Madrid-Cordoba-Sevilla-Granada

I would put Madrid at the start to help cope with jet lag. Do you really want to add the stress of battling your way somewhere else first thing after you end a nearly day long struggle with an air travel?

I strongly recommend replacing Malaga with Barcelona.

You might want to consider doing only 3 cities with day trips. That will cut down your travel time when switching apartments. I second your idea of leaving Madrid for the end

I think you should concentrate on the great cities of Andalusia. Sevilla, Cordoba and Granada. We spent two nights in Cordoba and absolutely loved it! It is so much more than the Mezquita and you can experience more when you are there after the day trippers have left. Perhaps start in Cordoba (2 nights), Sevilla(3 nights) Granada (2 nights) and then distribute your remaining time doing what makes sense to you. Madrid was picked as a capital much later in Spain's history because its the geographic center, not because of anything of significance. It's lively and fun but doesn't have the history of the big three Andalusian cities, or cities like Segovia, Toledo and more. I would only concentrate time in Madrid if you have interest in their world class art museums or if you planned to do some day trips to Segovia, Toledo or more. Even then, I think you get more out of Toledo with an overnight. I didn't go to Malaga because it was lower on the priority list for me, tho people like it.
There are people on the forum that would be better able to advise you on the order and transportation. Getting to Granada is a little funky. When we arrived to Spain we started in Sevilla and then rented a car to drive through the hill towns on the way to Granada and then took a bus/train to Cordoba. Since you aren't looking to go to the hill towns (nor do you have time) you can take public
transportation between these towns.
In my opinion, you do not have time for Barcelona. I would say for Barcelona you would need a minimum of 4 days and 5 or 6 is better. It is also a fair distance from Andalusia.
Spain is amazing. You will love your trip no matter how you do it!

This is what I would recommend, although I really like Toledo. We flew into Madrid and immediately took a train to Toledo for two nights. For reference, we also stayed in Cordoba, Ronda, Nerja/Frigiliana and Malaga besides those you’re planning. I would place all of those towns ahead of Malaga for your trip.

I added an extra day to Granada, so you would have two full days there, plus the transportation day. We stayed in Seville for four nights and had plenty to do. If you want to drop a day off Granada, I’d give it to Seville. Enjoy your time! It’s a beautiful country!

Sept 17 - arrive. Train to Cordoba
Sept. 18 Cordoba
Sept 19-21 Granada
Sept 22-24 Seville
Sept 25-26 Madrid
Sept 27 Fly home

I like Jean's plan though I would definitely give one of Granada's days to Sevilla. There is so much in Sevilla, I could have done 4 days and a travel at a faster clip than many

I like Jean's plan. My adjustment would be to spend 2 nights in Cordoba (so you have time to get over the jetlag) and 1 less in Granada. 2 nights in Granada is enough to see the Alhambra and the other 2-3 major sights like the cathedral and the Albaizin. Cordoba is the quietest of your towns, so it's a good start by wandering the very well preserved medieval center, which is especially charming in the evenings. By spending that extra time in Cordoba, you'll have more time in Sevilla.

As for starting in Madrid, your first day is a blurred haze usually, so you may as well press on to Cordoba. You want to spend your last night in Madrid to be close to the airport. Now, whether you spend much time in Madrid depends on what you are interested in. If you love European painting, you'll want 2 full days there. If not, Madrid is a perfectly good tourist destination but Andalucia is much better, or you could use one of the Madrid days for a day trip to Toledo. Along the same line, I would skip Malaga, it's just not as "good."

Thank you all for suggestions. I would go ahead with Jean’s suggestions will do 1 night Cordoba, 4 nights Sevilla, 2 nights Granada and 3 nights Madrid. We are not big into painting so will add a day trip to Toledo. We did Barcelona 1 week last summer. Anyone have any hotel recommendations for a 2 adults ( myself and my husband) for all places? Budget would be under $100. In regards to the transportation we are still trying to figure out whether to rent a car from Sevilla or take public transportation.

For Granada, I can recommend Hotel Posada del Toro - nice old building, good location, okay breakfast, tea-making facilities, decent rooms - and I think it's in your budget.

If your plan is just to visit the three cities Cordoba, Granada & Sevilla, then I don't see any advantage in hiring a car. Indeed with pick-up time, parking and drop-off its an hindrance. A car does make sense if you plan to stop-off in smaller towns along the way as you travel between the three cities.

By the time you visit, the new fast Granada-Madrid AVE service should be running (fingers crossed).

All of these recommendations were WELL under $100 when we visited tho we were there off season in November. They were all relatively small which we like.

Cordoba--Hotel Mezquita, quirky, clean, HUGE room, great, helpful staff, 15 feet from the Mezquita.
Sevilla-El Roy Moro, tons of local charm, very helpful staff, center patio with rooms surrounding, great included breakfast, about 5 minutes from the cathedral and Alcazar
Granada--Hotel Anacapri, spotless, great included breakfasts, great location near chapel and cathedral
Madrid--Hotel Europa, steps from puerta del sol, super clean, fresh and new, helpful staff
and should you decide on an overnight in Toledo (where hotels are much less expensive than Madrid, Hotel Santa Isabel, nice location in quiet part of old town, great views from roof, included simple breakfast.

I booked all these hotel directly via email indicating I found them thru the RS guide. It got me a little perk at each one. At this point I can't remember which ones gave me what. Typically, a room with a view and a better rate. A couple it was the included breakfast (Anacapri, for sure),

Thank you again. Hoping Granada- Madrid Ave to be running by the time we travel.

5 years ago I stayed at Hostal/Pension Rodri, Calle Laurel de las Tablas 9 in Granada - comfortable, central (very short walk to the Cathedral), quiet side street, no breakfast.

I've stayed 3 times at Don Paula in Cordoba. The rooms are clean, spacious, modern bathrooms, no breakfast but the rooms have small fridges and electric kettles. It's on the edge of the Juderia quarter, walking distance to all the sights, also close to the newer part of the city.

In Sevilla I've only stayed (3 times) at the Amadeus Hotel and I love it. It may be more than your budget, but perfect location, beautiful hotel, and terrific staff. If you are musical, you can play one of their instruments. There's a rooftop bar with nice views and a small pool (jacuzzi?). Last time I stayed there, I had a small fridge so they may have upgraded all the rooms.

I've stayed at the Europa in Madrid on both my visits. On my last trip to Andalucia, I had booked Hostal Acapulco (on the recommendation of Harold), but when I decided to skip Madrid, I canceled. It's a good location but not as convenient as the Europa and it's a pension, not a hotel. It's definitely cheaper than the Europa.

Here's what I'd do in 10 days

Sept17-Arrive and stay overnight in Madrid to recover from trip.

Sept18 train to Cordoba

Sept19- Cordoba

Sept20- train Seville

Sept21 Seville

Sept22-Seville

Sept23- go to Granada

Sept24 -Granada

Sept25-train or bus to Madrid

Sept26-Madrid or daytrip to Toledo

Sept27-leave

Try and get the morning trains if you can so you can spend more time in the cities

Two hotels I liked were.

Hotel Musica in Seville. I upgraded to a superior room which had it's own patio and sitting room. Lovely feel in the Santa Cruz barrio.

Like a PP, I highly recommend Hostal Rodri in Granada. Hostals in Spain are smaller family run hotels and for 49 euros, I had a double room of decent size with the cleanest hotel bathroom ever. No scum, mold in shower. The family is lovely to work with and although there's no breakfast, there are cafes all around the square. Better reserve soon as it's usually booked up months in advance.

I agree with Heather that you should try and get the morning trains. That's what we did when we visited Madrid, Toledo, and Andalucia. That way we arrived early enough at our next destination so that we had lunch there, and had time for sightseeing/wandering during the afternoon and evening.

I know that some people take an afternoon or evening train to their next destination, but I personally think this is inconvenient because you have to leave your luggage at your hotel and then return for your luggage. And I would be looking at my watch/phone all the time to make sure we don't miss our train. I personally wouldn't find that relaxing or fun.

Thank you Heather and kmkwoo. We will definitely be taking an early train.

I'm the opposite. I prefer the late afternoon/evening trains. It's usually not a problem to stop by my centrally-located hotel to pick up my bag before going to the train station. After a day of sight-seeing, I'm happy to relax on the train and rest my weary legs, check in and go out for dinner and maybe a stroll, especially in Spain where dinner is closer to 10 than to 9. Then I can get an early start the next morning.