Andalucía Road Trip - 3 Week Draft Itinerary

Just the usual tradeoff with car travel: yes some freedom, but I don't see a ton of "wandering time," and most of those places are accessible by public transport. I am not saying I would not rent a car at all, just that I would target it for places it is really needed and use it to advantage (maybe just the Alpujarras and Ronda environs portions, and lump them together), not pay for it to be parked in so many places (plus having to deal with parking in cities).
I would consider shaving a night or two from Malaga to add to Sevilla. I would love to be in Andalucia in mid May, enjoy!

In Sep 2023 my wife visited several of the cities on your itinerary: Seville (3 nights), Ronda (2), Granada (2), and Cordoba (1). We drove the portion Seville - Ronda - Granada. Our trip report might have info useful to your planning, including an olive farm we visited near Zahara (parts 1-5): https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/trip-report-spain-aug-sep-seville-ronda-granada-cordoba-madrid

You're are definitely going to want more time in Sevilla, and another night in Cordoba would be nice. I don't think you need three nights in Granada. We loved Zahara! If you have time in transit to/from Zahara and Ronda or on your drive, somewhat close is Sentinel and Grazelema which we really enjoyed, too.

Are these in order of how you intend to do them? I would put Zahara and Ronda between Granada and Sevilla. (A car is particularily helpful between Granada and Sevilla, I would not want a car IN Granada, Sevilla, and Cordoba.

I agree that Seville needs more time. It's considerably larger than Cordoba and Granada.

It can be very hot in southern Spain in the latter part of May, so I'd recommend reading hotel reviews for summer visits to be sure the places you're considering have decent air conditioning. I like the reviews on booking.com since you can only leave a review there if you have actually stayed at the property.

Seville weather -- May 2025

Use the pull-down box to the right just above the graph to change the month and year displayed. Use the Search box near the top right to find other cities. Seville will probably be the hottest of the places you list.

I agree with the other posters that Seville needs more time. I would add at least one more night, so 4 nights instead of 3.

And I agree that Seville will most likely be the hottest destination. Make sure your hotel has air conditioning and a pool would be helpful, too.