Never been to spain

I would fly home from Malaga. It is a convenient international airport and save the expense and time of return to Madrid.

My thoughts.

I think you can see the big sights in 12 days. Remember you have travel days and tour days. Each full day of touring needs a night on either side, so two nights = 1 full day, three nights = two days, etc. Travel days are easily consumed with packing, checking out, getting transportation, finding meals, finding your lodging, checking in, unpacking and getting oriented.

I'm not a huge fan of Madrid (because it's a new city) but the Prado is world class and there are some really nice parks. I also liked Temple Debod (a little ancient Egypt in downtown Madrid). For me two nights is plenty and half my full day in Madrid will be spent in the Prado.

Toledo was my favorite twisty road medieval spot in Spain and your only taste of classical Castillian Spain (after this it's Moorish-influenced Andalucia). There are plenty of sights for another full day, so two nights. The train to Toledo from Madrid is from Atocha station (a short walk from the Prado). This is the train station where you can catch an AVE (fast train) to Cordoba after backtracking from Toledo.

For a short trip, a day stop in Cordoba (start early and give yourself four to six hours) will allow you to see the Mesquita and stroll the old quarter. You might consider starting in Toledo, then seeing Madrid and staying close to Atocha to save backtracking on a big travel day. Then get back on another AVE to Sevilla.

You will get to Sevilla late, so the day is shot, but you're only on night 5. Two nights in Seville will give you time to see the Cathedral, Alcazar and surrounding quarter during your one full day. I'd try to see a Flamenco show on one of your nights. There may still be bull fights in September if that interests you (may end in August in Seville, the season ends in October and the last corridas of the year are in Madrid). They start at 7 pm, as I recall, so plan dinner afterward.

From Seville, renting a car starts making sense but it depends on the options you choose.

You can train to Granada easily from Sevilla. Plan three nights in Granada, you will need a full day to see the Alhambra and another to see other great sights in town. Plan to see a Sambra performance (similar to flamenco) one evening in an Albaicin cave across the gorge from the Alhambra, stop to see the sun set on the Alhambra from the San Nicolas viewpoint in the Albaicin.

That's ten nights. If your 12 nights didn't include flights to and from Spain, this is really all the time you have. Fly home from Granada. Expect a connection, probably in Madrid.

If you still have two nights to play with. I'd probably go with renting a car in Sevilla and drive to Arcos for a look around a Spanish "White" town, then to Jerez by early afternoon and visit a couple of Bodegas (the only place in Spain we found Bodegas with regular public tours). Stay the night in Jerez then drive to Ronda the next day for a look around and one night there. Then to Granada, turn in your car on arrival. If you like old neolithic passage tombs, there are three good examples in Antequera. They're convenient by car as a day stop between Ronda and Granada.

The proper statement is that Madrid is a "newer" city in comparison to other cities on the list and other European capitals. To me also it lacks the charm of the other places on the list, though it has amazing art museums.

I will add that a car will be useless for the major cities, which are well connected by train (Granada not so much but still well connected by bus and somewhat by train). Rent a car to drive along the southern coast and such.

Gibraltar is usually described as being an overrated tourist trap. I wouldn't go there specifically, but if you are nearby it might be worth a stop. Be aware that there have been a lot of issues between the two and Spain often imposes strict border controls (ie long lines) at the border. This could especially be an issue if you drive there.

Also, a technical point, your list is not western Spain. It is central and southern Spain. It's a huge country so not a minor difference.

Lisbon is not well connected to the rest of Spain. Only one overnight train. A very long bus ride. You could drive but dropping off the car will invoke huge foreign drop off fees. Or drive back to Spain and make a loop of some sort. You can take a short flight.

12 nights would be adequate to see your list for Spain. But not really to add Portugal. You'd need to drop something in Spain or add more time.

I agree with not backtracking to Madrid unless it is very convenient. You can fly out of Malaga or Lisbon (even if you connect somewhere, so what, that is typical for flying to Spain from the US). To do so, you choose multi-city flights.

Maybe Wonderful it would be wonderful if you checked your facts before making false claims. There are dozens of flights directly from Malaga to US. We have flown Delta to New York. So I make my original statement, fly home from Malaga.

Don't know why you wish to argue a point that is so easily checked. I did random search of dates between May and Sept and found several directly flights to the US daily by different airlines. A couple of years ago personally flew from Malaga to the US on a Jan 2nd flight. I haven't checked every week of every month so don't know if these flights are seasonal or regular. But there are direct flights to the US, at least, during the summer months. The idea of not back tracking to Madrid is still a reasonable suggestion.

I think your idea of limiting it to Spain is a smart one. I suggest adding Ronda between Seville and Granada.
Have fun!

I did find a roundtrip on KLM from Malaga to JFK on 7/21/15. The one way ticket price is $2000.00. A bit much for a one way I think.

Steve, why are you inquiring about a one way ticket. Using open jaw ticket it is always a RT ticket. Since we almost always use open jaw tickets, I generally find open jaw tickets to the same or nearly so with RT tickets. And much cheaper when you factor in your time and money needed to get back to your stating point. For example - into Madrid on July 7 and home from Malaga on the 21st is $1400. Under a $1000 if you took one stop instead of a direct flight to JFK.

Good to know Frank! I have never flown open jaw as I usually stay in one place. I will keep this in mind if I decide to split time in different locations.

Do you "kinda like the music"?

Well, I've never been to Spain
But I kinda like the music
Say the ladies are insane there
And they sure know how to use it.