Solo traveler - how's my itinerary?

Given the cities you want to visit, I don't see a way to improve your time allocation. In this situation, I'd skip Ronda and add time to Seville and Granada. Or include Toledo, which to my mind has a great deal more to offer than Ronda--though I do like Ronda.

In theory you could drive past Zahara de la Sierra and Grazalema on the way from Ronda to Seville with about a 1-1/4 hour detour. In the real world it could well take longer, and parking and walking around would obviously add considerable time. I haven't done that drive, so I am not speaking from experience; I plotted the route on ViaMichelin.com and am quoting its estimated driving times. Without the Zahara/Grazalema detour, the drive will still take over 2 hours.

Express trains in Spain do sell out at times, so once you have your itinerary locked down, it would be prudent to buy tickets. Do be careful about change/refund policies for the tickets, though.

Most important: You need to buy your Alhambra ticket immediately. They do sell out. In fact, there are no regular admission tickets available on November 1-12 and 15-18. I don't know what days you'll be in Granada, but it looks like you may have a problem getting a ticket. If all the regular tickets are sold out, try for the Dobla de Oro ticket, which doesn't cost much more. If those, too, are unavailable (they are sold out for Nov 1-11 and Nov 16), consider the Granada Card. You won't get full benefit from it because your stay in the city is so short, but at least it would get you into the Alhambra, assuming it has Nasrid-Palace tickets available for your time period.

Alhambra tickets: https://tickets.alhambra-patronato.es/en/

Granada card: http://en.granadatur.com/granada-card

Do not buy any ticket to the Alhambra that doesn't include the Nasrid Palaces.

Next up: Get your ticket for the Alcazar in Seville online; the ticket line at the site is often long and is outdoors. When you get to Seville, buy a combo ticket that includes the Seville Cathedral at the Church of El Salvador; the cathedral ticket line is also usually long.

I agree with Acraven- nix Rhonda and add a day to Sevilla.

And get your train tickets today and your Alhambra tickets, like, yesterday.

Hi acraven,
I purchased my ticket to Alhambra as soon as I finalized my flight details, so I am good there. (thankfully!). I booked this trip at the last minute because of a fare sale that I could not pass up, so unfortunately, I do not have as much time to research and plan as I would like. But it should still be a great trip!

Thanks for the tip on the express trains. I will purchase that now. Would you recommend Toledo as a day trip from Madrid or spending a night there?

Ok - Nixing Ronda.
Should I drive from Granada to Seville or take the train? It looks like the train is an option.

I think I’d leave Toledo as a day trip, but spend a night in cordoba on your way to Madrid, rather than just the day trip from Sevilla.

Granada to Sevilla- train or some people have found the busses to have better schedules. You should e be able to do the whole trip comfortably with trains and a bus or two–no need to rent a car.

Renfe’s website can be wacky- especially when it processes payments with American cards. I actually have butter luck with their app, but only for routes with no connection- connecting trains have to be done on the site.

I agree with Scudder. I love Toledo and consider it worth at least two nights, but you really don't have time for that long a visit, and there's something to be said for avoiding a hotel change--especially in a case like this when the round-trip doesn't really require a lot of train time. Trains to and from Toledo can sell out. Rick especially warns about the trains back to Madrid and suggests buying the return ticket in advance. In a pinch, there are also buses, but they are a lot slower than the trains.

Buses between Granada and Seville take a more direct route than the trains, so there's not a great deal of difference in the travel time despite the much greater speed of the trains. Spanish inter-city buses are generally very comfortable, so I wouldn't hesitate to make the decision on the basis of schedule. Buses could save a good bit of money in this case, since you're probably too late to get a great deal on the train ticket.

Since you’re trying to put your trip together quickly, I will add the link to our trip to Spain - might have some helpful details for you. We really enjoyed it and are going back in a few months! Have a great time!

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/1st-time-to-spain-trip-report

One day and a half in Seville is not enough, it is my favorite city in Spain.

Do Cordoba when transiting from Seville to Madrid.

From Madrid, do day trip to Segovia.

Looks pretty good to me. I would stop in Córdoba en route to Madrid rather than day trip. Taking an early train, seeing the Mezquita and a walk through the old town and a lunch will just be a few hours. Even though it’s a pretty fast train ride, you’re saving a few hours in a packed itinerary.

I think Madrid has more than enough to keep you occupied for the last three (two) days and would not plan on any extra day trips.

I agree with the emerging consensus to skip Ronda, especially since as a solo traveler, a car rental is proportionally expensive and does not allow you to enjoy the scenery all that much. Spending all of day 4 in Seville will be more rewarding, in my opinion.

I see you've wisely already dropped Ronda, but I'll just add that we basically did this itinerary last Fall and DID stop in Ronda. And it was not that impressive. You will will def enjoy the time in Seville more!

Hi ast -- My $0.02, I just returned Saturday from a trip that included a lot of these locations: I visited Ronda en route from Sevilla to points further south, by train (I stashed my luggage in a locker in the nearby bus station). If you can do something like that, I'd say that Ronda is worth a quarter-day. (Note: the easiest access/route to the 'money shot' view of the bridge from below is closed -- one can hike to a similar viewpoint but it's a notably longer hike.)
Cordoba as a day trip from Sevilla by train worked out great for me.
If I could have added a day to Sevilla and Granada, I would have, those were wonderful!

Thank you everyone for the suggestions! Here's what I have now:
Granada: 2 nights
Seville: 3 nights
Cordoba: 1 night
Madrid: 3 nights

Here's how it breaks down each day:
Day 1: Arrive in Madrid AM and take the afternoon train to Granada arriving early evening
Day 2: Full day in Granada
Day 3: Granada in AM and train to Seville in afternoon
Day 4: Full day in Seville
Day 5: Full day in Seville
Day 6: Train to Cordoba in AM
Day 7: Cordoba and train to Madrid in late afternoon
Day 8: Madrid and day trip to Toledo
Day 9: Explore Madrid
Day 10: Fly back home in PM

I will arrive in Cordoba on Saturday morning and leave for Madrid on Sunday either late afternoon or early evening. Is there anything I should consider since I will be there Sunday?

Also, I may be able to add in one more night to the trip. If so, any suggestions on where to add it? Should I add another night in Seville, Granada, Cordoba, or add in a day trip another city?

Thanks again for your help and suggestions.

If it were me, on day 6 I'd visit Cordoba but not spend the night, instead do a half-day there then train to Madrid that same afternoon. (And you may have more train departures to Madrid on Saturday vs. Sunday?) With the extra night you'll save, I'd add it to Granada or Sevilla! :)

Do you like art, museums and churches? You only have 1 full day in Madrid, home of the Prado and many other notable sights. I would add a full day there. Earlier this year, I stayed 4 nights (3 full days) in Madrid and I didn't get to see all that I wanted.