Help with Southern Spain Itinerary

I have not been to Ronda but while doing my research for my trip it was obvious to me that Ronda is a "lesser" place than Granada, Cordoba and Seville. It doesn't have the historical importance of these 3 wonderful Andalucian cities. So perhaps you could delete one night from Ronda and add it to Seville. We stayed 4 nights in Seville, and I would feel very rushed if I only had 3 nights there. I have not been to Gibraltar, but if it were me, I would spend 1 or 2 nights in Malaga. We enjoyed Malaga very much; I think it's an under-rated city; there's lots of sightseeing, in addition to a nice coastal ambience.

Definitely make your train reservations when they go on sale. Price will be cheaper. The train tracks to Granada are not finished yet, so I recommend taking the ALSA bus from Granada to Cordoba. The bus is modern, clean, comfortable and air-conditioned. I don't think you have too many nights in any of the cities. We had 2 nights in Granada, and I wish we had a third night.

We rented a car and drove from Sevilla to Granada, and spent two nights in Grazelema (to visit pueblos blancos) on the way. It was not without some challenges, but it gave us the freedom to visit Arcos, Zahara, Sentinel, Ronda and Grazelema. I would recommend full coverage insurance option. I loved the Alhambra, but Granada itself was my least favorite city, still I liked it, just liked the white villages, Sevilla and Cordoba more. If its possible and the white villages sound/look appealing, I would add a day there. Ronda is not very central to the white villages. You may want to research the more popular villages and situate yourself in the middle of the ones you choose. Ronda was not my favorite, but I wouldn't miss it. The gorge and village are quite striking. It was just too busy and touristy for my tastes and I was there slightly off season. I would take a day from Granada and add to Sevilla, which I suspect others on the forum will recommend as well. There is a lot more to do in Sevilla. We stayed in city center in each city, which I highly recommend. In Sevilla, El Rey Moro, in Granada, Hotel Anacapri, and in Cordoba Hotel Mezquita (which is about 12 feet from the entrance to the Mezquita!) I would prebook the train tickets for a decent savings. Depending on when you are going and the status of the trains in Granada, you may want to take a bus to Cordoba.

If you are not visiting other white villages, you can definitely cut a day from Ronda. I happened to really enjoy that area, so we planned two nights (and wished we had another) I have not been to Gilbraltar and have watched some of the RS video of it, and I don't have much interest. I think you should concentrate your time in Sevilla, Cordoba and Granada. We stayed 3 nights in Sevilla, and I tend to be one that travels at a faster pace than most on the forum. I wished we had stayed 4 nights. I didn't go to Malaga. People seem to like it.

My suggestion:

Fly into Malaga, take train/bus to Granada 3N
Rent car, drive to Ronda 2-3N
Drive to Cordoba 1-2N and drop car
Train to Sevilla 3N

Alternately, spend a night in Malaga (there are some nice sights there) and 2N in Granada. How you split the nights between Ronda and Cordoba depends on whether you want to spend more or less time seeing the pueblos blancos. If you don't want to spend time in the white hill towns, then you don't need a car at all. Take the bus from Granada to Ronda, then train or bus to Cordoba.

Driving through the hills depends . . . it's mountain driving, lots of curves. The main roads are well graded and maintained, with frequent pull-outs to enjoy the views and take photos. The roads are 2 lanes, so if there's a lot of traffic (high season), going will be slower. The streets in the heart of Ronda are narrow and some of the side streets have sharp corners with cars parked very inconveniently. Some of the hill towns are difficult to drive in, but you can park as you enter and explore on foot. Have GPS, not for the roads but to get in/out of the towns, especially Cordoba.

Lastly, before you commit to Granada, make sure you have Alhambra tickets for your dates. They are selling out fast!!!

I will add to Chani's excellent info. The mountain "highways", are a bit narrow with no shoulders and few side rails. Locals drive faster than slightly nervous tourists and while almost always polite, they are obviously frustrated. Whenever I saw a pull out, I used it to allow the locals to get by. In the villages, there where many cases of 2-way streets with parking allowed on both sides, but really only room for 2 cars abreast, and then barely. Plus, you are dealing with hills. Even with GPS, watch the signs. Our GPS became angry with us :) in Ronda because we refused to drive down the one-way street the wrong way. While driving into Ronda is not all that hard, if you do stop at the others, I would highly recommend parking at the edge of town and walking up. This would include Arcos, Zahara and Grazelema. That all said, we had a delightful time in the white villages.

Thank you very much for all of your help!
Fly into Malaga, Granada (2N), Cordoba (2 nights), Seville (4 nights).
Any favorite places in Malaga?
Does anyone know for sure whether or not the train will be running this summer from Granada to Cordoba?
Hotel recommendation in Cordoba?
In Seville: has anyone stayed at the Hotel Alfonso XIII, a Luxury Collection Hotel OR Hotel Casa 1800?
Is a day trip to Jerez or Cadiz worthwhile?
Thanks so much!!!!
If you could go somewhere afterward Seville for 6-7 days before going to Rome, Florence, Venice, where would you go? Already been to Madrid and Barcelona, any other interesting suggestions?
Amalfi coast?

Morocco after Sevilla might be an idea?

In Cordoba, we stayed at Hotel Mezquita. Kind of a quirky place, but super clean, great staff, 12 feet from the Mezquita and well priced.

In Malaga - Thyssen and Picasso Museums, Museo Unicaja de Artes y Costumbres Populares, Antigua Casa de Guardia (wine).

The train track upgrade was supposed to take a few months. It's been a few years. Who knows! The train station in Granada is walking distance from the center, the bus station is farther away. With the train, you take a shuttle bus from the train station to Antequera to meet the train to Cordoba. Travel time is about the same by bus or train.

Day trip from Sevilla - take the train to Jerez for a late morning horse show, then continue to Cadiz for the rest of the day. If you are interested in wines, esp. sherry, you could take a sherry bodega tour in Jerez. Tio Pepe's is the most fun.

I loved the Amalfi Coast, but I wouldn't want to be there in high season. There's a wiki page for each airport I've ever looked at that includes a table with all the airlines and destinations. See what grabs you out of Sevilla and if you can also fly from there to the Italian airport you want to go to. If I had a choice, I'd fly into Venice, then Florence, then fly out of Rome.

Finalizing my itinerary, and appreciating all of the help.
Does it make sense for me to:
Fly into Malaga
Bus to Granada (2N)
Bus to Cordoba (2N)
Train to Seville (4N)
Day trip to Ronda or Jerez & Cadiz
Fly out of Seville?

If we decide to add Madrid to this trip, is it better to go to Seville before Cordoba? Does it matter?
Fly into Malaga
Bus to Granada (2N)
Bus to Seville (4N)
Train to Cordoba (2N)
Train to Madrid (3N) - been there before, deciding whether to return visit

Thanks!

Yes, both of your itineraries make sense to me. In fact, I did your first itinerary, but in reverse, almost identically on my trip (fly into Seville, train to Cordoba, bus to Granada, bus to Malaga, fly out of Malaga).

And yes, if you're going to head to Madrid after Andalucia, it makes sense to go from Seville to Cordoba to Madrid to avoid doubling back and to be able to use the high speed trains on that route rather than buses. Between Seville and Cordoba, you can take the AVANT trains (still high speed) for much less money then the AVE trains.

For a day trip, Cadiz with or without a stop in Jerez is better. Ronda is too far. Arcos is a possibility - train to Jerez, then bus to/from Arcos for a few hours (RS self-guided walk), then take a sherry bodega tour (Tio Pepe is the most fun) and wander the center for an hour.

Our trip is in July - have 15 full days, been to Barcelona & Madrid before, but don't mind returning
I'm rethinking whether we should go to Ronda vs white towns. Concerned it will be very hot! Can go to another place in Europe too for part of the time. Open to suggestions and ideas. We are interested in Jewish Heritage in Spain & Europe.

Does this itinerary make sense:
Malaga to Granada (Bus) (stay 2 nights)
Granada to Ronda (Train) (stay 2 nights)
Ronda to Seville (Bus) (3 nights)
Train to Cordoba (2 nights)
Cordoba to Madrid

OR are we better off:
Malaga to Granada (Bus) (stay 2 nights)
Granada to Cordoba (Bus) (stay 2 nights)
Cordoba to Seville (Train) (4 nights) - Day trip to Jerez & Cadiz
Seville to Madrid AND/OR Barcelona OR somewhere else? We've been to Northern Spain & Lisbon & Porto

Would all this be easier and more enjoyable if we rented a car or should we stick with the bus & trains?

It will be hot, very hot in the hill towns, Seville and Cordoba. A hair less in Granada thanks to elevation.
Also, public transportation is worse around Ronda / hill towns than in other areas.
With that in mind, I prefer your second itinerary above. I would also try to fit an overnight stay in Cadiz: there is not that much to see and do in Cadiz but it provides an opportunity to cool off in the ocean.

Then, from Cadiz you can either take a train to Madrid (very hot) or fly Jerez -> Barcelona (less hot)

Very alternative suggestion: from Cadiz, you could also make your way to Tarifa for a ferry to Tangier, Morocco, which has interesting Jewish heritage (not that I'm a specialist in the matter) and is otherwise a very enjoyable destination - much less "polished" than Spain, mind you.

Of the places mentioned so far, a car will really assist you only if you go to Ronda and/or the white villages, and for Ronda alone you can manage with public transportation. Elsewhere a car will be a burden to park.

But truly, July is a miserable time of year to be in Andalucia. It is going to be 89F in Seville today, and the next five days are predicted to be hotter--up to 96 on Monday and Tuesday. And this is just May. A quick visit to perhaps Cordoba and Toledo, then hightailing it to the northern coast (Basque Country to Galicia) or the Pyrenees would mean better weather. However, I don't know about Jewish-heritage sights in that part of Spain.

I do not recommend a trip to Tangier at any time of year, and certainly not during mid-summer. Morocco is really great, but Tangier is not. Wait until you can spend the time to fly to places like Fes and Marrakech.

For Jewish heritage, allow time in Cordoba for Casa de Sefarad and wandering the Juderia. It's really special to see the statue of the Rambam. There are remnants of a beautiful synagogue across the street from Casa de Sefarad, but it may be closed for renovations.

In Sevilla, contact Moisés Hassán-Amsélem at [email protected] . He's a licensed tour guide, lovely fellow who speaks fluent English and he gives private tours (reasonable rates). There are only a few physical traces left of the Jewish community in Sevilla.

Consider visiting Toledo instead of Ronda, if you haven't been there. It's more interesting and has 3 synagogues and a fine Jewish museum. If you rent a car from Granada to Cordoba, it would work.

Thank you very much!
Has anyone been to Girona and Besalú - Jewish Heritage - Kokopeli Experience? Is it worthwhile?
If we have tickets for the Alahambra, do we also need a private tour?

We rented a car from Seville, stayed in Setinil and returned the car in Granada. We saw Ronda as a day trip from Setinel. Of all the places we stayed in our pueblos blancos five days we least enjoyed Ronda. Ronda has sights in spades, but it's surrounded by busy suburbia. Visit it by train or car but don't stay over night. By car, chose to stay be in a nice walking town.

Setinel is a great semitrogladite base but a lossy destination--great for morning and evening walking has few sights.

Be prepared for a stressful rental drop-off in Granada.

The hill towns are great jump off points for hiking. There are fantastic trails leading outside of town from Ronda and other hill towns. If you enjoy hiking, plan on staying Ronda and spend a morning or afternoon on the trails.

The Andalusian landscape is breathtaking.

I thought the audioguide for the Alhambra was fine. I am not a fan of tours of large sites, because I would prefer to move at my own pace and focus on what I want to see. Many people don't even get tne audioguide, which seems to cost 7 euros for most people. There's a 5-euro deal available to some ticket-holders; perhaps it's for students.

I have been to both Girona and Besalu but did not visit any Jewish-heritage sites. Girona is extremely easy to reach from Barcelona via fast trains. Besalu is served by infrequent buses from Barcelona and Girona. Service may be more frequent from Girona; I'm not sure. A day-trip is definitely possible from Girona on weekdays; I am not certain about Saturdays and especially Sundays. I had one Sunday bus (the only bus scheduled that day) simply not show up, leaving me stranded in Ripoll, so I woould be cautious about trying to visit Besalu on Sunday.

Itinerary help:
Fly into Malaga - does anyone have a driver they have used from the airport to Granada?
Granada (2 nights)
Is bus the best option to Cordoba (2 nights)?
Seville (3 nights)
Considering day-trip to Jerez & Cadiz - is it worthwhile? What to do with luggage if we fly Jerez to Barcelona or better to stay in Seville?
Barcelona (3 nights)

Is it best to prebook the train between Cordoba and Seville or can I do it when we are there?