Feedback on Southern Spain Itinerary

In Sep 2023 My wife and I stayed 11 nights in many of the stops you mention: Seville (3 nights), Ronda (2), Granada (2), Cordoba (1), Madrid (3). Our trip report might be useful reference: https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/trip-report-spain-aug-sep-seville-ronda-granada-cordoba-madrid

Andalucia will be very, very hot in July. Temps will be in high 90's into the 100's. Try to reserve hotels with pools so that you can swim and cool off in the afternoons. Do your sightseeing in the early mornings, and then again in the late afternoons/early evenings. Be sure to stay hydrated, wear sunhats, and sunscreen.

Just a thought - would you consider going somewhere in Northern Spain, such as Leon and Burgos, or the Basque country and the Pyrenees where there is a better chance of cooler weather?

It’s a shame you’re going to Cáceres yet spending so little time in that area. Within an hour of it are Plasencia, Trujillo, Guadalupe, and Mérida. Each has its own charm and worth a full day each.

Extremadura does get hot during the summer months, but is very much worth visiting. We spent 10 days in the places I mentioned in 2024. We had a rental car.

Photos: http://jaimeelsabio.com/vac_pages/2024vac1.html
Trip report: https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/spain-mostly-extremadura

@geoffb thanks for the trip report . Super useful! Looks like you had a great trip !

@kmkwoo … good tip on lodging w pool … we did take a shot at Madrid to BCN to points north but it just seemed more logistically practical bc of the start in Caceres … worth another look tho. Thx.

@jaimeelsabio thanks for the link to your trip report . It does look like some of these towns/ villages would be worth a look. Right now we have 8/9/10th am (2.5 days) for Caceres and surrounding before departing to Seville. If you were to add an additional day to work in a day trip to one or two of these which would be your fave , and where would you suggest we cut a day ? …. TIA!

I agree, it’s a shame not to explore Extremadura, but you don’t really have much time to spare. I bet your niece has done some exploration of the area, so it might be nice to ask her what she would like to share with you. The things I liked best would be miserable in July, but maybe a day trip to Merida to see the Roman ruins would be of interest?

I think Gibraltar is too far for a day trip from any of your planned stops.

Because I’ve been to Sevilla a number of times, I’d cut a day from it to add a day trip from Cáceres. From Cáceres You might be able to visit the monastery in Guadalupe and visit Trujillo on the way back, depending on public transportation schedules.

For the monastery you’d want as early an entrance time as possible, given your schedule, to give you time to get to Trujillo with enough time to walk around the main plaza and walk up to the castle. The monastery in Guadalupe (the only site to see in Guadalupe) is closed for a few hours in the afternoon before reopening in the evening.

The suggestion of Mérida is a sound one if you like Roman ruins. If not, skip it. There are a number of sites to visit throughout the town. Of all the places I mentioned it’s the one more likely to have the most tourists.

On a good note, it will stay light until about 10pm allowing you to make the most of the time you have.

@valadelphia excellent point. She gets there in mid May and hoping over the ~2months she is there that she has some weekends to explore while not working and we can follow her lead on where to spend our free time around Caceres while she finishes up her internship… it looks like Mérida is otw to Seville so that might even be feasible to stay the extra night in Caceres and pick an am train to Sevilla with Merida as our day activity but ending in Sevilla. Provided we can stash the backpacks somewhere … thanks!

@jaimeelsabio. Thanks for those addtl insights … I also just looked at your photos . Wow! I think the monastery looks quite interesting . Will do a little more research on Guadalupe and Trujillo, along with Merida. prob cutting a day in Sevilla means cutting a day trip to the coast, which is doable for me (I live near the beach in US so I care less about a beach break….but I have to convince the 20 something’s LOL!) 😂
What do you (and the forum) think about one less day in Madrid ? Seems like we might be able to see what we want in two days plus one day to Segovia? (Of course Madrid is the only city on our itinerary that I’ve been to, and it was 10+ yrs ago so) Thoughts? THANKS AGAIN!

I think it looks very good.

I would NOT add Nerja or Gibraltar.

I would try to book hotels with pools: The Hospes location in Caceres has a pool and their hotels are generally good. We had a good dinner at EL FIGON DE EUSTQUIO in Caceres.

Again, since I’ve been to Madrid probably a dozen times, I’d have no problem cutting a day from it. If you have little interest in museums it would be easy to cut a day from it,

Keep in mind that on days you take daytrips, you will not have access to your nice, air-conditioned hotel room during the hottest part of the day.

@ekscrunchy thx for the lodging and restaurant reco’s. Will check them out .

@jaimeelsabio thanks. We definitely enjoy museums but also we like having a mix of experiences across the trip so since this will be the nieces first trip I think I’m going to show them the options and I’m going to get their wishlist priorities and see what sticks. …

@acraven. Excellent point about the day trips . Figuring out where to shelter from the heat without our own place of respite might be challenging. . Have to see what options to tour / visit will be inside and open in those afternoons. Thanks!