Options for Five Nights in Andalucía

I'm a little confused by your plan. But, I think, you intend to fly from Barcelona to Granada on day 1, then stay 5 nights in Andalucia, before going back to Madrid in day 6?

Firstly, I don't understand why you would drive from Cordoba to Madrid on the last day. That's a great drive if you plan to stop along the way, for a night or two, but you don't seem to have the time to do that and you might as well go by rail. Similarly, driving around Andalucia is the best way, but only if you want to visit smaller towns, which you do not have time for.

Secondly, you seem to move too much. I would fly from Barcelona to Granada, stay 2 nights, then move to Sevilla and stay 3 nights - with day trip to Cordoba - then go onto Madrid.

All your logic is sound and your itinerary (Granada - Sevilla - Cordoba) is good too. I was going to mention to take the AVE high speed trains (Sevilla/Cordoba to Madrid) as a nice experience, it's kinda fun zipping across the countryside in an ultramodern train, however if it is not in your budget, then driving is perfectly fine too (although it does take a little longer).

If you are not able to secure individual tickets for the Alhambra, don't despair, there are plenty of guided tours that also offer entrance into the Alhambra too, it may even be more beneficial to go in a guided tour so they can better explain the history/architecture. Here is a good resource for guided tours: https://www.viator.com/Granada-attractions/The-Alhambra/d554-a815.

Even without the Alhambra, Granada would still rank in the top 3 towns in Andalucia for me.

I would definitely recommend spending at least one night in Cordoba, my favorite of the three cities you wish to visit. When Cordoba really comes alive is in the golden hours of the afternoon, when all the day-trippers from Sevilla have left, and one can wander the twisting white-washed streets, without having to dodge flag waving tour groups. There is much more to Cordoba then just the Mezquita too: https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/spain/what-are-the-classic-things-to-do-in-cordoba

The drive from Cordoba to Madrid is not too scenically spectacular, however since you have a car you can make a few stops of interest along the way:

The Windmills of Consuegra - those historic windmills that are emblematic of La Mancha and Don Quijote, worth a stop and few photos. Next door is the Castle of Consuegra, a former Moorish fortress that was taken over by the Knights Hospitaller during the Reconquista.

Roman town of Segobriga - an intact Roman town that was completely abandoned during the very early middle ages, only recently begun excavations, relatively undiscovered by most foreign and even local tourists.

Hope this helps! :)

Your order makes sense. Seville-Granada-Cordoba makes less sense, since Cordoba is much closer to Seville. So I'd do either Granada-Seville-Cordoba or Seville-Cordoba-Granada.

My guess is that flying into Seville would be cheaper, but I don't know that for a fact. Both Seville and Granada will have easy flights from Barcelona.

NO - do not drop Granada. It is fascinating and atmospheric. The Alhambra is unique and amazing. If there's any way to ADD a day to the region, look into that. How long do you have in Madrid? I like Madrid but it can be cut easier than any of the 3 Andalucia cities. Or Cordoba could be done as a day trip from Seville (if you have 3 days minimum). It's better as an overnight, but if its that or miss it...

Nick, my proposed itinerary is almost identical to what you propose, with the exception of an overnight in Cordoba. Also, for 4 individuals it is considerably less expensive to drive than it is to take the AVE. The savings of a couple of hours travel time does not change that equation.

Carlos, thanks for the information on Alhambra tickets. I will definitely keep that in mind. I've also heard how nice Cordoba is in the evening after the tours have departed. That's the reason we'd like to spend the night there, even though it's an easy day trip from Seville. Thanks also for the tips between Cordoba and Madrid.

Mira, we are only spending two nights in Madrid at the end of our trip (one full day for the museums, Prado etc.). I don't think we want to cut that day out.

I don't know where else you're going in Spain, but to me, five days is really short for Andalucía. I would not be in a hurry to shoehorn it into a summer trip. You may very well have five days of 100+ degree temperatures at that time of year. There are lots of interesting places in northern Spain, between Catalunya and Galicia, where you would not be subjected to such heat.

Ronda is not on the direct path from Granada to Seville. ViaMichelin says traveling by way of Ronda will add over 1-1/2 hours of driving time--plus the time you spend finding a parking place in Ronda (be sure none of your possessions are visible inside the car!), walking to the part of the town you want to see, etc. Given that you have only one full day and a few hours in Seville, I would not make that detour (and I do like Ronda).

I have questions as well as we are traveling to Madrid and want to see Cordoba, Seville and Granada. My questions fall around 1. Best order after Madrid (Cordoba, then Seville, then Granada) or straight down to Seville, Granada and back to Cordoba. 2). If visiting all 3, is it best to take regular train from Granada back to Madrid or faster to do Seville, Granada, bus to Cordoba and high speed train back to Madrid? We will have 11 days total (2 of them being travel to and from Spain). How many days would you recommend in Madrid?

ALso, given our available time, Is Toledo worth a day trip from Madrid or should we try to see it on the way down to Andalucia area?

Thank you.

acraven, thanks for that info. The majority of our trip will be spent between Basque country, the Pyrenees, and Catalunya. It's the last few days that are proving a sticking point.

Even if we don't stop in Ronda, might it be worthwhile to drive the extra distance between Granada and Seville just to see some of the white hill towns? Are there perhaps other towns in the area that are a more suitable lunch stop?

I'd love to visit Galicia, but I think 5 nights is giving it short shrift also. The front-end stops on our trip are already booked, so we can't make any adjustments there.

@Renee - hello there, I see you are new to the forum, I would recommend you create a separate discussion topic regarding your Spain question, else it will become a tad complicated to respond to two separate poster questions in same discussion topic :)

Unfortunately, Ronda is the only one of the smaller towns I've seen in Andalucía. However, I've checked the driving times via Arcos de la Frontera, Zahara de la Sierra, and Grazalema--which I believe are the most frequently mentioned white villages on this forum, and they are all longer than traveling via Ronda. For all I know, though, there may be nice views (perhaps even of a white village or two?) from the direct route.

I know we have some posters who've driven around Andalucía; I'm hoping one of them has a suggestion for you.

Google maps shows about 4 hours to drive from Cordoba to Madrid, viamichelin.com at 4.25 hhours minimum, those are without pit stops. The train takes 1.75 hours.

just sayin' . . . .