Andulsia in March

Head straight to Cordoba after your arrival in Madrid - it's only 1hr45min on an AVE high speed train.
Cordoba (1 nt)
Sevilla (4 nts)
Jerez, or Arcos de la Frontera (1 nt)
Ronda (1 nt)
Granada (2 nts)
Madrid (1 nt)

Or, with minimum movement ...
Cordoba (2 nts)
Sevilla (4 nts)
Granada (3 nts)
Madrid (1 nt)

Hi Jan,

What are your dates? Semana Santa is March 20-27 and Malaga and Seville will be really crowded. Great if you want to enjoy the festivals but not if you want to see the sights.

Cordoba, is my favorite (2 nights is not too much), Granada (2-3 nights). Without renting a car, I'd probably skip Ronda on a 10-night trip. But there are other great places. Toledo is probably the easiest (and my 2nd favorite), but Jerez has a lot to offer as well.

Give us your flight arrival and departure times and dates and you'll get 1-2 good itineraries.

We'll be arriving on the 6th and departing on the 16th. We're planning to just stay in two or three places at most, and Seville is definitely one of them.

We'll be arriving on the 6th and departing on the 16th. We're planning to just stay in two or three places at most, and Seville is definitely one of them.

You will find great wine, food (especially cheeses) and lovely sights everywhere.

Granada If the Alhambra is on your list of sights to see before you die, then definitely visit Granada. Otherwise, it's a long way to go for too little reward.

Cordoba As I said, it's my favorite. If your flight home is around midday or later, you will have plenty of time to take the 2-hour train from here to Madrid, then the 30-minute train to the airport.

Toledo If you skip Granada, it would be easy to spend 2 nights here, either at the beginning or end of your trip. There are frequent commuter trains (just over 1/2 hour trip) from Madrid. On weekdays, there are early trains from Toledo to Madrid, so it would be easier to get to the airport from here than from Cordoba. Again, it depends on the time of your flight. If it's early, you may need to spend your last night in Madrid.

To determine the best order, first decide if you want to include Granada and where you want/need to spend your last night.

Are you departing Madrid on the direct Iberia service to Chicago ORD at 11:35am on 16 March ??
If so, the last night in Madrid is really unavoidable unfortunately.

Unless you chose to fly out of Granada and make a connection with your departure flight from Madrid.
IB545 departs Granada at 07:00, arrives Madrid 08:05.

That would enable Cordoba (3) >> Sevilla (4) >> Granada (3)

Thanks for all the help, people. It looks like we're going to try for Cordoba, Seville, and then the last couple of nights in Toledo, skipping Madrid. We need to check to see if the trains run early enough for our flight (it is the direct one to Chicago). If it's not feasible, then it looks like the last night will be spent in Madrid.

Sounds like a good plan. I'll be in Barcelona and Valencia while you're in Andalusia.

I would spend your last night in Madrid, not Toledo. In my experience (also flying into Chicago), you will need to be at the airport at least two hours ahead of your flight to get through security. Not sure what time the trains run (the trip is about 30 minutes), but from Atocha station, the airport express bus takes almost 30 minutes to get to the airport. On my most recent trip to Madrid, my flight left at 2:00 or something (can't recall). I stayed near the Prado, not far from the Cibeles stop for the airport express bus. In the morning, I had time for breakfast, a couple of hours at the Thyssen museum, and a shower (it was beastly hot) before heading to the airport.

I think an 11.35 am departure is a little early to risk not being in Madrid on your last night.

Well, there are very early trains from Toledo to Madrid, so we should be able to get to the airport more than two hours before our flight with no problem, so we're not really worried (and my wife is extremely particular about being on-time - re: early). It's not that I don't like Madrid, but I'd like to get at least a bit of sleep during our last night :) It also enables us to enjoy another day in Toledo.

I'm with your wife on that one. It will be easy to get to the Toledo station early in the morning and if there's a problem with the train, you can always take a taxi to the airport as a last resort - it's not so far that the cost is going to bankrupt you. You may want to take a few minutes in Atocha station on your way to Toledo to familiarize yourselves with the route through the station to the airport train.