If Andalusia has been a bucket list type trip, you may want to head there given the time of the year of your travel. Often that destination can be quite hot, particularity May-September.

Andalusia is a little bit more "bucket list"....however I am torn between doing it as a mother-daughter trip vs bringing the whole family another time. Since this is a short trip, I hope to return because I feel we will love Spain.

I think I have a way to simplify Andalusia, as long as we could do a day trip to Cordoba from Seville.

Saturday: Fly into Madrid
Sunday afternoon: Train to Granada
Monday-Tuesday: Granada
Weds-Friday: Sevilla
Saturday: Train to Madrid
Sunday: Fly home

I suppose I could even reverse Granada and Sevilla for this option.

Since you don't have a ton of time, I would go with option 3. People massively undervalue Madrid, and Sevilla is magical. You're maximizing the time spent actually experiencing those places which deserve a lot of your time. I also had the thought you could fly USA to Gatwick and get a direct flight to Sevilla from Gatwick. That way, you don't have to retrace your steps on the train.

So, something like fly LGW to Sevilla, Sevilla 3 (or 4) full days, high speed train to Madrid, 4 (or 3) full days, fly out of Madrid. You could possibly do a stop over in Cordoba to see the mezquita if you can find a place to store your bags. No idea on how feasible that is, but it's cool to see and it's on the way. If you want, you could do Segovia or Toledo as a day trip in Madrid. It's pretty easy and they're both great.

I would say my only reservation is that central/Northern Spain could be a tad cold in December if you're sensitive to that. However, you're flying out from Madrid or Barcelona so maybe that's just a fact of life. It's not Minneapolis or something, you can just pack sensibly and it would be fine.

Thanks for the great feedback! I do think option 3 seems wonderful and less hectic than 4. The only hiccup is that getting to Gatwick is 3 connecting flights for most routes (there is a 2 flight option, but it isn't as reliable). So that means I am signing up for 4 flights to get to Sevilla if we went through Gatwick - no thanks. ;) I would go with 2 flights to Madrid plus the train to Sevilla.

My only sadness about option 3 is that we are so close to Granada but not seeing it....sigh!

Becky, Sevilla is amazing! The alcazar is lovely and the cathedral is really special and a must see. I believe the alcazar was based on the Alhambra. Members of the royal family occasionally stay at the alcazar. If you are interested in seeing the royal apartments, this needs to be booked well in advance. While I really enjoyed the Alhambra, my two favorite cities were Sevilla and Cordoba.

Thank you Jules!! I am super excited now! Strongly leaning towards option 3!

3, don't miss Toledo and Seville.

Thank you! Seville is a definite for us! We are trying to decide between Madrid with the day trip to Toledo vs Granada to see Alhambra. We probably don't have time for both.

The Alhambra is great, but I would do with Toledo.