Help figuring out order of places to visit and best means of transport

In Sep 2023 we visited Sevilla (3 nights), Cordoba (1), Ronda (2), and Granada (2), with stops near Zahara (at an olive plantation), at Setenil de las Bodegas, and at Montefrio during our drive from Sevilla to Ronda to Granada. Our itinerary worked well for our needs. More info is in our trip report (parts 1 thru 5): https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/trip-report-spain-aug-sep-seville-ronda-granada-cordoba-madrid

With two nights (1 full day) in each of the 7 locations you mentioned, there really isn’t any time for side trips or for adequately seeing Sevilla or Barcelona. There’s also a lot of travel time that further reduces the time you have to actually visit a location. Other than Valencia and Barcelona, the places you have listed are relatively close to each other and could easily be done in 15 days.

Being one who rents a vehicle in Spain, maybe pick up a car when leaving Sevilla and return it in Malaga or Granada, whichever is last. I’d drop Barcelona and Valencia if it was my trip, but it’s your trip.

As far as transportation from Madrid to Sevilla on the day you land, I believe if you book on the renfe site, you can pay a little more and purchase the Elige class ticket which allows you one change on the ticket at no charge. You could book your ticket in advance, and then once you land and get through immigration you will know if you can make it or not. If your plane is delayed, then you can change the ticket to a later train free of charge. I hope someone will correct me if my understanding of the Elige tickets are wrong.

Thank you all for your suggestions. We have already booked our flight home from Barcelona, so unlikely we would drop this--although some of the anti-tourist demonstrations give me pause. Since there are only two of us, and we aren't traveling with a group hopefully, we won't experience problems. I loved Barcelona the one time I visited it, years ago, and my friend has never been.

GeoffB, love the way you formatted your trip report! Details are very helpful,

I can't offer itinerary advice, for I never travel that fast myself; I'm writing only to suggest that you clarify your arrival date. As you are flying from the US, it's possible that by "arrive in Madrid on 10/7" you meant "7 October" -- but everywhere else in the world, "10/7" means "10 July," in which case readers outside the US who have good advice to offer may conclude that it's too late to post it. And in fact I do observe that your responses quit at 8 July -- there's rarely a shortage of forum readers willing to offer their Spain advice, but you have received none over the past 11 days!

Per suggestion to clarify dates--we are flying in on Monday October 7. We have progressed with itinerary as follows:

October 7--Will take a train from Madrid to Cordoba (Stay 1 night-already booked).
October 8-10-Train to Sevilla (Stay 3 nights in an apartment)
October 11-Pick up rental car. Drive thru Arcos de Frontera and other Pueblos Blancos to Ronda (1 night)
October 12- Drive to El Torcalde Antequera. Stay somewhere near Malaga/Nerja. (1 night)
October 13-Continue coast exploration and drive to Granada (2 nights)
October 15-Drve towards Valencia, overnight somewhere en route (1 night)
October 16-17 Vaencia (2 nights)
October 18-21 Train to Barcelona (4 nights)
October 22 Fly home

@ stillhouse1,

-although some of the anti-tourist demonstrations give me pause

Much like Rome, Paris, or London, Barcelona is a metropolis inhabited by all kinds of people from all walks of life, origins, creeds, and nationalities with nearly 1.8 million inhabitants. Furthermore is the capital city of Catalonia. This means it is the centre of most protests in this small nation, whether it's farmers complaining about middlemen's unfair practices, students protesting university fees, workers from company XYZ protesting for different reasons, or people being displaced from their neighbourhoods/cities due to the negative effects of globalization and gentrification.

Protests are a daily occurrence, and everyone is used to them—every local in Barcelona has participated in a demonstration at some point in their lives. It is normal and logical since everyone has the right to voice their grievances. Precisely because of how common they are, protests are mostly just another aspect of the cityscape and, with some exceptions, they do not result in major disturbances or significantly disrupt the lives of others, beyond minor inconveniences in daily life if one needs to be in or do something in the area where the protest is taking place.

This is the price of living in a democratic society where everyone has the right to express themselves, and of residing in the capital of Catalonia, the epicentre of institutions and centres of power in Catalonia. Many times, you might even sympathize with the reason behind the protest, but that doesn’t mean residents band together to attack anyone.

And regarding tourism, the typical resident's usual stance is one of apathy, especially among those who neither benefit from it—most residents!—nor are significantly harmed by the massification caused by tourism. Tourists are simply "there," and occasionally they "get in my way". It may seem like an unfriendly attitude, but any resident of a large city will understand exactly what I'm saying.

This is to say that, if I were you, I wouldn't worry much.

October 12- Drive to El Torcalde Antequera. Stay somewhere near
Malaga/Nerja. (1 night) October 13-Continue coast exploration and
drive to Granada (2 nights) October 15-Drve towards Valencia,
overnight somewhere en route (1 night) October 16-17 Vaencia (2 nights)

First, October 12 is a very big holiday in Spain and often is turned into a 3-day weekend with many locals out and about. It's possible that places you want to visit will be very crowded and heavy traffic may make for slow driving.

El Torcal is good for easy hiking, maybe a 3 hour visit. The prehistoric dolmens just outside Antequera are interesting. I wouldn't try to spend half a day in Antequera itself, it's not that great and parking in the historic center is limited. I'd go to Malaga for the night and spend part of a day sightseeing there. What is your interest in "exploring" the coast? It's not all that scenic

I would drop the car in Granada and then take the train to Valencia. Unless you are planning to spend 2 nights en route, you won't see much by car, and you could use the extra night or two staying in one of your other locations. Keep in mind that having a car isn't all that efficient. It's not always easy to find parking, you won't need the car while you are in Granada, traffic can tie you up and there's always the possibility of a wrong turn.