Spain Trip for 10 days - Barcelona, Malaga, Granda, and Madrid

You can do this all by the trains. Buy train tickets in advance 30-90 days on loco 2.com or renfe.com. If you plan to go to the Alhambra buy the tickets months on advance. And to enter most sites in Barcelona buy tickets in advance.

I'm not sure what you mean by help plan your trip. I assume you have done enough research so you know what you want to see. Are you asking how many days to spend in each place and best mode of travel?

You seem to be doing a lot of traveling for 10 days. And you won't have 2 full days in any place because you have to consider the time it takes to check in and out of hotels, and travel to your next destination.

Do you like art museums? if so, 2 days is very little for Madrid.

Since you are flying home from Madrid, that city should be your last stop. The order of your itinerary could be Barcelona, Granada, Malaga, and Madrid. While I enjoyed Malaga, I wonder if you should drop Malaga to reduce your number of days spent traveling. You could add those 2 days to Madrid, or one day to Madrid and one day to Granada or Barcelona. Barcelona is a huge city with lots of important sites. And you need advance tickets for many of these very popular and very crowded sites. And you will suffer from jet lag on your arrival day. Will you be in the mood for sightseeing on June 18?

I think you should fly from Barcelona to Granada (if you choose my route), then train or bus from Granada to Malaga, and then train to Madrid.

You have ten nights in Spain, but really only nine full days. Your arrival day may find you jetlagged and seriously sleep-deprived. Many of us fight to stay awake on our arrival day. I definitely wouldn't pre-purchase tickets to any sights in Barcelona for June 18. Plan to enjoy the Barri Gotic and other interesting areas of the city.

I think four destinations is at least one too many for the time you have, but if you wish to proceed with all of those stops, I'd position Madrid last since that's your departure point for the trip home. You need to spend the night of June 27 in or very near Madrid, anyway.

I don't know whether it will work better to travel from Brarcelona to Granada, then Malaga or to Malaga, then Granada. You'll need to fly the first leg, I think, because a train would chew up too much of your time. So see whether flight options from Barcelona on June 22 are better/cheaper to Granada or Malaga. Granada's a bit trickier by ground transportation, so all things being equal, I'd fly to Granada.

You can then take a bus (there are issues with train service at the moment) to your second city in Andalucía. If your third stop is Malaga, you'll have an easy train ride to Madrid. If the third stop is Granada, I think your choices are bus and bus/train combination, with not a lot of difference in the time required.

Tickets for the Alhambra sell out months in advance. Between now and June 2 there is exactly one (1) day on which tickets are available from the official website. There are tickets remaining for the rest of June, but that situation could (and will) change. Do not delay your purchase of Alhambra tickets once you are absolutely certain of the date you need.

This is the official ticket site for the Alhambra

Your itinerary is doable but a bit all over the place. You can best do this with a low cost flights/public transportation combo that will minimise backtracking/inefficiency.

Fly in to Barcelona
Barcelona (4 days)
AVE High Speed Train to
Madrid (2 days)
Fly to
Granada (2 days)
ALSA Bus to
Málaga (2 days)
Fly to Madrid connect and fly to US

If you can fly back to the US from Málaga instead of Madrid you can further streamline the itinerary. Note that only 2 days in Madrid will not allow you to do any of its world class day trips. You may want to just remove the two days from Málaga (will be HOT in late June) and add those days to Madrid and/or Barcelona.

Between Granada and Malaga you definitely want to use the coach service, run by Alsa, not a Renfe train which would take forever.

I'd consider amending Carlos' great suggestion to put Madrid at the end since you need to be back there to fly home. So Barcelona, fly to Granada, coach to Malaga, rail to Madrid (by AVE).

Personally, I'd also drop a night from Barcrlona, so you can visit Cordoba from Malaga on the way to Madrid.

Alsa timetables here - https://www.alsa.com/en/web/bus/home

Renfe timetables here (though you might find it easier to buy via Loco2 or Trainline given Renfe's website peculiarities) - http://www.renfe.com If it comes up in Spanish, look for a globe or the word "Welcome" at the top to convert to English.

Vueling offer flights between Barcelona and Granada.

I would hate to have only 3 nights in Barcelona in general, but especially so at the beginning of a trip when it means only two full, non-jetlagged days in that city where there are so many sights that must be scheduled in advance.

Have you checked on the availability for tickets to Alhambra during the days you plan on staying there?

Yes. I was able to book Alhambra tickets for 06/22/2019 Saturday.
Any suggestions for me to Rent a CAR from BCN to drive up to Granada, Malaga, Cordoba and return the rental car in Madrid.
How difficult for USA driver to get an rental car and any things to watch out for ?

It would take you at least nine hours to drive from Barcelona to Granada, more assuming you stop along the way. To go this quickest route, you'll need to pay tolls. It only makes sense if you planned to break the journey with at least one overnight during the trip. Flying is a better choice - you can get the morning Vueling commuter flight and be settled in your Granada hotel before elevenses.

That's a total of 950 miles, plus any excess distance necessitated by looking for parking, getting to your hotels, etc. ViaMichelin estimates the driving time at 17 hours, excluding stops, navigational errors, etc. You'll have to spend all day on June 21 making the long drive to Granada, meaning just two fully usable days in Barcelona.

All of that driving is spread over just seven days, so you'll be averaging over 2-1/2 hours a day in a car. At least on a train you could pack a picnic and eat on the way.

understood. Based on what you say flight will be a better and quicker option.
How early you have to be at the airport for Domestic Flight @ BCN?

Thank you Nick and acraven, I think by taking Flight to Granada seems to be better option and then rest i can take BUS.

I think that will make for a much more relaxing vacation.

The Cordoba-Madrid leg is about twice as fast by train as by bus, and for Malaga-Cordoba the difference is even greater--so great that I'd say you don't really have a choice on a trip as short as this. However, the cheap train tickets are non-refundable and non-changeable, and they're likely to sell out early, so this means locking down your itinerary before buying them.

I'm still hoping you'll drop Malaga and use that time at your other destinations. Should you decide to do that, I think Granada to Cordoba is a bit simpler by bus than by bus/train combo, assuming the bus stations aren't awkwardly located (I haven't checked).

I trust that someone else will answer your question about flight check-in time. You might find the information on the airline's website or by Googling something like Vueling Barcelona domestic check-in. That has worked for me when I sought similar information for US flights.

I've never taken a domestic flight in Spain, but I flew home from Barcelona in 2016. For transatlantic flights the advice was 3 hours in advance, and it's a very good thing, too, because I was in line at the United counter for about 1 hour. I made the flight, but I really didn't have excess time. BCN is a very busy airport.

@acraven - Thank you.

We have booked BCN to GRX early morning flight so we will be arriving in Granada @ 9:00 AM. The same day ticket are booked for Alhambra in afternoon @ 2:00 PM.

How early we need to be @ Alhambra for 2:00 time? Do I need to get a new ticket as our tickets are online ?

Is it good idea to Rental car USA visitors? We are little worried about parking, but we think Rental car may give some place to visit and then drop off in Madrid. Any difference in Rental @ airport vs Rental from local town Rental car place.

I'm sorry, my previous trip to the Alhambra was decades ago. I'm going again in early May, but at this point I'm not up to speed on the procedures.

I'm not clear on where you are thinking you might go by car. I think you don't have enough time at your various stops as it is. Cars are for visiting smaller towns and connecting cities ill-served by public transportation. I just don't see how you are going to find time to take detours.

"How early we need to be @ Alhambra for 2:00 time? Do I need to get a new ticket as our tickets are online ?"

Alhambra does change it's rules. But from our last visit about two years ago, you could print your own ticket if bought from the official website, and only needed to exchange if you have bought a concession so you needed to prove you were eligible.

2pm is the start time for you to enter the Nasrid Palace. There is no point joining a queue at 1pm because you won't be let in before 2. Similarly you must have entered by 2.30 when the next slot starts. I think a lot of people join their slot's queue about 15 minutes before. Equally, you could wait until 15 minutes after it starts by when the early birds have already gone in. If you arrive at 2.20 and there is a queue, go to the front because they're probably waiting for the 2.30 slot to open.

The other ticketed parts aren't timed, so you can see them before or after Nasrid (though there's walking, so try to do in a logical order). And some parts don't need a ticket so you visit whenever suits.

OP: Is this your first trip to Europe?

Thank you @Nick.

Yes. this is first time to Europe.

Ok, first trip to Europe. These thoughts may help:
1) trains are the way much of Europe gets places, especially between major cities/towns; way different from US (except northeast, Chicago. Many good reasons to take train in Europe, if there's regular train service going where you're going, some rural areas won't have regular train service.
2) renting a car in Spain (or many other European countries) is not the easy and obvious choice that it is in the US, about all that can be said without writing a book but that's a heads-up for you;
3) parking is usually more complicated than in US; many hotels don't have free surface parking like in US, one of the reasons why trains are generally preferred over rental cars; and parking often expensive & difficult in large cities--not like here.
4) In general, it will take longer than you think to get from location A to B, especially if you're trying to drive.
5) In Spain, eating hours are way different than US: restaurants generally won't open for dinner until ~9pm, most locals eat dinner 9pm or later; lunch is the big meal of the day for locals and this affects when restaurants are open for lunch (and dinner), lunch is ~ 1 to 4pm. Way different meal timing than in US or many other European countries.
6) Monday closures are common for many museums and other sights, check their website before you plan on going to an attraction on Mondays.

If you have a timed ticket, then that is for the Nazrid Palace inside the Alhambra and they only allow a short delay time (check the website to ensure. Possibly 60 minutes, or it could be much shorter) for your arrival inside the Palace. There is a bus from the airport to down town Granada. If your lodging will hold your luggage, drop it off. Your Alhambra ticket allows all day access to the grounds which could eat up 2 hours or more depending how fast you are. If you want to do that before Nazrid, at least you are on the grounds and can be aware of time. The entry gate is about 15 minutes walk to the Palace so you need to be at the entry gate at least by 1:45, but 1:30 would be better as there can be a line up to switch voucher for ticket and get through. There is a secondary gate but the local minibus doesnt' stop there.

If things go badly, you can get a taxi to Alhambra from Airport ($$) and there are huge lockers near the second (Justice) gates, so you can store luggage during your visit. For food, there is an expensive hotel restaurant on site, and a couple of places across the street. Otherwise there is a kiosk right by the Palace line up which is a good place for a cana (small glass of beer) and omelet (which is a thick potato/egg pie. Also some tapas sandwiches. This is often adequate for US travelers on the go.
If you check rome2rio website, you can plot your trip from Granada to Malaga to Madrid to see estimated length of time and transport options. (bus vs plane vs train to Madrid). Then use the official websites to ensure scheduling and pricing and then book.

@Kent Thank you so so much. Great info.

@Maria - Thanks. Would uber be an option in Granada?

Glad to help! :-)

I don't know if Uber is available in Granada. It wasn't last year, but things change.

Are you American? My apologies if I'm mistaken, but I get the impression from some of the taxi questions made on here (not yours specifically), that taxis in USA are often best avoided or hard to find. That isn't the case in Spain - or much of Europe - where taxis are clean, honest, safe and heavily regulated. For Granada, you'll find taxis (white with a green stripe colour scheme), at the airport, railway station, coach depot, various city centre taxi ranks, plus you can hail on the street. Or, of course, just book one by telephone or website. Taxi will be fine, really.

understood. Yes, I am from East Cost, USA. I am little worried as travelling with youth children and wanted to make sure that I note all the possible things can be done or be aware of things to do in case the first one does not work. I am not worried much about languages as my daughter speaks and understand Spanish.

No Uber when I was there. As said, taxis are safe and affordable, particularly if several in your family.

As a petite single female, I took taxis in all the major cities in Spain and never had a complaint. The drivers were fine, the cabs were clean, and I always asked for a receipt just in case. Spanish taxis are far better than their American counterparts.

Thank you all again.

Flight is booked from BCN to GRX as well as tickets to visit Alhambra. We also decided to not to Rent a CAR based on suggestions from the forum. Rest of planning is in work for Malaga and then Madrid.

How safe will be staying with AirBNB blooking in Barcelona? I am trying to see if we can stay not far from the airport as we have early flight to Granada.

Do you guys think it will be easy to take a day trip to Cordoba from Granada? so that way stay additional night in Granada and next day go to Malaga.

It's considerably faster to get to Cordoba from Malaga than from Granada.

Or, if you're traveling from Malaga back to Madrid for your flight, Cordoba is right on the way since you're traveling by train.

Barcelona requires rentals to be registered with the city and pay taxes. Airbnb listings should either list their HUT license number, or provide it if requested.
I had one night at a hotel near the airport, but as I came from Valencia I can't comment on the rail connections to the city. I believe they are frequent and easy, however. It was a pleasant bedroom town with quite a different feel to Barcelona itself.

Skip Malaga. Extend Madrid and/or Barcelona or add Seville or Toledo (a day trip from Madrid)

At this point I am still little confuse about what need to be done if I take a train from Malaga and stop in Cordoba and arrive in Madrid in the evening.
How to visit Cordoba from Train Station? I should be able to drop of my bags on Malaga train station and take some kind of half day tour and come back and take other train or I can have layover in train with.

People do Cordoba as a day trip every day....though not always with luggage. Train station doesn't have storage, but bus station across the street does. Also, anew trend is for other types of business to store luggage. Bike stores, dry cleaners, bars or shoe repair for example. Apps or websites give detsils. Nannybags is one.
Once in Cordoba, it is a 15-20 minute walk to old town and the sites. On your way back, stop at Mercado Victoria for a meal or to pick up food and wine for the ride to Madrid.

Thanks @Maria.
What are my options to do half day trip to Ronda from Malaga? If not I am thinking something else in Malaga as we will have two full days.