Itinerary check, 13 nights

Jennie,
I like the route you've chosen.
All the cities on your itinerary are easily accessible via public transportation.

I would not want to visit a museum on day of arrival mainly because I'm totally exhausted especially after a Trans-Atlantic flight.

So, it's really up to you, whether or not you will be up to visiting the Prado, on the day of arrival.

Keep this in mind...

• 3 nights =2 full days
• 2 nights = 1 full day

Having said this, if you're planning to stay in Madrid 3 nights, that only gives you 2 full days.
If you want to take a day trip to Segovia, that leaves you with one full day in Madrid.
If you want to take one night from Madrid, I'd suggest adding that night to Granada or Córdoba, but it's your choice, since this is your trip.

You should have nice weather in September/October, but do expect some hot days in Andalucía & a couple of rainy days also.

Make sure to book your Alhambra tickets 3 months in advance, to make sure you get the time you desire.

Happy planning!

We visited all these cities in April 2015 and here are my 2 cents worth. Our trip was 21 nights, and we did Madrid 3, Toledo 2, Cordoba 2, Granada 2, Ronda 2 and Sevilla 3 (in a different order.) (We also did Jerez 1 and Malaga 3 and Cadiz 3)

Unlike most on this board, we wished we had done a day trip only to Toledo. We visited Segovia as a day trip from Madrid and my engineer husband loved it - much more than we enjoyed Toledo. We also loved Ronda - more great engineering feats and a laid back vibe. If it were me, I would add a night each to Madrid and Ronda, and do Toledo as a day trip from Madrid. You will get differing views on this from others on this board! I'll also mention that we didn't set foot in any museums in Madrid and still loved it! I also like your plan to stay in Cordoba rather than day trip from Sevilla - it was one of our favorite stops.

Enjoy your trip and happy planning.

Thank you so much for your insight! I feel more confident about my plan now although I may want to tweak it a bit as I consider your comments.

Spain is amazing.... you will love it. As it looks like you have specific cities and don't talk about exploring the countryside, public transportation should work fine. I enjoy driving and taking side roads and visiting obscure places, but there are times I just want to get to my locations. As far as your first day, it all depends on you. Where are you traveling from? The day I arrive I usually have lots of energy so I try to do some fun things as the energy level drops in the afternoon, and I want to stay awake as late as possible to get on their schedule right away.

My only suggestion is to consider sticking to a hotel in either Madrid or Toledo and make day-trips to the other city. They are so close. I find the business of changing hotels a drag, whereas a short train ride (unencumbered by luggage) is pleasant and can be used to review information on what you are about to see.

Good suggestions, all! We are coming from Ohio – it’ll be a 13-14 hour trip. My husband is also of the mindset that we should jump right in on that first day. I was debating renting a car in order to explore the countryside, but I don’t want to shortchange Ronda since we have only one night. If we decide to add another night then we could do our exploring on the way to and from plus have a whole day in Ronda. We’ll see. And I’ll have to think about staying in Madrid or Toledo and day-tripping to the other. It does sound simpler although changing hotels is a good opportunity to talk to more people in Spanish, which is one of our goals. Thanks for your input!

I also believe that its more convenient to stay put in Madrid, if you are looking to include Segovia and Toledo.
Ideally it's best to have a car for the cross country journey from Granada to Sevilla, but it can be done by public transport. Consider adding Arcos or Jerez as an additional overnight.

Fly in to Madrid, 4 nights (with day trips to Toledo and Segovia)
Cordoba, 2 nights
Granada, 2 nights
Ronda, 1 night
Arcos de la Frontera or Jerez, 1 night
Sevilla, 3 nights
Fly out of Sevilla

On you arrival day in Madrid, deal with your jet lag by making a walking tour of the main central sights.
Almudena Cathedral (by the Palace) >> Plaza Mayor >> Puerta del Sol >> Gran Via >> Plaza Cibeles >> Puerta Alcala >> Retiro Park

For me Madrid is one of the most underrated cities in Europe that I have visited, which are many (the other two are Lisbon and Budapest). There is so much to do there, and a really fun big city vibe. Not to mention lots of great day trips like El Escoorial and as you mention Segovia. The Plaza Santa Ana area, Plaza Mayor, Calle de Huertas pedestrian walk, Parque de Buen Retiro, Thiessen Museum, Puetra del Sol area, Reina Sofia (worth it for Guernica). I would not think of doing the Prado on the first day when you are bound to be seriously jetlagged. It's one of the great art museums of Europe and if you are interested enough to visit, you should do it right. I could spend three hours or more there, and have on two occasions. You might consider starting your trip in Toledo—sometimes starting in a quieter town can be more relaxing rather than jumping right into the big city. For that matter, it might be easier to start in Seville and end in Madrid. I think the connections might be easier that way, if there is even a flight connection into or out of Seville that is convenient. We had good results flying into Strasbourg and out of Paris in 2010, into Porto and out of Lisbon in 2008, but it might not be so easy in Spain. I am in favor of flying open jaw, but not every itinerary works for that (into Barcelona dn out of Madrid worked for us though in 2005). My experience is that it's more workable to fly into the smaller city airport and out of the big airport, otherwise you could end up with a 27 hour return flight (and might anyway in Spain). Of course it depends upon where you are coming from, too. Just don't assume you can find a reasonable flight schedule flying into or out of Seville. That said, it's easy to zip back to Madrid for a return flight on the high speed train. Overnight in Toledo is definitely recommended. ROnda is nice but not that easy to get to without a car, I might skip it.

It's so great to be able to benefit from others' experiences! I looked into flying into Sevilla and out of Madrid, and the flight times were much better. No waking up in the middle of the night to catch a 6:55 return flight out of Sevilla and an 18 hour trip home! It'll be easy to make the 12:45 flight from Madrid. Trip times were reduced to 15.5 hours going and 12 hours returning. It also makes our first day less stressful because we'll have 3 nights in Sevilla with no day trips - that first day can be very low key and we'll still have 2 days left. So now I just need to nail down the itinerary in between. Thanks for your help!

Since you list a visit to the Prado, you should also think about adding the Reina Sofia and Thyssen-Bornemisza to your Madrid itinerary. Among the treasures at the RS is Picasso's Guernica. Given a choice between more time in Madrid and a day in Ronda, I'd choose Madrid.