Seville and White Hill Towns

We were in that area recently. We did see one winery near Zahara and hoped it would be open and it wasn't. I'm told that in Spain, you typically need to make appointments to stop at wineries. I was also told that in term of wineries, etc., it might be better to check out sherry in Jerez since that is where it originated, or so I was told. It is hard for me to give comments on the hill towns because we were there in November and most places except Ronda were very quiet. The gorge Ronda is known for is pretty, it also seems to be kind of busy and touristy. We were there about 4 hours. I would make sure that you can actually hike to the base of the gorge for the picturesque photograph that Ronda is known for. It was closed when we were there due to heavy rains that caused problems with the paths, stairways. If you do end up staying in Ronda, ask your host for driving directions to get down to the gorge. There was a highway than ran along the south (?I think) side of Ronda and I think maybe the gorge could be better accessed from there. Our favorite of the hill towns were Grazelema, Zahara and Sentinel, but they were pretty quiet (and beautiful). Even Arcos was pretty quiet. We did the walking tour of Arcos from the RS guide.

The horse shows in Jerez are 2-3 times a week. The annual horse fair is May 11-19. Feria in Sevilla is May 4-11. Plan accordingly.

It's about a 2-hour drive to Ronda, without slowing down or stopping for the beautiful views or exploring any of the charming villages. The scenic route through the hills to Arcos via El Bosque/Grazelma will add some to the driving time but is worth it for the scenery. Although I'd go to Arcos on another day. Arcos is quite steep, and parking is hard to find. It's best to park in the large lot at the bottom of town and walk or take the minishuttle up. Arcos is worth several hours. I recommend seeing the bullring and museum in Ronda. If you are interesting in wines, stop in at the small Centro de Interpretacion del Vino, interesting exhibits and wine tasting too. The best views of the gorge are in the late afternoon sun - not possible on a day trip.

There are several sherry bodegas in Jerez that you can tour without a reservation. Tio Pepe is the most fun.

Cordoba is well worth a day trip from Sevilla, faster and probably easier by train than looking for parking. The Mezquita is exquisitely beautiful and unique.

There's not a great deal to see in Jerez, you could combine it with a few hours in the afternoon in Cadiz.

Whatever you do, do not drink and drive. The driver needs to save their drinking until the day’s driving is done.

Ronda is fairly small and can be seen in a day. If the weather is nice, walk down into the gorge to get a great view of the bridge, especially at dusk.

Chani is right on with his advice for Arcos de la Frontera. The road up to the overlook (Balcon de la Pena Nueva) is straight, very narrow and one way. There is a small parking lot at the overlook and it’s the only lot at the top of the hill. Coming back down is not straight and there are a couple 90 degree turns that are hard to make if your car is too large.

If you like caves, near Ronda, is Cueva de la Pileta with prehistoric paintings. You’d have to check its website to see how one arranges a tour since it is privately owned. I saw it back in the late 1970s and just happened to get there as a tour was beginning. North of Ronda is Sentenil de las Bodegas. It’s worth a couple hours at most to see the shops and houses built into the rocks. Outside of Sevilla is Italica, the ruins of a former Roman city.

You mentioned perhaps stopping for dinner in Arcos before driving back to Seville. You may not be aware than dinner in Spain is extremely late. The locals probably don't even show up at the restaurant before 10 PM. You might get seated a bit earlier, but that would still make for a lot of after-dark driving on the way back to Seville.

Ronda is personally one of my favorite places in the world. I am going on a 15 day tour of Spain and I'm spending 3d2n in Ronda alone. It's a beautiful hill town with great hiking nearby if you're into that. Very relaxed pace. There's a great bakery called Daver Confeteria and a 1.00 tapas place both mentioned in the RS Spain guide!