Feedback for southern spain route

It's a little busy for me, but doable. For Barcelona and Seville you said X days, for the other it was X nights...is it 5 nights in Barcelona and 3 in Seville?

Your order is odd in the Seville - Cordoba - Tarifa leg. From Tarifa it would be a big backtrack to Cordoba, then heading south again for Ronda.
I'd do Cordoba - Seville - Tarifa or Seville - Cordoba - Tarifa.

I would look into the logistics of the Morocco trip - how are you getting to Tarifa (if train/bus, what time does it arrive? When does the ferry leave and return, and how do you get to your next stop from there? Is the one night in Tarifa before the ferry or after? I have not done this partly because of these kind of logistics but people do make it work. I would just get the details down.

Ditto for Ronda - Gibraltar, but that should be easier.

This is a busy trip with a lot of places in a relatively short period of time, but some like it that way.
I do have some comments however - if this is your planned movement flow.
Why spend a day on the train to Seville when you can fly?
If you are going to be in Tarifa, why would you then go to Cordoba and back to Gibraltar from Ronda? Gibraltar is only about 20 miles from Tarifa.
One needs to remember every move loses about half a day - so I would not add Ibiza or Mallorca.

Some would say you need at least 3 nights in Granada and you could consider doing Cordoba as a day trip from Seville - allowing for more time in Seville. Some feel 5 days is about right for that city but many spend less days there. Cordoba can use 2 nights - depending on what you want to see.
Another thing - have you considered the impact of early Sunday closures and most things being closed on a Monday....adding in the siesta closures?
How are you getting to Tarifa, Cordoba, Ronda and Granada? How are you getting from Granada to BCN?
If you haven't bought flights yet, can you fly into BCN and then out from Malaga?
I think there needs to be details filled in before we can help fine tune.

The first bus of the day from Sevilla to Tarifa departs at 9:00 and arrives around noonish. With walking to the ferry terminal and other check-in procecures, you might not make it onto the very next ferry departure to Tangier. So you'd sleep at least one night in either Tangier or Tarifa, but more likely two nights, depending on the travel time for the next leg of the trip. The shortest next leg would be by bus to Gibraltar (1 - 1.5 hours).

You can also fly between Spain and Morocco, with the most schedule options out of Barcelona and Madrid but also some service Sevilla-Marrakech and Tangier-Malaga. See www.skyscanner.com.

Thanks for such great feedback. Some of the logistics haven't been figured out quite yet. Planning to some of the details would be finer planning. Thanks for the tips on the siesta and sunday closures. Since Spain is such a large country I was trying to make this a 2 trip country. It may be a 3 trip country. Now I can make adjustments accordingly.

Here's a revised schedule

Barcelona (7 days with 2 day side trip for personal business)
Sevilla (3-4 days)
Granada (3-4 days)
Barcelona (2-3 days)

Day trips out of all the cities listed. We don't like moving that much either.

Thanks

Sue

Can you arrange your onward flight from Malaga or Seville, rather than returning to Barcelona?

I'd go with a simple version of what you first proposed.

Start in Barcelona (5 nights)
Fly to Seville (3 nights)
Train to Cordoba (2 nights)
Train to Ronda (2 nights)
Train to Granada (2 nights)
Fly to Barcelona (2 nights)

Flights were booked. Heard it might be better to take the train because it only takes 5 hours to get to Seville and the train stations go right into downtown.

The revised looks good.

I would definitely do Cordoba as a day trip from Seville under this plan - if you only have one day trip from Seville that would be my suggestion - so that would make 4 days in Seville best. My first visit I went to Cordoba early in the AM on the train from Seville, stored m,y luggage at the bus station lockers (across street from train station), saw the Mesquita and other highlights and caught a late afternoon-early evening bus to Granada, getting to Granada in time for dinner. That was a good way to do a day trip and make the most of a transit day.

Since you will have seen Barcelona at the beginning of your trip I would just return for one night, before your flight home. If you want more time in Barcelona add it to the beginning of the trip - better than splitting one city into two visits. I'd go from Granada to Barcelona in the afternoon of the day before your flight home (train or fly?), get a hotel, and fly home the next day.

If you do this then you MAY be able to squeeze in 2 nights in Ronda between Seville and Granada, if you leave Barcelona at 7, Seville at 4, Granada at 3, and return to Barcelona for 1.

I think the revised list is quite different to the first. If you are indeed looking to do Spain in more than one visit, then the second option has more time for in depth stays. I like Mira's suggest of doing Cordoba enroute to Granada, but I might also suggest at least one overnight....again, as you haven't provided dates, those Sundays and Mondays can impact recommendations.
When planning, I hadn't heard about the Medina outside of Cordoba before planning my stops and now am in a scheduling pickle. The site is quite expansive and to me - interesting, but a little cumbersome to visit so one needs more than a day if that is of interest as well as the regular Cordoba stops. It doesn't make the RS book, but then I find his lists are rather incomplete. Check out Madinat al-Zahara and see if it appeals.
You could train to Seville instead of fly. Check the departure times before deciding.

Instead of the over visited white towns like Ronda, there are smaller towns that can be done as day trips from Seville. Cadiz for the coast, Carmona for an internal town. This means not having to pack and repack as often as option 1, but still some variety.
I also thing 7 days is too long for Barcelona even with private business - so I would certainly follow Mira's recommendation of leaving Granada late the afternoon before the flight. As it is best to do that by flight, depending on your return flight home (they tend to be in the morning), you can just settle into an airport hotel and not have to fuss with getting in and out of Barcelona again.

Barcelona (7 days with 2 day side trip for personal business)
Sevilla (3-4 days)
Granada (3-4 days)
Barcelona (2-3 days)
Day trips out of all the cities listed. We don't like moving that much either.

Count nights. 2N=1 day, 3N=2 days . . . . Plan to fly from Granada to Barcelona. Whether you spend 2 nights or 3 in Granada depends on the flight and train times. You'll want 1.5-2 days in Granada to see the Alhambra and other sights . . . cathedral, Moroccan market, Albaicin. If you want to see more than just the highlights of Sevilla, you'll need 4 nights or more there. 1 day in Cordoba (the Mezquita is a must-see). You may want a day trip to Arcos/Jerez or Cadiz/Jerez.

When are you going? Summer is brutally hot in Andalucia.

All of you offer great options! Thank you. Now I need to wrap my head around all the options.

We are visiting the area in October.
What are the best areas to stay in Granada & Sevilla? We've now whittled our stays to Barcelona, Sevilla, & Granada with day trips out of the cities. Better than moving so much. Cutting out Morocco for this trip. I'd like to go to Gibraltar since we'll be so close.

In Sevilla, most people like Barrio Santa Cruz. It's the most atmospheric older quarter, great for wandering and full of lively cafes and squares.

In Granada you will get a debate. In general I think close to Plaza Nueva/Plaza Santa Ana is best. This is easily walkable to the Albayzin, the center of town near the cathedral/plaza bib rambla, and a steeper walk to the Alhambra. Also it is where a lot of the shuttle busses leave from, making it easy. I personally like to stay a little further up in Albayzin because I love the atmosphere in that area, but it is farther from the other parts of town.

Gibraltar is not close for you, being a 4 hour bus ride from both Seville and Granada. Many would suggest it's not worth the effort as well.

Thanks David & Mira