Travelling in Spain 6/19-7/3

I'm firmly in the camp that says ...
Cadiz > Jerez > Arcos de la Frontera > Ronda makes a much more interesting option than does ...
Tarifa > Tangier > Gibraltar > Malaga

Thank for your response djp_syd. Why would you recommend these places? Are you suggesting a day trip to some and stay a night in some. If yes, could you please suggest how to do Cadiz > Jerez > Arcos de la Frontera > Ronda. I am not planning to rent a car unless I have to.

Thank you

It is a pain in the neck to get to Tarifa. I've been to Andalucia 3 times and nixed the Tangier idea from the beginning. It was described to me like this- Tangiers is to Morocco as Tijuana is to Mexico. Malaga is a pretty town, but definitely a second-tier destination when compared to David's suggestion. And Gibraltar was described as a poor imitation of the UK so I haven't been there either.

Cadiz > Jerez > Arcos de la Frontera > Ronda > Granada can all be done by public transportation. Base in Jerez and day trip to Cadiz by train and to Arcos by bus. See a bit of Jerez (take a fun sherry tour at Tio Pepe, see a terrific horse show at the Royal Equestrian School).

if you land in Madrid in the morning or early afternoon, you can go to Sevilla by train and start there. [better would be to spend 1-2 nights in Cordoba first, but you can visit as a day trip from Sevilla]. That eliminates splitting up your time in Madrid. How long you spend in Madrid depends on how much time you want to spend in the art museums. If that is a priority, then you'll want 2 full days just for that. If not, you may only want 2 days there. Go to Toledo between Granada and Madrid. If you have a lot of luggage, store it at the train station in Madrid (the only trains to Toledo are from Madrid) and take a small overnight bag. Toledo is very walkable, but parts are pretty steep, so less luggage is easier.

Although I was in Malaga for three nights last fall (with a side trip to Marbella) and enjoyed it thoroughly, I agree with David and Chani. I would go to Cadiz, Jerez, Arcos, and Ronda every time over jumping to Morocco. In Jerez there is a combo tour you may be interested in. For a single ticket of euro 15, you get three tours: 10:00 AM bus tour overview of the city, either a 12:00 or 1:00 PM (I cannot remember which) guided tour of the Tio Pepe sherry facility, and a 90 minute guided walking tour of the old town Jerez at 4:00PM. Buy your tickets from one of the women in either a red jacket or red dress on the plaza in front of the main tourist office.

Chani has done a great job with detail given above.

6/19 Arrive Madrid.
Direct to Toledo (2N)
6/20 Toledo sights
6/21 Train to Seville (3N)
6/22 Seville sights
6/23 Day to Córdoba
6/24 Train to Jerez (3N)
6/25 Day to Cadiz
6/26 Day to Arcos
6/27 Bus to Ronda (1N)
6/28 Train to Granada (2N)
6/29 Alhambra
6/30 Train to Madrid (3N)
7/01 Madrid sights
7/02 Day to Segovia
7/03 Depart Madrid

Non Savvy Traveller -

I just re-read your initial post and I realized that I ignored the most important reason for you to AVOID Morocco - the temperature! North Africa is a very, very hot place in midsummer, especially for folks from Orange County CA who are used to reasonably moderate summer temps. Madrid and Andalucia are going to e hot at that time of year but Morocco would be a killer!

I really appreciate all your help. Particularly Chani and David..You are kind enough to lay out the details and so specific about sequence and nights. As a Math major I like this. :). I am going to change my itinerary. Any hotel suggestion in the following places:
Jerez
Cadiz
Arcos
Ronda

Thank you so much all again!! I

From doing a little search of good value, well reviewed, centrally located 3 star hotels, I came up with...
Casa Grande in Jerez.
Los Olivos in Arcos
Enfrente Arte in Ronda

David's itineraries are often too fast-paced for me. The last one he's suggested is a string of 1 and 2-nighters. Consider if you are up to it without a car. It's a lot of luggage-schlepping. What does your amended itinerary look like now?

Non Savvy -

I stayed in these hotels last October:

Jerez Tryp Hotel Jerez
Ronda El Poeta de Ronda
Cadiz Hotel Patagonia Sur
Arcos I did not stay over in Arcos

All of these were excellent, clean and comfortable places to stay - with free WiFi throughout the hotel.

Hotel San Gabriel in Ronda gets a big thumbs up from me. Stayed there on the RS Spain My Way Tour in Oct. 2016.

Granted Chani's point, you could do Arcos in a day from Jerez, perhaps even by Uber. Or choose one or the other for Cadiz/Arcos to give a 2nd night to Ronda. Voila, no one night stays.

Chani here is my amended itinerary right now.

Madrid 6/19 -6/21 2N
Toledo 6/21-6/22 1N
Cordoba 6/22-6/23 1N
Seville 6/23- 6/26 3N
Jerez 6/26- 6/27 1N
Arcos 6/27-6/28 1N
Rhonda 6/28-6/29 1N
Granada 6/29-7/2 3N
Madrid 7/2-7/3 fly to Santorini

We have dropped Tarifa and Malaga and a day trip from Tarifa to Tangier. Please note that I don't do jet leg too well. So I want to spend two nights in Madrid and do Madrid first. Me and my wife are in mid sixties so I feel three three one nights in Jerez,Arcos and Rhonda are still a bit much. Spain trip will be followed by a two week trip to Greece so we need to save our energy. :). Overall we want to take our time to see things at a reasonable pace and not rush through them. I want to drop one town and make one of them a two nighter. Which one do you guys recommend? I guess you have noticed that we ave planned the trip sequentially counter clockwise.

Thank you again.

To make it easier, you can put your luggage in a locker at Atocha and just take a small bag to Toledo. The lockers are at the far end of the tropical garden/atrium, which is close to the AVE trains to Cordoba. You'll need to allow at least 1/2 hour from arriving from Toledo to departing to Cordoba. There's also luggage storage at the Cordoba bus station - across the street from the train - but since you'll want a taxi to/from your hotel there, I wouldn't bother.

Sevilla > Jerez > Arcos > Ronda . . . depends on the bus schedules, routes and travel times. I'd even consider staying longer in Sevilla and day-tripping to Jerez/Cadiz/Arcos instead of schlepping with luggage. Then bus to Ronda from Sevilla.

I'd also think about going to Cordoba from the airport, staying 2-3 nights. Cordoba is low-key, quieter and smaller that Sevilla and easy to walk around and enjoy. Then after Granada, spend a night in Toledo, and Madrid at the end.

Along with Chani, I think your energy levels would benefit from a more streamlined plan, with longer stays, fewer hotel changes and more day tripping. You really do have considerable time if you stay put in Madrid and Seville and spend your days making excursions, rather than packing/unpacking + checking in/checking out.

Look at a departure flight in the evening from Granada, connecting with a red eye to Santorini in Madrid.

6/19 Madrid 4/5N (with days to Toledo and Segovia)
6/23 Sevilla 5/6N (with days to Cordoba, Jerez, Arcos)
6/29 Ronda 2N
7/01 Granada 2N
7/03 Evening flight from Granada via Madrid to Santorini

Iberia IB8655 - Operated by Air Nostrum
07/03 21:10 Depart GRX Granada
07/03 22:15 Arrive MAD Madrid
Connection time: 2hrs
Iberia IB3654 - Operated by Iberia Express
07/04 00:15 Depart MAD Madrid
07/04 05:00 Arrive JTR Santorini (Thira)
Journey duration: 6hr 50min

David, Thank you so much for even checking out flights for me. How do you recommend we travel between these places and do the day trips - buses or trains? Recommendations for hotel in these cities/towns?

By train from ...
Madrid Chamartin to Segovia (27min)
Madrid Atocha to Toledo (33min)
Madrid Atocha to Sevilla (2hr 30min)

By train from Sevilla Santa Justa to ...
Córdoba (42min)
Jerez (65min)
Cadiz (1hr 41min)

By bus from Sevilla to ...
Arcos de la Frontera (2hr)
Ronda (2hr 30min)

By train from Ronda to ...
Granada (2hr 34min)

David, Thank you for checking train and bus schedules with such details. Very much appreciated.

Welcome. Nothing much better to do here in the current Australian heat wave while its 38c outside and I'm sheltering inside with AC.