Reworked 3 week plan and need advice

We really liked Balbao and San Sebastian, and stayed in both. However, if you have to pick one, I'd pick San Sebastian. The beach and old town are lovely, the pintxos scene was fabulous and we really enjoyed the Basque museum. You might spend a half day in Hondarribia in the castle/cathedral area. So charming. It is a 30 minute drive from San Sebastian, and Hondarribia also has a beach/coastline for scenic views.

I'm not sure that you need three days for the white towns. Train travel to Ronda is possible, but slow.
You might want a car if you really do want to see a number of white towns, but I'd save that for your long slow trip.
I's be more included to slip in Cordoba and/or Granada between Seville and Madrid.
For Basque region, Bilbao and the Guggenheim is a must if you are into art and architecture.

There is no particular area that includes all of the white towns; they are scattered over a fairly big area in the provinces of Cadiz, Malaga and Sevilla.

My favorites would be the city of Jerez (a "white" city) and (one hour away) the hill town of Vejer.
You should have a car to visit Vejer.

Ronda is a white town popular with tourists; you can visit without a car.

Agree that you would not need three nights, although that would be great if you wanted to soak up the atmosphere and not just pop in during the day when all the bus tours will congregate....with three nights, I'd choose two "white" towns.

The whole idea of the "white towns" is a little silly, as almost every town and village in Andalucia features mostly white-painted buildings.....it's just that some of these have become very popular (too popular in some cases) with tourists.....

Ask yourself what you want to do and see in those places......

Ok, great info. We may take a quick hop down to Ronda from Seville then and put those extra days somewhere else.

So Granada or Valencia might be the choices. I noticed that RS completely skips the Eastern seaboard but what are thoughts on Granada vs Valencia?

It depends on what you want in terms of Valencia vs. Granada. I can't imagine being in Andalusia and skipping Cordoba. Granada has the Alhambra the most popular site in Spain, for good reason, though I do like the Mezquita more.

Jerez is what I'd consider a largish city. If you are looking for quaint, white villages, Jerez would not be my first choice, and yes, many cities in Andalusia are "white", including the old town of Cordoba. When people talk about the "Pueblos Blancos" or white villages, they are typically talking about Arcos, Zahara, Grazelema, Sentenil, Ronda, etc. Ronda is not a "quick hop" from Sevilla. By car, I recall it being about 2 hours. Arcos is closest "white village" from Sevilla.

I’m tickled because my itinerary is looking exactly like RS suggests in his book. :-) Good reason why he is an expert!!

So looks like we will do this:
Barcelona 6-11
Granada 11-15
Seville 15-20
Madrid 20-24
Basque 24-28

We can day trip from major cities although I think Ronda will be a full day and overnight, coming back to Seville the next morning.
But at least I have an outline!

Just make sure that you go to Toledo.

Unless you are doing Ronda or another day trip from Granada, you could stay one less day in Granada

Good advice! Thank you!!