Seville-to-Ronda road trip advice

Posted by rmazor on 09/01/25 04:08 AM

I would like to do a road trip during my time in Andalucía next March, and I want to get some advice on whether I'm trying to pack too much in/not giving the various stops enough time (each town is ~30-90 minutes):

The route is as follows:
Seville -> Arcos de La Frontera -> Grazalema -> Zahara de la Sierra -> Setenil de las Bodegas -> Ronda

My questions are:
1) Do you need more time in any of these towns?
2) Is there a clear one to drop?
3) I've heard that the route from Grazalema to Zahara de la Sierra is particularly stunning, but is it so much nicer that it would be a shame to skip it (e.g., drop Arcos and Grazalema altogether)? Is that leg equally scenic in both directions?

Thank you in advance!

Posted by Lin C

Surrey, UK

09/01/25 08:42 AM

539 posts

Having used all these towns as bases for day walks while I lived in Spain, I'd say that your timings are fine. Most of them are quite similar, and the drives between are worthwhile.

Posted by jaimeelsabio

Mid-Atlantic area

09/01/25 12:41 PM

7946 posts

As Lin C stated, most of the villages are small and can be seen in a hour or so. Since you’re ending in Ronda and not headed back to Sevilla you should be able to visit all the villages in a day. Using the route you mentioned, if one had to be dropped it would be Setenil de las Bodegas, but you can make that decision when you’re there.

Since you want to visit Setenil, from Arcos I’d drive the southern road (A-372) to Grazalema, then head north to Zahara followed by Setenil. If you dropped Setenil, then from Arcos take the northern road (A-384) to Zahara, then south to Grazalema followed by east to Ronda. Whether you take to the northern or southern road you’ll probably be driving no faster than 70kph/42mph. Both are two lane roads.

The road between Grazalema and Zahara de la Sierra is pretty. It also has plenty of twists and turns going over the mountain. While the distance between the two is only about 10 miles, it will take 30 minutes. Obey the speed limits as some of the twists and turns are very sharp.

Posted by rmazor OP

09/01/25 05:04 PM

2 posts

Thank you for this feedback!

Posted by Tinac

North Italy

09/02/25 05:54 PM

568 posts

Arcos will take a little longer by the time you park and walk up to the viewpoint at least.
Grazalema and Zahara are easy to park close and quite small, especially Zahara.
We visited all of them.
Setenil was the most fascinating for me, we got there late afternoon when the crowds had left so you might get the same magic if it's the last of your day.
If I had to drop one I'd drop Grazalema. I was underwhelmed and it's a long drive up and down the windy roads, it wasn't worth it for us, but we do live in the mountains so that may have influenced our opinion
Here are some thoughts I wrote just after our trip:
https://slowtravelitalyspain.blogspot.com/2018/12/considerations-pueblos-blancos.html