Need help on my 10-day itinerary to Spain

For 10 days, there’s too much ground to cover and it’s too fast in the places you want to visit.
Day 3 you plan to see Toledo in just a half-day before returning to Madrid by train and then transferring to a train to Cordoba. You’ll miss much of Toledo simply because you haven’t given it adequate time. The day you pick up a car in Seville has you seeing both Ronda and Malaga before driving to Granada. That is 5 hours of driving. I would cut Malaga and Barcelona out if you really want to see the others at a pace that won’t shortchange some great destinations and leave you exhausted.

Thanks Kenko! I will probably skip Segovia and leave more time for Toledo. On the second half of the trip, I may have to skip Ronda and Malaga so I don't have to spend whole day driving..

Consider high-speed trains for Madrid-Segovia/ Madrid-Toledo/ Madrid-Cordoba/Cordoba to Sevilla/ Sevilla -Granada/Granada-Madrid. . Rent a car one day in Seville for Ronda and the hill towns Add one more night to Madrid ( for Toledo) one more to Seville and one to Granada. They are all big cities that take time to experience and the heat of June is going to slow you down. Since you’re going at the end of June, you could hit weather normally seen in July and that would be torrid.

Save Barcelona for another trip. It took me two trips to Spain before I ever saw Barcelona because Spain has so much to see.

Have a great trip!

Take the train to Toledo and a bus from Toledo’s train station to Plaza Zocodover. In other words, follow the crowd when getting off the train.

I’m worried we might lose too much time just getting from place to place

Why not take a train from Madrid to Sevilla and take a day trip to Cordoba by direct train (1h)? This will be more relaxing than hauling luggage from place to place. No matter how light you pack you wish you had packed lighter.
Don’t rent a car on day six take the 9a bus from Sevilla to Ronda (2h 30m) and spend the night. The next day take the 8a bus from Ronda to Malaga (2h) and store your luggage in lockers at the bus station. There is a 5:30p bus departing Malaga and arriving in Granada two hours later.
Three nights is all you need for Barcelona.

I vote with those saying you just have too many stops on this itinerary. I suspect Barcelona is a must because you've already bought the plane tickets, so I'd start by dropping Ronda and Malaga. They are nice destinations, but something has to go and I'd rather keep Toledo, Segovia and Cordoba. You are not allowing enough time for Seville, and you're at the absolute minimum for Granada and Cordoba. Fixing the Seville stop is the #1 thing I'd work on, and that time has to come from somewhere.

I'd switch the day trips to Segovia and Toledo, making the Segovia day the one you move on to Cordoba. There's more to see in Toledo, so I think you'll appreciate having more time there.

Most of your train tickets will increase in price a lot as your trip approaches. In addition, Spain is a country where trains do sometimes sell out. You may want to consider buying your tickets once you get the itinerary solidly pinned down. Note that for many trains Renfe.com allows you to pay a bit more for an Elige ticket. Those have some provision for changes, which if you end up buying the tickets early may be a very smart idea.

The Madrid-Toledo fare is one that will not change as your trip approaches, but unfortunately those trains sell out with some frequency, so it's not necessarily safe to wait until you're in Spain to buy the Toledo tickets.

Trains to Granada are less frequent that the others you'll be taking. If you don't like the schedules you see (or the fares when it comes time to buy), it's worth considering buses. Spanish buses are comfortable, and because of the way the rail lines run, a bus from Seville to Granada needn't be much slower than a train.

Thanks for all the good suggestions! I cannot drop Barcelona, but I've decided to drop a few places and also avoid the luggage hassle by staying at Seville. Updated with new itinerary (version 2) on the main post.

I think your new itinerary is certainly better.

I think maybe you could consider omitting Cordoba entirely to reduce travel. Obviously it's not a long train trip but a one hour train trip involves at least an hour getting to/from train stations. And the Sevilla train station isn't the most convenient to the city center. I would definitely consider using taxis to cut down in travel time. I really like the app Cabify which you can use in Sevilla, Madrid, and Barcelona. Cabs aren't always fast but they're often a time saver and economical with four people.

And don't worry about missing a city because you'll be back in Spain because you're going to have a blast. It's an amazing country to visit

Yes, the second itinerary is a lot better.

For the day in Toledo, you should use the train unless you end up in a bind because all the trains are sold out by the time you're ready to commit. That train is quite fast. The buses move at typical bus speeds. You'll spend a lot more time in transit if you choose the bus.

Ok the weather seems miserable for the next two weeks, which makes me feel just as miserable for my long waited Spain trip. Anyway, what do you folks suggest for a last minute change especially during the 3 days around Sevilla, for example: drop the 100+ degree Cordoba and do something instead?

Have not been to Toledo but the aqueduct and alcazar in Segovia are awesome and, I would think, would be fascinating for teens.

Oh, and do not drop Cordoba. The Mezquita in Cordoba is incredible!!

Andalusia looks to be scorching starting Wednesday 6/26 so you might want to put oceanfront MALAGA back in the plan before arriving in Granada & Barcelona. Malaga is forecast to be in the mid to upper 80’s as Seville/Cordoba hit the 100’s. Malaga has its own Moorish fort—the Alcazaba, Moorish castle ruins., Roman ruins and great beaches, a historic old town, botanical garden, and a Thyssen and Picasso museum.

You could see what you can of Seville’s Alcazar and Cathedral one morning and then depart the next day for Malaga which is two hours by high-speed train. From Malaga, Granada is a 90-minute train ride.
Cordoba and Granada are also going to be sweltering during the next two weeks. Practically speaking, this will limit you to mornings for being outdoors, and then indoors for the afternoons, or hitting the hotel swimming pool until nightfall.
To keep cool in high heat, I drink a lot of water, drench my hair with the water bottle, and wear a hat with a neck flap.

Welcome to most of Spain during the summer.

Keep your plan as is. Carry water with you and plan most of your activities around the hottest part of the day. If you check the weather forecast for a few places you’ll notice that Toledo’s forecast isn’t much different than Córdoba’s. Unless you head to the mountains it will be difficult to avoid the heat.

I'll leave you to take others' recommendations about your itinerary.
As far as the heat is concerned, unless you are particularly susceptible, it can be managed.
I lived in Andalucia for 12 years, and the Spanish have lived there a lot longer.
Life does not stop in the summer.
Towns and cities are built for it, with plenty of shade.
Take your time, make sure you stay out of the sun as much as possible and drink lots of water.

You are squeezing in a lot in 10 days. I suggest that half a day in Toledo is not enough. Also, a day in Seville is way not enough.

Those were my two favorite cities in Spain and I have been all over Spain.

Barcelona is nice and you seem to have it covered. Just protect you valuables, it is the pickpocket capital of Europe. Wear a money belt.

Thanks, everyone, for the great suggestions! We had an amazing time during our 10-day trip to Spain. As many of you mentioned, the heat was actually manageable—and yes, that is what summer feels like! I kept thinking of what Steve said: you're supposed to enjoy the "sizzles in the summer heat" in Sevilla. :P

We made a few last-minute changes to our itinerary: added a day trip to Segovia and ended Day 3 by arriving Sevilla around 10pm. We also decided to skip Córdoba and spent that extra time in Sevilla.

Now that we're back, the whole trip already feels like a dream. I'm definitely looking forward to my second trip in Spain!