andalucia natural sites - el torcol de antequera and reserva natural de la laguna de fuente e piedre

In March, sunrise is about 8am and sunset 7:30pm. The driving distance between each location is an hour +/-, so as you stated, about 3 hours total. Round that up to 4 hours total driving time unless you’re familiar with that area and the roads. With an early start there should be time enough for a couple hours in each place. Worst case scenario is you shave some time from El Torcal.

In May we’ll be visiting both parks but will have no time constraints as we’ll be using Antequera as a base for a few days. After your trip, report back as it would be nice to know your thoughts on the two places.

Not being familiar with those roads you may want to ensure you arrive in Malaga before sunset. That will give you time to locate your hotel and parking. Street signs in Spain are almost impossible to spot and you’ll drive past them before you realize it’s a street sign. Bookmark your hotels in whichever navigation system you use. That will save you some time.

Thank you Jaime. This is very helpful.

Just a thought - there are a lot of lagoons and similar areas around, whereas El Torcal is unique. I'd stop first at El Torcal and give it as much time as you need, and whatever is left over for the laguna. El Torcal can get cold - dress adequately. It's a fantastic place. The visitor centre also has a bar cafè which is decent
https://slowtravelitalyspain.blogspot.com/2024/03/off-beaten-track-in-andalucia-estepa.html

Note that Malaga has a ZTL now, which can make accessing the centre difficult.
https://urbanaccessregulations.eu/countries-mainmenu-147/spain/malaga

I visited both but on separate days. I got to each about 3 pm and left around 6-6.30 pm, before sunset. I spent a lot of time and the lagoon, mostly to photograph the flamencos. I think 2 hours would be ample time. Here's my diary entry: El Torcal was quite nice – difficult to hike, slow going since the trail is mostly uneven rocks. Interesting rock formations, all grey. Then I climbed up top to see the fossil. The information/shop clerk (from Holland) told me there are 19 of them but I only found the largest one. I also noted that it was somewhat difficult to follow the trails; they weren't well marked. unless you are avid hikers, 3 hours should be more enough for El Torcal. I enjoyed visiting both.

Spain’s low emissions zones are ZBEs (zona de bajas emisiones). ZTL is its equivalent in Italy.

While what Tinac says makes perfect sense, it may not be efficient depending on the route you’re taking. If coming from Ronda you’re need to go south to El Torcal only to backtrack and go north to visit the lagoons. Then you’d backtrack again to head south to go to Malaga. That would result in probably an addition hour’s driving time or more.

Good point jaime, I hadn't checked the map

Thanks everyone for your helpful input.