First time to Spain October 2024

Granada, Sevilla and Malaga are very doable and would make for a nice trip.

You need to get a map. With your limited time I would not add Barcelona as it would take most of the day to get there. You might consider it if you were returning from Barcelona. For 10 nights the Granada, Seville, Malaga makes a nice triangle with min transit that can be easily handle by local buses. In many situations the buses are better choice than the train. The train system in Spain is not as extensively developed as in other parts of Europe.

Agree with @bfarm30… BUT the Mezquita is incredible. So maybe consider Malaga 4 nights, Seville 4 nights with a day trip to Cordoba, and two nights in Granada.

For me, Seville is a 4-night kind of place. Although there's nothing wrong with 3 nights in Granada, if I had 6 nights to split it would be 4 Seville [< corrected] and 2 Granada.

Check your flight options, though. For me in the past it would have been a lot more costly to fly into or out of any Spanish airport other than Madrid or Barcelona. It may be very different for you, but I'd want to know the cost of flying directly to Seville or Malaga before making a final decision about the itinerary.

It would be nice to have an extra night or two so you could go to Cordoba without cutting into your time in Seville.

Northern Spain is less visited but beautiful.

With your limited time, I agree about staying in the south. Save the north and Barcelona for another trip.

@acravin….why more time in Seville than Granada. I would have thought there is more to do in Grenada.

Also, what would be a good order of the 3?

I will also definitely look into airfare

Seville is larger than Granada and has a lot more interesting sites. Such as the Real Alcazar, Seville Cathedral, Casa di Pilatos, Plaza de Espagna, visit the Triana neighborhood, visit markets, explore Barrio Santa Cruz, and a lot more than what I have listed here. Seville is a gorgeous city architecturally with parks, plazas, fountains, etc. So I would spend a minimum of 4 nights in Seville.

Granada is lovely, too, but it is smaller than Seville. I would spend a minimum of 2 nights in Granada.

I would also add Cordoba with the magnificent Mezquita. Spend 2 nights in Cordoba. There is also the Roman Bridge, Alcazar, Palacio de Viana, and explore the Juderia (maze of narrow lanes, white-washed buidings, patios and flower pots.)

Malaga is a wonderful place, too, and gives you some coastal ambience.

A possible itinerary could be:
Seville - 4 nights
Cordoba - 1 or 2 nights
Granada - 2 nights
Malaga - 3 or 4 nights

With this itinerary, you could fly into Seville and fly home from Malaga. Look into multi-city or open-jaw tickets.

Can you add an extra night to your trip?

I agree with others that you don't have time for Barcelona.

Hi Lulu, I will be posting a Spain trip report later today that might give you some ideas. We just returned last night.

If you would like to keep it to two locations for lodging, you could extend your time in Sevilla and do day trips by train from Sevilla to Cordoba, Jerez de la Frontera, & Cadiz. Ronda possibly depending on bus schedules. One negative is that the Santa Justa main train station is a 15-minute Uber drive from the center of Sevilla.

Here it is:

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/feb-2024-3-week-southern-spain-trip-report

I live in Malaga where I have some holidays rental. What I experience specially during winter times and fall is the stay are longer. People stay in one spot and mingle around. For this Malaga is the place since this is the capial of Costa del Sol and has an extended hub of transportation available. Malaga is very cultural compare to other, Marbella is more Posh, in winter Granada can be very cold due to proxiity with the sierra Nevada. Sevilla can be fresh but pleasant. You also have Cadiz if you like unspoiled beaches and ocean feeling.
We are having more and more snowbirds spending time in Malaga. Lodging is raisonnable priced but cost of living is quite low except electricity.
One thing to know is except if you are brave, jumping in the sea in winter is nearl not possible. but sunbathing is !
Be aware of different schedule in Spain lunch is after 14 h and dinner after 21 h ...no life or so before 10 am...
Have fun

The following is a part of our itinerary that we did last September:

Cordoba - 2 nights
Seville - 3 nights
Granada - 3 nights
Malaga - 3 nights

From what you described, i would leave Barcelona off of the list. All of our travel was by train except from Granada to Malaga which was by bus.

Anyone visited Valencia? We will be visiting in Oct 2024 and debating between Cordova and Valencia. Here is what we thinking.

Seville 3 nights
Malaga 3 nights or 4 nights
Granada 2 nights
Valencia 2 nights

Seville seems to be more appealing due its cultural scene. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

I'd definitely choose Cordoba over Valencia. Valencia's a nice place to see, but Cordoba is historically more important and fits far better with the rest of your itinerary, geographically.

I'd want 4 nights in Seville. There's a great deal more to see there than in Malaga. There's really no comparison at all.

@acraven, I was inclining spending another night in Seville. You made it easier. Now that you pointed out, I'll look more into adding Cordoba on the itinerary.