Trip Planning Advice Needed

Your inclusion of Baeza-Ubeda makes logistics a bit tricky. I would use the direct Talgo train services and head there first up from Madrid, before travelling on to Sevilla.

April
25. Arrive Madrid (4)
26. Madrid
27. Day to Toledo
28. Day to Segovia
29. Train to Linares-Baeza (1)
30. Train to Sevilla (5)

May
1. Sevilla
2. Day to Cadiz
3. Sevilla
4. Day to Jerez
5. Train to Cordoba (1)
6. Train to Malaga (3)
7. Malaga
8. Day to Ronda
9. ALSA Bus to Granada (2)
10. Alhambra
11. ALSA Bus to Alicante (4)
12. Alicante
13. Day to Valencia
14. Alicante
15. Train to Madrid (1)
16. Fly home from Madrid

Trains to look for ...

TAL 276
Dep 08:19 MADRID-ATOCHA CERCANIAS (Spain)
Arr 11:15 LINARES-BAEZA (Spain)

TAL 697
Dep 17:47 LINARES-BAEZA (Spain)
Arr 20:51 SEVILLA-SANTA JUSTA (Spain)

AVN 8095
Dep 09:20 SEVILLA-SANTA JUSTA (Spain)
Arr 10:05 CORDOBA-CENTRAL (Spain)

AVE 3990
Dep 13:30 CORDOBA-CENTRAL (Spain)
Arr 14:24 MALAGA MARIA ZAMBRANO (Spain)

AVE 5123
Dep 12:40 ALICANTE / ALACANTE TERMINO (Spain)
Arr 15:10 MADRID-PUERTA DE ATOCHA (Spain)

Thanks David. I appreciate you taking the time to give me the information. I am wondering why you think I should go to Linares-Baeza first rather than Cordoba.

Dave has included Cordoba in his proposed itinerary.

Yes, I saw Cordoba included in David's information but it seemed that I would be jumping around the country from Madrid - to the south to Ubeda/Baeza then to the west to Sevilla then back east to Cordoba then heading south again to Malaga then east again to Granada; whereas, my plan was to go from Madrid to Cordoba then east to Ubeda/Baeza then south to Granada then southwest to Malaga/Ronda then northwest to Sevilla - almost like I was making a circular route.
Looking at train schedules from Malaga to Ronda I would only have about 4.5 hours in Ronda. The train gets to Ronda at approx. Noon and the last train leaves for Malaga at 4:50. Is that really enough time to experience Ronda? I'm thinking I might need to spend the night in Ronda. What do you think?

Ubeda/Baeza are difficult to link to other places. They are not on one of the fast rail lines. My quick check agrees with David's suggestion that the area is probably best approached from Madrid. Being hard to reach means it gets relatively few foreign tourists.

Cordoba is on the Madrid-Seville AVE line. It's close enough to Seville that folks pressed for time very often treat it as a day-trip from Seville.

When you're using public transportation, you often end up covering more miles than you expect because that's how the transportation links work. Last summer I kept having to do the hub-and-spoke thing in France, changing trains in Paris, so it doesn't just happen in Spain.

I could go to Ubeda/Baeza first from Madrid and continue my circular route and end in Cordoba after Sevilla. This would make for a less tiring travel day going from Cordoba to Madrid and then on to Alicante. The trip from Sevilla to Alicante is like 7 hours by train and you still have to go to Madrid to get to Alicante.

My only advice is don't rush to buy tickets. First, the cheap tickets don't usually sell out overnight and while prices will go up, they usually go up incrementally. Second, if you lock into a plan before you are sure it's right for you, it will either cost you a lot more to change it or you'll waste time or miss out because of a problematic schedule. There are other considerations - can you book your preferred hotel (or get your best rate). Do you want to take the night tour of the Nasrid Palaces in the Alhambra? It's not open every night. Are there any local festivals that you want to see or avoid?

Consider how much you may save my buying train tickets and compare that to the overall cost of your trip and the inconvenience of being locked into a plan before you are sure it's the right plan for you.

Lastly, chances are you'll go back to Spain. You absolutely cannot see everything you want in one trip. And once you're there, you'll find things to see and do that you weren't planning on. What you can do is enjoy everything you see and do, and keep the things you miss on your next-time list.

I chose the routing based on the best direct train connections. Baeza is really only serviced directly from Madrid and Sevilla, hence the routing Madrid >> Baeza >> Sevilla. The high speed train line divides at Cordoba for Malaga and Sevilla, hence the backtrack to Cordoba, then down to Malaga. It’s the quickest way to Malaga. Bus is easy to Ronda and Granada from Malaga. And bus is the only way to Alicante without travelling back thru Madrid.

Transit times, all utilising direct services....
Starti in Madrid, then
Train (2hr 56min) to Linares-Baeza
Train (3hr 04min) to Sevilla
Train (45min) to Cordoba
Train (54min) to Malaga
ALSA Bus (1hr 30min) to Granada
ALSA Bus (5hr 15min) to Alicante
Train (2hr 30min) to Madrid

If your final goal is Alicante, your most easterly destination, then it makes sense to slowly make your way there, starting from your most westerly point, Sevilla.

Well, we've had torrential rain for 2 days here so I've been doing more reading and trying to continue trip planning only to confuse things more for myself. LOL. On 2/24 at 5:02 p.m. Central time here in the States I got on the Renfe site (Midnight in Spain on 2/25) and never could get a 25 euro ticket. Guess their site crashed. Oh well, probably best because Chani is correct about taking my time to get my trip well planned out before plunking down my money for a train ticket.
Now I've decided that staying in Malaga for more than a night isn't worth it or maybe don't go to Malaga at all. I'm more excited to see the small towns of Ronda, Arcos de la Frontera, Grazalema, Vejer de la Frontera, Carmona, Osuna. Has anyone spent time in these towns to give an opinion about which ones are worth the trip and which ones are the better ones to spend a night or two in. I'm not sure if I want to see Cadiz. But maybe Jerez makes a good base to see some of the White Villages??? Will I be taking buses to get to these villages? Any suggestions on places to stay (trying to stay under $100 USD/night). Is the Madrid to Ubeda to Sevilla still the best plan of attack now that I've determined I'd rather have a more authentic experience and forget about spending any time on the Costa del Sol? Still want to spend time in Sevilla, Cordoba, Granada. I get the Road Scholar travel catalogues and they have a tour of the White Villages. They start in Carmona and overnight there. Then the tour travels to Cordoba (although it's just a stop on the way to Grazalema). I want to stay overnight in Cordoba to see more. From Grazalema the tour has a day trip to Ronda, then on to Vejer de la Frontera with a day trip to Jerez then on to Sevilla. Grazalema is known for its traditional crafts which interests me. In Jerez I want to see the show "How the Andalusian Horses Dance" at the Royal Andalusian School of Equestrian Art which is only on Tuesday and Thursday at Noon. I would appreciate your help with putting all this together.

Ronda is larger than Arcos, Grazalema, etc., and is a good place to overnight.

The website Rome2Rio.com is useful for determining what transportation options exist for each leg of your trip--train, bus, etc. You should definitely not trust the travel times it provides, or the fares, but you can keep drilling down and usually find links to the appropriate transportation companies when you're far enough along that you care about schedules and fares. Or, once you determine that bus is the way to go, you can try simply Googling "bus Seville to Ronda". That usually works.

There is actually train as well as bus service between Seville and Ronda, but the train routing takes you all the way east to Antequera before you double back westward to Ronda. You pay for all those (unproductive) miles, so I'd prefer a bus for that leg.

Well, it's only 8 days until I leave for Spain and I'm just now trying to finalize plans. No hotels booked for Seville or Granada yet nor have I bought any train or bus tickets so recommendations are appreciated. I do tax and accounting work here in the States & my trip got put on the back burner until a couple days ago. I've decided to skip Ubeda. David had planned out a pretty good travel plan for me. Instead of going to Linares-Baeza (Ubeda) on 4/29, I'm heading to Cordoba where I'll spend the night & sightsee. Then on 4/30 I'll take the train to Seville at some point that day. I know I want to go to Jerez on 5/3 for the Horse Show since it's my understanding that the show is only on Tuesdays & Thursdays. Should I book this as a day trip with a tour company because I don't know how far the school is from the train station? Maybe someone reading this can advise me. Also, should I stay in Seville and do day trips to places like Carmona, Arcos de la Frontera, Cadiz, Vejer de la Frontera, Grazalema, Ronda or would it be better to stay in Seville part of the time and Malaga part of the time to see these places? I read that Vejer de la Frontera is a beautiful coastal town. If some towns are best visited from Malaga then which towns? I have a ticket for the Alhambra on 5/11 so I was leaving on 5/9 for Granada. I will leave Granada for Alicante on 5/11 on the 3:30 p.m. afternoon bus. The travel plan is still fluid beginning on 4/30 but this is what I have (pretty much what David had suggested with a few tweaks):

April
25. Arrive Madrid (4 nights)
26. Madrid
27. Day trip to Avila & Segovia with tour company (ticket bought)
28. Full day trip to Toledo with tour company (ticket bought)
29. Train to Cordoba with sightseeing (1 night)
30. More sightseeing in Cordoba then Train to Sevilla (? how many nights) Does anyone have hotel recommendations for $125 USD or less close to attractions???

May
1. Sevilla
2. Sightseeing in Sevilla
3. Jerez for Horse show and Sightseeing (probably will book with a tour company cuz don't know how to get around town)
4. ?
5. ?
6. ?
7. ?
8. ?
9. ALSA Bus to Granada (2 nights) Hotel recommendations requested???
10. Granada sightseeing
11. Alhambra then ALSA Bus to Alicante (4 nights) to visit my friend
12. Alicante
13. Alicante
14. Alicante
15. Train to Madrid (1 night)
16. Depart Madrid for U.S.

I cant address all your questions but can comment on a couple. For the horse show, just take the 9:45am train from Seville santa justa train station. I would then take a cab over to the show. We were there a few weeks ago and walked but it was a long uninteresting 45 min walk. We also went to a sherry bodega after the show for a tasting. We were able to walk to Bodega Tradicion for a great tour and tasting at 3pm. On the way home we took the bus rather than the train- the bus station is right next door to the train station. I liked the bus better because the bus station in Seville is close to Santa Cruz/ cathedral neighbor and we could walk back to our hotel rather than take a taxi.
For an economical hotel in seville check out Hotel Adriano or Hotel Simon.
In Granada we liked Roommate Leo. Great central location with a good breakfast and rooftop patio.
We also spent three nights in Malaga and really enjoyed it- wished we had another day or two there.
Five nights in seville worked well for us. Two in Cordoba, one in Ronda, two in Antequera and four in Granada. All wonderful! We rented z car gir rhe three dsys between malaga and seville.
Enjoy your trip!

I would spend at least one more night in Sevilla - there's plenty to see. I love Cordoba, so I'd recommend 2 nights there. If you do, I can recommend some sights. Jerez is a good base to day trip to Arcos by bus and to Cadiz by train, if you're planning to stay there. If not, just day trip by train from Sevilla (and take a taxi from the train station in Jerez). I don't know if May 1 is much of a holiday, or any at all, in Spain. Check what's open. If you want an overnight between Jerez and Granada, Ronda would be my first choice. If you want 2 1-nighters in a row, then Antequera would be my second (but not if it puts you there on a Monday - most sights are closed). You could also add a night to Granada and see a bit more of the town. Most people use the better part of a full day just seeing the Alhambra - and it's tiring, lots of walking outside without shade.

If you land and depart from Madrid, I always suggest that you travel to your first destination the day you land since you are already packed and ready to go. Then take those days you were spending in Madrid and add them to the end putting you in Madrid days ahead of your return flight. Public transportation is good but things can happen to ruin your plans to travel on the 15th. Check also the bus schedule. Spain has a good bus system. There is a bus that goes from Granada to Malaga and it takes about 2 hours. Jerez is only an hour away from Seville. If you time it right you can even see the show at the Spanish Riding School in Jerez. Have fun.

Thanks to everyone for your input. Last night I booked 7 nights in Seville (4/30 - 5/7) at a hotel near the Sevilla Santa Justa train station. I arrive in Sevilla from Cordoba on 4/30 late afternoon/early evening so I plan on 5/1 and 5/2 sightseeing in Sevilla. On May 3rd, I think I'm just going to pay a tour company to take me to Cadiz & Jerez for the horse show, etc. I'm so burned out right now from tax season this year that I don't want to have to think about much and just want someone else to do all the logistics. I also found a full day tour of the White Villages on Viator for $99 from Seville and think I'll book it for 5/4. It goes to Zahara de la Sierra, Grazalema, and Ronda. That leaves 5/5 & 5/6 to do something while staying in Sevilla. Maybe a 3rd day of sightseeing around Seville on 5/5 and on 5/6 do a day trip from Sevilla to Carmona. Any other ideas for what to do on 5/5 or 5/6?

I have 5/7 and 5/8 open & not sure where to go. I know I want to be in Granada on 5/9 and will see part of the town on 5/10 and the Alhambra on 5/11 then take an afternoon bus to Alicante. Any suggestions for where to stay on 5/7 & 5/8? I thought about Malaga but from what I've read it's not a place to spend much time. I would like to visit Vejer de la Frontera but it seems to be a difficult place to get to from Sevilla.

Are 4 nights in Granada (5/7, 5/8, 5/9 & 5/10) too many? If I can't come up with some other place for 5/7 & 5/8 that's between Sevilla and Granada then I was thinking just stay 4 nights in Granada rather than the 2 I originally planned on. I'm worried there won't be enough to do in Granada and all the tourists will get on my nerves after a while. LOL

I think four nights is great. We were just there for four nights and had a ball. Plenty to see and do.

Update: Decided to book 4 nights in Granada beginning May 7. So I have all my hotels booked now and I have my day trips booked and paid for (Avila & Segovia on 4/27, Toledo on 4/28, Cadiz & Jerez on 5/3, White Villages & Ronda on 5/4) and Granada Alhambra on 5/11. No train or bus tickets purchased yet and I'm worried that I may not get a seat because I just looked at Madrid to Cordoba and several trains are already full! Yikes! The Renfe site went down while I was looking at the train schedule.

Maybe y'all can recommend some restaurants in Madrid, Cordoba, Sevilla, and Granada for lunch and dinner. I prefer fish and seafood and lighter fare (not a fan of dishes with lots of olive oil or ham) .

Will the tour company change your day for the Alhambra? Seems silly to spend 4 nights in Granada but only visit its main attraction at the last minute.

April
29. Train from Madrid to Cordoba (1 night)
30. Visit the Mezquita, then train to Sevilla (7 nights)

May
1. Sightseeing in Sevilla
2. Sightseeing in Sevilla
3. Day Tour - Cadiz & Jerez
4. Day Tour - White Villages & Ronda
5. Carmona ?
6. Italica ?
7. ALSA Bus to Granada (4 nights)
8. Sightseeing in Granada
9. Day trip to ??
10. Sightseeing in Granada
11. Tour of the Alhambra, then ALSA Bus to Alicante (4 nights)