Early Stages of Planning, 3 weeks Sept.-Oct. 2017 - HELP!!

Well, I never jump into a thread unless there's something more concrete on the OP's side. Shooting blindly it's a bit absurd without knowing more about your tastes, expectations, etc.

However, in this particular instance, this is a no-brainer... if you intend to visit Barcelona in September, you have two unmissable dates: La Diada of September 11th, our National Day here in Catalonia, much like your July 4th, in which we celebrate our heritage and long history. This is a festive day with a number of events happening across many cities in Catalonia, including a massive cheerful demonstration in Barcelona in the afternoon; and the festivities of La Mercè, patroness of Barcelona, around the 24th (Thursday to Sunday normally)... here a summary of what it is.. La Mercè is a festival occurring in Barcelona for several days in which arts, music, culture and tradition converge into 600+ events across the city, all of them free and open to everybody. On the last evening of the festival, there's a spectacular fireworks display: http://infocatalonia.eu/w/yWUwP

More info on La Diada (11 sep): https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/spain/solo-traveler-in-barcelona-on-catalunya-day

More info on La Mercè: my response on date 03/03/16 12:43 AM here https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/spain/help-with-sensible-order-please and more details at http://www.barcelonaturisme.com/wv3/en/enjoy/9/experience-la-merce-festival-like-one-of-the-locals.html The programme of this festival, being so large and with so many events, is only published a few weeks in advance of the festival, around the first week or so in September. But as a sample, this was the programme for last year's: http://lameva.barcelona.cat/merce/en/programa-per-dia

Note that you need to pre-book quite in advance your trip to Barcelona if visiting during La Mercè, especially for accommodation and 'side' visits to the most famous tourist sites as the city receives over 2 million visitors during those days alone, many coming especially for the festival.

Enjoy!

You didn't mention Seville. Was that an oversight? If you do intend to skip it, you might have time for a side trip from Madrid to Segovia or Cuenca (AVE train--book way in advance on this one to save money).

I haven't driven in Europe, so I'm not sure how much advantage a car would be except while you're moving through the white villages more or less between Cordoba/Seville and Granada/Malaga. There, it would be great not to have to try coordinate your activities with the bus schedule. The Toledo to Cordoba leg by train requires that you double back through Madrid, but the train would still be faster than ViaMichelin's driving estimate. On the other hand, there don't seem to be expensive tolls to pay on the run down to Cordoba by car.

I recommend a visit to Ronda, too.

Fly into Barcelona - 5N (arriving around 9/14)
Train to Madrid - 4N (day trips to Toledo & Segovia)
Train to Sevilla - 4N (day trip to Cordoba)
Train to Jerez - 2N
(Pick up hire car)
Drive 120km via Arcos to Ronda - 2N
Drive 180km to Granada - 2N
Drive 150km via Nerja to Malaga - 2N
(Return hire car)
Fly out of Malaga (leaving 10/5)

Some links ...
Jerez - http://www.spain.info/en/que-quieres/ciudades-pueblos/otros-destinos/jerez_de_la_frontera.html
Cadiz - http://www.spain.info/en/que-quieres/ciudades-pueblos/otros-destinos/cadiz.html
Arcos - http://www.spain.info/en/que-quieres/ciudades-pueblos/otros-destinos/arcos_de_la_frontera.html
Grazalema - http://www.spain.info/en/que-quieres/ciudades-pueblos/otros-destinos/grazalema.html
Ronda - http://www.spain.info/en/que-quieres/ciudades-pueblos/otros-destinos/ronda.html
Nerja - http://www.spain.info/en/que-quieres/ciudades-pueblos/otros-destinos/nerja.html

I kind of like David's itinerary (pay attention that he counted nights), and I love Enric's suggestion to adjust your dates and enjoy one of those special events in Catalonia.

There are so many great sights in all your destinations that it's hard to choose. Of all the places, Madrid is the least "interesting" but if you love painting, you need 2-3 full days there for the Prado, the Thyssen and the Reina Sofia, with a day trip to Toledo. If you're not into so much into art, skip Madrid and spend 2 nights in Toledo. Cordoba is another place that's better as an overnight (or 2) than a day trip. Sevilla has some outstanding sights (do not miss the Alcazar), good flamenco performances and the best tapas in Spain (and hence, the world).

Where I differ from David is that I would skip Jerez and take a car from Sevilla (or Cordoba if you don't stay in Sevilla) to spend 2-3 days driving through the hills and seeing the pueblos blancos with Ronda a a good base. Then drive to Granada and drop the car. 2 nights is just enough time to see the Alhambra and a little bit of the Albaicin and maybe 1-2 other things. Then take the bus or train to Malaga. The only reason to keep the car once you get to Granada is if you want to take day trips from Malaga.

Driving in Andalucia was easy. My only problem was getting in/out of the cities like Sevilla and Cordoba, though there were a couple white-knuckle moments when I was too adventurous driving into a couple of the small pueblos blancos that have very steep, narrow streets with parked cars and sharp, blind corners.

Now - tell me your experiences driving the Amalfi coast - I'm planning to do that next month.

Wow, so much good information so quickly! Glad I am starting to plan early (plane tickets not locked in yet, for example.)

Enric, thank you for jumping in! Both festivals sound interesting. We fell for one aspect of Catalunyan culture when a local restaurant held a calçotada and then my own interest in the Spanish Civil War (partially spurred by Zafón's "Shadow of the Wind," I have read quite a bit about that period) added to that. We would probably need to juggle some dates and would only be able to attend one of the two in any event. My biggest concern is whether we will find things too crowded during those festival times. Not sure whether it is worth dealing with the crowds.

acraven, not mentioning Sevilla was, indeed, an oversight.

djp_syd, that is exactly the sort of idea for an itinerary I can work with! And the links are great resources too. However I am uncertain whether Jerez is worth two nights for our purposes/interests and some other "tweaks" may be in order (perhaps steal a night from Madrid as well and spend two nights in Cordoba on the way to Sevilla?). This is why I am starting early and you are all helping so much!

Chani, I like the insights into driving in Andalucia, we'll have our GPS to help us (although it slaughters pronunciations). I am also incorporating some of your thinking in the "tweaks" I mentioned in my responses to David's suggested itinerary above. I am thinking that visiting Nerja en route to Malaga makes keeping the car a useful idea (maybe, if time allows, take a day trip from Malaga to Gibraltar?). I will write you a private note on driving the Amalfi coast.

Thanks for the help getting the ball rolling, this is a wonderful start!!

Two nights in Cordoba en route to Sevilla would be an option also, and one Chani would pump for. With your stated interest in art, I would urge you not to short change Madrid, especially if you hope to get to both Toledo and Segovia. With the 3 great art museums in Madrid, as well as the Royal Palace, you really have 2 full days before you even consider Toledo and Segovia. After the 3 big cities, beautiful Jerez makes for a more manageable start to your road trip, and it also gives you the option to duck down to nearby Cadiz. That was my thinking, at least.

Are you starting to get the idea that 3 weeks is not nearly enough? I promise you, no matter what you choose, you will be sacrificing other equally worthy choices. And none of your choices will be bad ones. I went to Spain for the first time in 2013 and been back twice since then, for a total of about 9 weeks, only to the areas you're looking at. There are few sights that I returned to (the ones that come to mind are the Prado and Thyssen in Madrid, the Mezquita in Cordoba, the Alcazar in Sevilla) and I still have a list of sights to see and places to explore.

Thanks for the PM. I will reciprocate with an excerpt from my diary about the pueblos blancos.

I really enjoyed the Spanish Civil War tour I took in Barcelona. The two-hour Barri Gotic tour run by the tourist office is also good. It doesn't pretend to cover that entire area; it focuses on the area within a few blocks of the cathedral, more or less.

Edited to correct reference to area of Barri Gotic covered by the TO's tour.

Unless we are staying in a large city, we always have a rental car. With a rental car you can stop wherever you want and not just where the trains go. Near Toldeo is Consuegra with a castle and windmills. Not far from there is Campo de Cryptana that has more windmills. There are a number of castles in that same area if you like castle. Cordoba is good for one full day and two nights. As long as you're in the area, stop by Ronda for part of a day. If you want to see the white towns, my favorite is Arcos de la Frontera. I used to go there often when I lived in Spain. The streets are very narrow going up to the church. Some additional white towns include Olvera, Zahara de la Sierra, Grazalema, Benaocaz, and Ubrique. None has any sights of real importance to see, but they look great from a distance or afford nice views of the countryside. If you know the exact date you'll be in Granada and going to the Alhambra, buy your tickets online ahead of time. It can save you a lot of time waiting in line to buy tickets. Entry is for a specific entry time. There are also a couple castles in the Granada area; Calahhora, Lanjarón. All the roads between the places you want to go are very good and very well marked. Spanish roads are easy to figure out; the fewer numbers, the better the road.

Appreciate that people are continuing to add thoughts and insights. Our plan continues to evolve with all of your help. As the exact dates/routes, etc. get worked out, we will be able to craft more specific questions.