Hiden gems - day trips from Rota

You've listed the places I first thought of (Cadiz and Vejer de la Frontera), but for the future trip when you think about Morocco:

Tangier's really not the place to go in Morocco. Fes and Marrakech are much better choices (and they are not the only ones). As it happens, there are flights to those two cities from a lot of places in Europe, so you can include some time in Morocco on a trip that doesn't find you in Spain or Portugal at all.

I’ll assume you were stationed at Rota. Unfortunately, due to its location, Rota isn’t the best location to take day trips from; Jerez de la Frontera would be better. I have no idea what you’ll find to do in the town for 12 days. A few nights would be sufficient unless everyone just wants to lay on the beach. The ferry to Cádiz departs from the area by the lighthouse and Duque de Nájera hotel. If the bay is rough it stops running.

Other than Córdoba, you mentioned the obvious day trips. Last time we were there in 2011 we did make a white towns day trip. Departed Rota and went up to Arcos de la Frontera. From it, we drove as far east as Zahara de la Sierra and Grazalema, then returned to Rota. Another day trip could be over to Doñana National Park and El Rocio. There is a bird observation area near San Lucar, but for the rest of the park, a day trip from Sevilla would make more sense.

If you do go to Ronda you may as well continue up to Setenil de las Bodegas. It’s worth an hour or so visit. Just outside Córdoba is Conjunto Arqueológico Madinat al-Zahra and Castillo Almodovar del Rio. To see Córdoba and its nearby sights would probably be more than a day trip.

We are going to a wedding in Rota and will be there for a week soon. Cadiz is very fun, be sure to get there early enough for the fish market. We missed the ferry twice, so we just drove around and parked near the train station. Vejer is also very fun with a nice restaurant or two on the plaza. The beach at Balonia is good also. In Jerez if interested in horses, the famous Andulusian Horse School is available here is a link https://www.realescuela.org/en/main/
There's also some good sherry bodegas to sample...enjoy!

North of Rota is the quaint town of El Rocío, located in the heart of the Doñana National Park. El Rocío is a traditional white-washed Andalucian cowboy town, with its old taverns and dusty streets the town feels like something from the wild west. El Rocío makes for a great base to explore and hike around the Doñana National Park, a wild and beautiful wetlands of the Guadalquivir river, and UNESCO World Heritage Site. Virtually unknown to foreign tourists, it's an authentic slice of the little known Andalucian cowboy culture.

Hello everyone:

Thank you for the kind responses and ideas. I'll take them all into account.

Best,

Christian