Southern Spain travel plan

Where are you flying home from?
It’s not the plan I would follow in December, but you have to choose what you most want to see and weigh if you’ll ever return, etc.
Why did you choose Ronda?

Not knowing what there is to see in Ronda makes me wonder why you chose it over a city like Córdoba that has more to see. One can see all the main sites in Ronda in half a day. Of course, more time can be spent there if you want to hike in the gorge.

Renting a car is a good idea if you intend to stop someplace between Granada and Ronda. The drive is just over two hours so that leaves plenty of time to stop someplace. Antequera, Olvera, or Setinil de las Bodegas might make good stops.

What are your driving concerns? The roads where you want to drive are in good condition and there is little traffic once outside of cities or towns. Drive at or below the speed limit as there are plenty of cameras.

We'll fly home from Seville.
I chose Ronda seeing a friend 's pictures. Since nothing there is booked, I can change it to another place. That's the reason for this post, to get feedback.
For driving, do we need a special permit?

I loved Ronda, but I visited in spring and I prioritize outdoor activity. It really just depends on what you want to see and do. You are covering a lot of ground, and if the weather is not lovely, I am not sure if it would be worth it to you or not. Cordoba would certainly be more efficient.

Given the relatively short trip you describe I am wondering why you are flying into Northern Spain and then devoting a long day on the train to get to Granada/Ronda/Cordoba/Sevilla where you actually want to spend time. Lots of people love Barcelona for good reason but to me you will not get much out of that stop between two long travel days. Maybe check out the Spanish rail sites (Renfe.com for example, although there are others) for some more information on train schedules before you go much further. Madrid to Cordoba to Granda by train and a drive from Granda to Ronda to Sevilla makes more sense to me. The drive is about Ronda but it also through a beautiful National Park and there are other charming villages to visit on the route (ex. Arcos de la Frontera). The Man in Seat 61 website has LOTS of information on train travel in Europe.

Any vehicle driver needs an International Driving Permit from AAA. It costs $20 plus two passport photos that AAA can take. When picking up the rental car you’ll be asked to show your passport and valid driver’s license. Some rental agencies will ask to see the IDP.

If you drive and arrive in Ronda via the Antequera, Setinil de las Bodegas route, when leaving you can head west towards Grazalema and Zahara de la Sierra as Nick mentioned, and over to Arcos de la Frontera before heading north to Sevilla.

In May we were in Ronda for a couple nights and stayed at the Parador. If driving, the main street through town is a vehicle restricted zone. There are large signs that would be hard to miss. If staying at a hotel in the restricted area, like the Parador, ensure it has your license plate number so you don’t get a ticket.

Antequera would take about a half day to visit. The main sites are the dolmens and the Alcazaba. Setinil de las Bodegas can be seen in less than two hours. Wherever you stop, if you decide to stop anywhere, look up parking lots before going over and bookmark them to whichever navigation app you use. There was a decent sized free lot in Antequera somewhat near the Alcazaba. The parking areas in Setinil are pay lots, but only a few Euros cash.

If you don't mind bluntness, I would say that it's moderately crazy to fly into Barcelona when the bulk of your trip is in Andalucia, and you will have only the day of arrival (Jet lag?) and one day to enjoy in the city before taking a very long train ride....

Ronda.....it's famous, especially on this forum, but it's not the only charming town in Andalucia. I question why you would devote time there during such an abbreviated trip. I'd vote for Cordoba instead.
If you rent the car you can visit any one of many "white towns' instead of Ronda.

Based on your flights, I would do Barcelona, Madrid, then Sevilla. Madrid is the hub for Spain's train network and going from Barcelona to Andalusia requires going through Madrid anyway. Madrid is a great place to visit and including Madrid makes the trip easier.

Renting a car in Spain is easy and driving is easy as long as you observe parking rules in crowded cities. But, if you're exclusively going to cities, I wouldn't rent a car personally. Just take a train or take a bus if you're going to a smaller town. Parking and driving in crowded medieval cities is a hassle.

Trains are the best way to travel in Spain. You can get lots of info on the official Renfe site. Is Granada a high priority in order to visit the Alhambra? I looked at trains from Barcelona to Granada and saw 3 trains a day, with travel time of 7.5-8 hours! Flying is faster. Are you locked into flights? Going to Granada will use up the meager time you have in Barcelona. If you're flying from the US and land in the morning, you'll be jetlagged and possibly sleep-deprived as well. If you are counting that as your first day, you will not get much out of it. If you are staying 2 nights in Barcelona, that gives you a single full day to sightsee. You'll spend the better part of the next day getting to Granada. Is your plan to spend 2 or 3 nights in Granada? If 2, you'll be able to visit the Alhambra (be sure to buy tickets well in advance - they always sell out). It's about a 4 hour train ride to Sevilla, so you'll use a good part of the day getting there.

If Granada is high priority, try to fly straight from Barcelona on arrival day. Then you'll have time for Andalucia.

It would help a lot to know your exact dates or at least the number of nights you have in Spain and whether it's early or mid-month or whether you'll be there near Christmas.

You could skip Barcelona and fly into and out of Seville. The Barcelona to Andalusia hop is complicating this itinerary.

Are the air tickets already purchased? To Barcelona? And return from where?/

I already bought tickets from US to Barcelona and then return tickets from Seville to US. There's one thing in Barcelona that I want to see (la sagrada familia). We'll reach in Barcelona on December 20th. And want to travel to Granada on Dec 23 (already bought Alhambra tickets). Based on the comments, I'm leaning towards flying to Granada from Barcelona (not taking train). And visit Cordoba instead of Ronda and taking trains to move between the Andalusian cities (Granada to Cordoba to Seville). I was also thinking of renting a car from Granada for a day trip to nerja to visit the coast if possible. Return is on Dec 31 from Seville.

I have spent a Spring Break 2 weeks in Andalucia and it was wonderful but complicated because of the Easter Holiday. But we also saw a wonderful "running off a bull" party in Arcos on Easter Sunday! Have you looked into how the Christmas Holiday will affect the things you want to see? Openings/Closings/Restaurants/ etc? Or maybe extra festivals/activities. Europe can take these things much more seriously than the US.

I was in Barcelona, Costa Brava, and Alicante over the holidays. There’s plenty going on and the cities are lit up like nobody’s business. That combined with the somewhat mild weather and overall lack of other tourists made it a great time to visit.

As for “visiting the coast”, you can take the train to Malaga from Cordoba.