3 nights
• Cordoba 2 nights Granada 3 nights
• Granada 3 nights
• Madrid 3 nights (day trip to Toledo)