Andalusia itinerary

It all depends on what you want to see and do in each place. To me (if you’ve never been there before),
Sevilla: 4-5 nights
Granada: 3 nights
Cádiz: 2 nights
Malaga: 2-3 nights. Others may say it merits more time
Ronda and Jerez de la Frontera: 2 nights each

No matter the mode of transportation, you need to figure travel time into your itinerary since it will impact when you arrive and depart in a city/town.

How many nights do you have for this trip? How many nights on the ground?

I agree with the number of nights that the previous poster suggests for Granada, Malaga, and Seville. Haven't been to the other places. You could, however, spend 2 nights in Granada instead of 3.

I notice you don't have Cordoba on your itinerary. The Mezquita is an amazing site, one of the most important places in Andalusia. A cathedral within a mosque. And Cordoba itself is lovely with the Juderia and its narrow lanes, white-washed walls, and patios and flower pots. There is also the Alcazar gardens, Roman Bridge, Palacio de Viana, among others. I would definitely make room for Cordoba on this trip.

This is what we did, self-drive, this September:
Day 1 - arrive Malaga
Day 2 - Malaga
Day 3 - to El Caminito del Rey, then Ronda
Day 4 - drive thru the white villages (Olvera was favorite) to Arcos de la Frontera
Day 5 - to Gibraltor, then Tarifa
Day 6 - to Cadiz via beach towns
Day 7 - to Sevilla
Day 8 - Sevilla
Day 9 - Sevilla
Day 10 - to Cordoba
Day 11 - Cordoba
Day 12 - to Granada
Day 13 - Granada
Day 14 - to Nerja via Frigiliana
Day 15 - Nerja
Day 16 - to Malaga to depart

We had a great trip. We especially enjoyed Malaga, Tarifa, Sevilla and Cordoba. If we had it to do again, we would skip Ronda, Arcos de la Frontera and, though interesting, Gibraltor. El Caminito del Rey was a highlight.

To some extent, it depends on your interests. I've been to Andalucia 3 times for 2-3 weeks each. The only times I rented a car were to visit Ronda and the surrounding hill towns (pueblos blancos), which I would not put at a high priority. But then, Malaga wasn't on my list at all until I wanted to see a festival there - it's a very pleasant place but not on a par with the others. On the other hand, your list does not include Cordoba. Aside from it being my favorite Spanish city (so far), it has the best-preserved medieval center in Andalucia and the superb Mezquita, to my mind by far the top sight in Spain after the Alhambra.

Once I stayed in Jerez and day-tripped by train to Cadiz and by bus to Arcos. In Jerez you can visit the Royal Equestrian School and see a show (well worth it), and take one or more sherry bodega tours. From Jerez I had a car for 3 nights in Ronda, with day trips to visit other towns, then drove to Granada and dropped the car.

I spent 4N in Granada and felt 3 would have been enough. There's always more to see and Sevilla and Cordoba.

Great info everyone, thx! We don’t have a set number of days before I buy airfare so I will add Cordoba as a stop. We don’t usually like to stay just 1 night so probably stay 2 nights there. Rough itinerary is Seville 4N, Cadiz 2N, Granada 2N, Malaga 2N, Cordoba 2N, not in that order. I think we can train everywhere. Really wanted to see Ronda, but I’m reading it’s full of tourist and it may not be easy to get to without a car. It’s lots of moving around, I know, but we are ok with the pace. Thoughts?

If you're flexible on time, I'd suggest 3 nights rather than 2 in Cordoba, Malaga and Granada. Three nights would also be good in Cadiz if you want to day trip to Jerez.

Since you have the time, add a night to Granada. 2 nights is just one day - and if you are going to the Alhambra, that takes your one day, but there is so much more.

OK, I'm trying to nail this itinerary down so I can purchase airfare. I added Cordoba, and instead of Malaga we think we may want to put Nerja in it's place. We will need a rental car and we can pick one up in Cadiz, and drive to Nerja. It's almost a 4 hour drive so may stay the night in Ronda or another white hill town. How is parking and driving in Ronda and Nerja? Thanks again for any help.

Search on “Aparcamientos” for each town. There are a number of lots. I look for free lots, “Aparcamiento gratuíto” when just visiting a town and bookmark them to Google maps to be able to go right to the lot.

Our hotel in Ronda had a lot it worked with at a discounted cost. You can also look for lodging that has its own parking, pay or free, such as the Parador.

With a rental car you could drive to Arcos de la Frontera, then over to Ronda, passing some white villages en route. Take advantage of having a rental vehicle and drive back roads rather than taking the interstate type road along the coast. By going from Ronda to Malaga to Nerja you’ll bypass the overcrowded Costa Del Sol and avoid the tolls.

We went in Dec/Jan. Our itinerary was:

Sevilla 4 nights w/day trip to Ronda and hill towns
Granada 3 nights
Cordoba 1 night
Madrid 1 night (to catch plane home)

Adjustments I would make if doing again … allow more time for Sevilla, if possible. Allow more time for Cordoba. Take train in evening from Cordoba to Madrid and skip doing anything in Madrid. Just straight to hotel.

We prefer slower pace travel.