Itinerary Help for 9 night stay in Spain

Spend 2 nights in Madrid

Spend the night in a Cordoba. Go to see Flamenco show at Tablao El Cardenal in Cordoba.

Take the ALSA bus from Seville to Granada.

Are you trying to fly to Madrid from Granada on the same day as you flight home?

Thanks so Much for your reply Jazz+travels. No we plan to fly from Granada to Madrid the day before ( May 4th) and fly back to the US on May the 5th at 11 am.
So basically we can leave early for Madrid on May 4th and spend additional time in Madrid OR leave Granada late and fly to Madrid and check into a airport hotel and fly out the next day.
If we spend 2 nights in Madrid on the initial leg then we get only 1.5 days in Madrid. Is that enough? On the flip side it woudl give us 1 night in Cordoba and 3 nights in Seville which sounds awesome as well.

I think 2 nights is enough for Madrid.

1) There is much more to Granada than the Alhambra. Nevertheless, given your short time available, I would skip Granada if you can't get tickets to the Alhambra (and I do write that as someone who adores Granada). I think your plan is a little busy and dropping Granada makes it logistically more manageable

2) Add the time to Sevilla which has much to see, including the sublime Real Alcazar which is also great, not a replacement for the Alhambra, but still wonderful. I strongly suggest you book tickets in advance. Queues were long a few weeks ago in late February. They could be horrendous by early May, just as the Fair is about to start. From Sevilla you could include a day-trip to Cadiz, Carmona or Jerez, for example, if the city doesn't occupy your time (though I suspect it will).

3) And on that, 4th May is the first day of Seville's April Fair (yes, I know!). So if you do drop Granada, book accommodation for the 3rd urgently. Or avoid that date and consider going to Sevilla first, then back to Cordoba, before returning to Madrid.

4) I would include an overnight (or two), in Cordoba.

5) So perhaps consider - arrive late in Madrid (1 night), next morning fast train to Sevilla (4), normal train to Cordoba (1), fast train to Madrid, stay Madrid (3), before flying home? If you get bored in Madrid you could take a day-trip to Toledo.

6) I am assuming you haven't booked any hotels/transport yet. Apologies if some things are already fixed.

P.S. on your other question, to me flamenco is as enticing as watching paint dry whilst someone runs their fingernails down a blackboard. "Grima" is the Spanish word for it. But, if you want to see a show, then Sevilla would be the obvious place since it claims ownership (disputed by other towns). There are lots of options in the city. If you're still there on 4th May, you might not be able to avoid it.

Thank you Nick on your valuable suggestions and your comments on the flamenco show ( ha ha).
I have emailed a few hotels that participate in the pernocta program to see if they have 5 tickets to Alhambra - if they don't we will drop Granada :(

I have looked at several guided tours for May 2,3 OR 4th and amazingly they charge close to 100 USD a person and do not include Nasrid Palaces so I am not willing to go for that.

I'm glad you are informed about the importance of assuring that any tour of the Alhambra includes the Nasrid Palaces. There is plenty to do in Andalucía even if Granada doesn't work out this time. Should you be fortunate in obtaining Alhambra tickets, I would consider taking the ALSA bus back to Madrid as well as flying. The standard bus travel time is 5 hours (I have no idea how much traffic risk there is), but there are a couple of buses scheduled to take only 4-1/2 hours. You won't have any luggage fees to pay if you take the bus. I've found ALSA buses quite comfortable. There will be at least one, probably two, comfort stops along the way.

If Granada doesn't work out you could add a night to Madrid and take a day-trip to the magnificent city of Toledo. There are also side-trip possibilities from Seville, but that's a city with a very large historic district, and I'm sure you will enjoy all your time there.

Thanks acraven for the info on the ALSA bus. Will definitely keep that in mind.
My hotel in Granada is trying to get us an authentic guided tour of Alhambra I am keeping my fingers crossed.

Toledo was one day trip we had wished we could squeeze in. If Granada does not work out Toledo it is for us. Thanks

I also recommend spending at least one night in Cordoba. It was one of our favorite places in Andalucia. The Mezquita is amazing but there is a lot more to Cordoba, such as the Alcazar gardens, Roman Bridge, Palacio de Viana, and aimlessly wandering through the Juderia.

If the high speed tracks to Granada are not finished yet, I definitely recommend ALSA bus from Seville to Granada. We used it twice on our trip. The buses are modern, clean, comfortable, and air-conditioned.

Madrid is worth more than 1.5 days if you like art; it has some outstanding art museums. However, on this trip you don't have time to add another night to Madrid.

Thanks kmkwoo: Due to all thw suggestions here we are going to stay a night in Cordoba.
I do regret only 1.5 nights in Madrid. Do you think I shd stay only 2 nights in Seville and add one to Madrid? I get the impression that Seville has more to experience than Madrid but perhaps I am wrong.
As far as Art , I think we will do one of them .. probably Prado. My 3 kids are college age and may prefer the night life in Madrid to Seville ?

On our November visit to Spain, we spent two nights in Madrid. We weren't there any daylight hours since we arrived around 6pm from Toledo and the next day we went to Segovia. I do not feel bad in the least about not having time in Madrid. When I go back to Spain, I will probably schedule just one day in Madrid to see the palace. There are also some other nice day trips from Madrid, but my highest priority for for the trip you are building would be Andalusia. Like others, my favorite city was actually Cordoba. That said, I truly enjoyed all the cities we visited. Loved Sevilla and I could have spent more than 3 nights. I would not sacrifice any time in Sevilla to add to Madrid. We enjoyed Sevilla's nightlife, especially the tapas bars. It is my understanding (and certainly I could be wrong), but flamenco originated in Sevilla. So if that is the case, my preference would be to see flamenco there. My husband wasn't too excited about the flamenco so we made different plans. Many others do enjoy flamenco and if I go back to Sevilla, I may set aside some time for it. Granada was probably my least favorite of the cities, but the Alhambra was amazing, and we did enjoy walks thru Sacromonte and Albacin. I agree with the suggestion to save Granada for another trip if you can't get tickets to the Alhambra, though I sincerely hope something works out.

We are also planning our trip at the end of April. Have you considered going straight to Cordoba the first day, assuming your land @ 11:30am. Then you can do

Cordoba 1 or 2 nights (depending on how much time you want to spend in Madrid)
Seville 3
Granada 2
Madrid 3 or 2

Just an idea.

Shirley's suggestion is worth considering. We did similar. We took a high speed train to Sevilla, right away after arrival at Madrid Airport (via Atocha station)

Thanks Jules M and Shirley for the valuable tips.
I am so pleasantly surprised about the reviews of Cordoba and am glad I am spending a night there.

I agree about chosing Seville over Madrid for number of nights.

Shirley it did occur to us to go straight to Andalucia first. However my youngest daughter who is currently studying abroad in dublin cannot meet us till saturday. She is very very keen on seeing Cordoba/ Seville and Granada. so we need to wait for her.

I agree with everyone who has suggested that you spend more nights in Seville than in Madrid. Seville is beautiful with gorgeous architecture, plazas, fountains, parks, and wonderful historical sites, such as the Alcazar, Cathedral, and Casa di Pilatos, and wandering the gorgeous Plaza de Espagna, and Triana, etc. We had 4 nights in Seville, and would have enjoyed a 5th night.

Regarding nightlife, we are older so we were usually in bed by 10PM!!! So can't comment on nightlife for younger people.

I do like Madrid, but I was just commenting that, IMO, 1.5 days is not enough for Madrid. But I would not take days away from Seville to add to Madrid.

Maybe some day you can return to spend more time in Madrid and its surroundings, such as Toledo, Segovia, etc. :-)

Thanks Kmkwoo. We are doing just that. More in Seville and only 1.5 days in Madrid. The trip is beginning to take shape now. We are soooo excited

to me flamenco is as enticing as watching paint dry whilst someone runs their fingernails down a blackboard.

Lol, I'm glad it's not just me! All that shouting, screeching and stomping drives me mad.

We just managed to get 5 Granada pernocta cards throught the hotel we booked in by just changing the order of the itenerary. Phew. So thankful for all the suggestions on this post.