Post Tour Time Spain & Portugal

I haven't been to Gibraltar.

Ubeda is very different from the places the tour visits in Andalucia. Ubeda has Renaissance-era architecture, not Mudejar/Moorish. The city has been a center for ceramic production for some time. There were still ceramics shops in Ubeda at the time of my 2019 visit. Ubeda doesn't have a train station, unfortunately. The nearest station is Linares-Baeza. I traveled to and from Ubeda by bus. Baeza is also a worthwhile destination. Both cities are UNESCO-listed.

Malaga, being coastal, is also different from Seville/Granada/Cordoba. I enjoyed it a lot but would choose Ubeda if I didn't have time for both cities. Malaga felt to me more like a place to relax than many of the other places I've been. I'm not sure exactly why, because it does have some worthwhile sights. Maybe it's the coastal location. A fair number of folks on the forum have been to Malaga in recent years, and I don't recall anyone who didn't like it. Perhaps it's because they didn't have super-high expectations, so all its good qualities were easy to appreciate.

I haven't been to Portugal recently enough to help out there.

I must say that less than a week will not give you much of an introduction to Portugal. Especially given the need for a flight to get to Lisbon, I'd be inclined to use your extra time in Spain and include Portugal in your next trip to Europe. However, I note that your trip is in June, when it can be very, very hot in Andalucia. If you run into that sort of thing, you might be sort of glad for a chance to go somewhere cooler for a few days at the end of the trip. Lisbon and especially Porto, farther north, should be much cooler than places like Cordoba in June.

It's risky to depend too heavily on average monthly temperatures since the climate is changing so rapidly. At the very least, you must pay careful attention to the date range on which the average temperatures are based. The climate-summary chart in Wikipedia's entry for Porto is based on a period ending in 2007, so it's hard to interpret the massive average-high-temperature difference between that city and Cordoba, which is 28 degrees F. It would be best to take a look at the actual, historical, day-by-day June temperatures over recent years in your potential destinations. You can find that data on the website timeanddate.com.

Cordoba weather -- June 2024

Use the pull-down box at the right, just above the graph, to change the month/year displayed. I like to look at the most recent five years. Use the Search box at the upper right to change the location.

Thanks for your detailed response, acraven!
I am going to look into Ubeda and Baeza a little more. Neither have been on my radar much so far, but it seems like both could be an option.

I agree that hot temperatures will be a factor, but at this point in our lives, the summer is our only option for travel. We might have to try out the idea of a siesta if the afternoons get too hot:). Your suggestion of Portugal being a bit cooler makes a lot of sense.

Thanks again!

Portugal is great, but you need more than a week to do that country. The northern part of Portugal is wonderful, Porto and the Douro River Valley.

You can see a lot just in Lisbon (3 days there). Also, do day trips to Sintra and Evora. Further, consider Obidos and Cascais.

You could venture into Extremedura. I was once researching bus/train routes from Andalucia to Portugal and it seemed like Sevilla-Merida-Lisbon was relatively painless travel by public transport (I always like to avoid a flight when possible).
I found the Roman ruins in Merida extraordinary (the town was pleasant), but if you were looking for a prettier town, Caceres is not far. There is a lot in that area if you rally want to extend the Spain portion (you said you like busy itineraries)--stunning parks but also some blockbuster sights and I did not make it to all with four days (Guadalupe, Trujillo).
Overall though, I think it might be the best track to head on to Lisbon after seeing Cordoba and spend more time there plus day trips (the easy, breezy route).