march trip to andalusia - itinerary input

Sounds lovely, I would just work on plotting out the nature excursions so as to put your car time together more efficiently. (Maybe frequent contributor jaime can advise) For example, rather than driving in and out of Granada repeatedly, you might change bases and use the car more effectively.

I have only traveled this region by train/bus, but from research I am fairly certain the Donana visit can be done by a tour guide (in fact I think it is a requirement), but for your other hikes, I think you may want your own wheels and some adjustment may be warranted. But overall looks very nice.

You can get to the Alpujarras by bus in late April or early May. People live in those towns, so I assume there's also service in March.

Places I would not skip include the Alhambra (buy tickets way, way ahead of time) and San Juan de Dios in Granada, the Alcazar and Cathedral in Seville and the Mezquita in Cordoba. The two sights I've recommended in Seville don't sell out way ahead of time like the Alhambra, but the tickets lines are very long, so online tickets should be purchases a bit ahead of time. I just walked up to the Mezquita, but that was in 2019 and I don't know whether the situation has changed there. I'd expect March to be less busy than April, which was the time of my visit.

I haven't looked up the details, so do do that before changing, but-

"baeza and ubeda day trip by bus, Jaen, olive oil tour"

Given the journey time from Granada to Ubeda (and back) and between Ubeda and Baeza, I wouldn't do the first part as a single day-trip by bus. Also, Jaen city isn't a highlight (in my opinion only, of course). And Ubeda is an olive oil centre, with its own visitor centre and tours.

So, I might consider, one trip to just Ubeda and olive oil, with a separate trip to just Baeza.

I realise that seems like bobbling back, but you'd do that anyway on your plan. Perhaps you could take a night off Granada and then stop instead overnight at Ubeda/Baeza?

Why not fly home from Sevilla, rather than have to return to Madrid?

Thanks for the suggestions.

Between Granada and Sevilla we have many things to see. Should we stay overnight to see the sites on my list above in Nerja, Ronda, Arcos de la Frontera, vs Cadiz and Antequera?

I'd rather not hop from hotel to hotel each night, but I also don't know if we are driving too much each day from our base camp to see sites in this southern area.

Thank you again for your thoughtful responses.

Revised itinerary if anyone can comment, please.

Fly to malaga 3 nights - mariposario de benalmadena by bus, picasso museum, antequerra (hire driver) - limestone formation hiking ( closed mondays), el torcal, Fuente de Piedra natural preserve

Take train to granada - 4 nights -market, city walking, alhambra, cabo de gato (hire driver)

Pick up car drive to berchules 2 nights - alpujarras - hiking,

Drive to baeza and ubeda 2 nights - olive oil tour, touring

Drive to cordoba, drop off car, 3 nights - sierra de hornachuelos NP (hire driver or keep rental car), mezquita

Pick up rental car drive to ronda 2 nights - white city touring

Drive to arcos de la fronterra 1 night - see grazalema, zahara, sentil on the way

Drive to sevilla, drop off car, 3 nights - donana NP tour by Cooperativa Marismas del Rocío - Doñana Reservas or Doñana Nature, walking around town

Fly home from Sevilla or train to madrid/toledo for a few days

I'd like to see you with at least one extra day in Seville. It's quite large.

Just an option for your revised itinerary, but you could go from Cordoba to Sevilla by rail, then pick up a car again to head around that area and south via Ronda, to end back in Malaga to fly home. Sevilla airport is a fairly minor one compared to Malaga airport, so has fewer options to fly and/or connect to go further.

Thanks, helpful to know about airports.

Consider walking the El Caminito del Rey. For us, also seniors, it was a highlight of our trip to Andalucia. Other highlights were the Mezquita in Cordoba and the rooftop tour of Seville Cathedral. We found Nerja to be an expat community that did not feel like Spain so would skip. Frigiliana is beautiful but quite touristy and not worth a detour. Madrid is mostly about great food so enjoy. Segovia is lovely. Perhaps consider allocating a day trip, or a night, there.

Have a great trip!