Day trips from Madrid, Sevilla, Granada and Barcelona

There is lots of information on Andalusia visits on the forum if you'd like to do a search. You don't need a tour or driver for any of this. I like the RS guidebooks for many reasons, but one thing he does really well is to outline how to get from one city to another. Look for "connections" usually at the end of a city's chapter.

It always makes me sad to hear about people going to wonderful Cordoba on a day trip. Its a beautiful little city which could keep you busy for at least two full days. That said, if you want to do it on a day trip, do it via train from Sevilla.

Ronda isn't all that close to Sevilla or Granada. We rented a car in Sevilla and returned it in Granada and visited a few of the pueblos blancos over a few days. Play with google maps to see the distance between Ronda and the other cities.

Toledo is another one that could be multiple days. I liked being in Toledo when the day trippers were gone. That said, it is an easy day trip from Madrid via train or bus. We did train, the train station itself is gorgeous.

I just loved Segovia and a day worked well. I did a train. The Segovia train station is not in city center, but there is a well timed bus that travelers transfer to. You also can take a bus, I think it takes longer, but I didn't look into it much.

Girona is another favorite city of mine. We spent three days there. That said, it can easily be done from Barcelona on a day trip. I haven't been to Figueres. Some might suggest (me included) you don't have time in Barcelona for a day trip to Figueres let alone Girona.

All these cities are amazing. In terms of apportioning days, I would always give more days to Sevilla than Granada. Sevilla has so many amazing sites and is a stunning city. I get less excited about Madrid, but if you are doing two day trips, your allotment is likely appropriate. And definitely Segovia and Toledo are worthy of visits.

Cordoba is a day trip from Sevilla not Granada.

I'm concerned that you have only 3 nights in Seville (which is just two full days and some extra hours) and are contemplating a day trip to Ronda. There's nothing wrong with Ronda, but it simply isn't in the same class as Seville (or Cordoba). I urge you to drop the plan for Ronda unless something shocking happens and you really, really do not like Seville.

Combining Girona and Figueres on a one-day trip isn't something I've done. I've spent at least 3 full days in Girona over the course of two trips to the area. However, if you really want to see the Dali Theater-Museum (which was fun for me even though I'm not a big fan of Surrealism), this may be a good opportunity to do so. The complicating factor is that for the day to work, you really need to take one of the express trains. That means date- and time-specific train tickets. Going to two separate cities will make it considerably harder to figure out the timing of those tickets unless you're willing to risk buying them at the last minute. I don't know whether trains between Barcelona and Girona/Figueres ever sell out; there are sometimes sellouts between Barcelona and Madrid/Cordoba/Seville. In addition, not buying those tickets head of time may significantly increase your travel cost for that day.

I don't know what to suggest to you in terms of time allotment for the Theater-Museum. Those tickets are timed, and individual time slots may sell out in advance. I doubt that happens very far ahead of time unless a couple of tour groups want the same entry time. (The museum does get bus tours.) However, especially with a combined Girona/Figureres day trip, I'd feel the need to get the museum ticket somewhat ahead of time, either at the beginning of the day or sometime in the afternoon. I would not count on showing up at the museum without a ticket already in hand. Even if they aren't sold out for the day, you might be told the next available entry time is hours later.

The Theater-Museum ticket also covers the fabulous jewelry collection exhibited nearby. That might take only 15-20 minutes if you aren't trying (futilely, I would say) to take photos. In 2019 I was told you can go to the jewelry exhibition either before or after the Theater-Museum. I haven't verified that's still the case, but it would provide some flexibility.

There's really not a lot to do in Figueres other than go to the Dali Theatre-Museum, so I'd be inclined to hit Figueres as early as I could manage in the morning, leaving at least most of the afternoon and the early evening free to enjoy Girona.

One other thing: Fast trains to Figueres use the Figueres-Vilafant Station, which is a healthy walk from the museum. There's bus service from that station to a stop not too far from the museum, but I'd be uncomfortable relying totally on that bus if I hadn't allowed much time to get to the museum. On the day I traveled to Figueres, my express train was late and the bus didn't wait.

Less is more.

Fewer day trips gives you time to enjoy the places where you are staying. It sounds like you'll end up spending a lot of time in transit. Rule of thumb is that you'll use 1/2 day every time you change locations. Even for day trips, you have to get from your hotel to the train station with enough lead time to find your train and for some routes also go through security. Then you have to get from the station to the first point of interest.

I would pick either Toledo or Segovia. They're both fun, perhaps just go to Segovia if the chamartin station is closer to your accomodations and Toledo if Atocha is closer.

The rest of the day trips would be cutting too far into time visiting those cities.