Two weeks in Andalucia

Good plan. We loved Seville the most. Plan of at least four days there. All the other places are good, especially Granada. The Alhambra is great.

Years ago we stayed at a beach hotel in Costa del Sol. Not impressed with the beach at all. If you are used to the beautiful beaches in the Caribbean, California or even the US Gulf coast, you may be disappointed.
Marbella is the nicest place, but expensive.

Thanks I look forward to Sevilla probably spend three nights there as for the beach have been to lots of USA beaches and in the Caribbean really want to stay the last couple nights in Nerja and then fly out of Malaga thought it would work well

When are you travelling? If it's high summer then you might want a slower pace because of the heat. I'm sure you're used to heat in the Caribbean, but are you used to it when urban sight-seeing?

Some parts of your trip, e.g. Arcos are easier if you hire a car, rather than by public transport.

Andalucia's best beaches are in the east on the coast of Almeria province (which likely won't fit your itinerary), or west on the coast of Cadiz province (which might fit, but would be more practical if you had your own transport). But there is so much to see in the towns, I'm not sure I'd make a beach resort a priority given you have those at home. My suggestion is combine beach and interesting city and end in Malaga for a couple of days.

This would be my very busy holiday suggestion to see a variety of Andalucia in two weeks by public transport:

Sevilla, 5 nights, day-trips to Cadiz and Carmona;
Train to Cordoba, 2 nights;
Bus to Ubeda, 2 nights, including half-day/lunch in Baeza;
Bus to Granada, 3 nights, potential day-trip to a Las Alpujarras white town; and,
Bus to Malaga, 2 nights, day-trip to Ronda if that's a "must see".

Thanks we will be traveling at the end of April. If I had to I could probably rent a car to see Arcos and the white hill towns this is an area I really would like to spend some time in also I will maybe pass on Nerja and the beach if it’s not that great. I am a very active traveler and like to be moving and doing stuff my wife is more about relaxing so trying to find a balance with that. It’s tough so much to see and trying to find a way to see as much as I can in a short period

Congratulations on picking a great area with the time enjoy it!

We loved Andalucia, although we avoided the coast. It might help to think about the trip in segments and as a geographic loop west to east and then down south to Malaga. Doing the beach between Granada and Malaga makes great sense. Cadiz-Sevilla-Cordoba are very easy main line train-accessible places basing out of Sevilla. There are also trains from Cordoba south to Antequera in the middle between Ronda and Granada, and buses beyond....

http://andalucia.com

Or, train it to Jerez and bus it eastward Jerez-Arcos-Ronda-Antequera and then further to Granada.

For example: http://siu.cmtbc.es/es/horarios_lineas_tabla.php?from=1&linea=36

Having said that, last year we drove Cordoba - Hills towns - Granada - and back to Cordoba and it was the easiest driving we had in Europe with excellent new roads. The only limitation for that was parking is a challenge in Granada but the hotel had a garage to access outside of the pedestrian zone so it really wasn't problem.

The RS guidebook has great hotel recommendations as expected.

As you're in early planning, remember that next year's Sevilla april fair begins in the last week of April 2020. You might want to visit then to join the festivities; but if not then avoid the city at that time as it will be even busier than normal and city/provincial hotel prices go up a lot. Local trains and buses can be sold-out as well.

At the risk of sounding very anti-beach, April is a great time to visit, but it might not be beach weather. True it was here, further round the coast, in late February, but it can be hit and miss. For most of us it won't be hot enough to swim - it's not Florida sea temperatures by any means - but there should be days when you can sunbathe, or at least sit in the beach clothed. At that time of year you're probably better off on the Mediterranean coast, rather than the Atlantic. Also, that early in the season, many smaller seaside places away from Costa del Sol will still be pretty closed up in terms of kiosks and activity operators.

Overall, I'd play it by ear. So if you were content to hire a car, then if you did so in Sevilla, you could tour Arcos and other white towns, but if the weather was good you could visit Arcos and then drive to the (Atlantic) coast of Costa de la Luz for the afternoon.

Thanks again ok so we are arriving the 14 of April around 2:30 in the afternoon I thought about taking the train to Córdoba and spending the night there the first night then seeing the Mezquita and other sites the next day and spending the night in Cordoba again
Then spend the next three nights in Sevilla
2 nights in Arcos
1 night in Ronda
3 nights in Granada
2 nights to finish in Nerja or Malaga we fly out Monday April 27.

That is what I am looking at I am flexible and could move things around and if the weather isn’t good we could take the beach out and see something else. Hopefully that is enough time to see the main sites I know I cannot see it all, I just want to see as much as I can without running around too much

General Hints:

Google Maps will be your friend to identify the local place names with proper spelling for identifying the proper bus routes.

Google translate will be your friend for trying to figure out the small print ahead of time.

Spanish trains last year actually had security checkpoints like at airports, so you may want to check what is allowed through.

We break down our trips into AM, PM and Evening blocks to organize our thinking and our timing when planning on mixing traveling/touristing in a single day.

I completely understand having only 1 night in Ronda to fit things in, but we loved Ronda much better than Arcos, and it is in middle on the way to Granada.

April can be hit or miss in Southern Andalucia weather wise. We've visited over Easter on a number of occasions and have experienced days of continuous rain.

When it isn't raining however it is often warm enough for sunbathing. The sea is not going to be inviting however as it'll still be cold. Be aware also that Spanish law prevents outdoor pools from being heated by non-renewable sources so can only be heated by solar etc and as such, most resorts are not keen to invest in such infrastructure so they refrain from heating their pools. This is fine in August when the sun has heated the water naturally to a refreshing temperature but not so much in April.

Thank you interesting to know about the pools I figured the ocean wouldn’t be the warmest to get in and that’s fine just love being by the ocean and walking on the beach and having fresh seafood.

So I think this what I may do for an itinerary. I want to see as much as I can but don’t want to rush to much I have realized the coast probably won’t work for the time of year I will be there so skipped Nerja for Malaga since we are flying out of Malaga. I have heard bad things on Malaga and really good things is it worth visiting?

Day 1 flight arrives in Sevilla at 2:30 pm take train to Cordoba. Sleep in Cordoba

Day 2 Cordoba, sleep in Cordoba

Day 3 Take train back to Sevilla. Sleep in Sevilla

Day 4 and Day 5 see Sevilla

Day 6 take bus to Arcos de la frontera sleep there

Day 7 Day trip to Cádiz or Jerez sleep in Arcos

Day 8 hire a driver to take us to Ronda sleep in Ronda

Day 9 Train to Granada sleep in Granada

Day 10 and 11 See Granada

Day 12 Bus to Malaga Sleep in Malaga

Day 13 See Malaga Sleep in Malaga

Day 14 Fly out of Malaga at 7 am

Is this a good itinerary am I missing anything ?

Sevilla is hugely impacted by the spring feria, which generally begins 7 days after Easter Sunday and goes for a week. I mean, hugely impacted in terms of hotel rooms available and that kind of thing.

Thank you yes I looked up when it was and we will be out of Sevilla before the fair already been looking at hotels as well

In addition to the spring feria, availability of hotel rooms in Sevilla is also hugely impacted by the week leading up to Easter Sunday, this is in addition to the spring feria week.

I have my flight booked we arrive in Spain two days after Easter hopefully won’t be as crowded then

Thanks so much for the advice I really look forward to spending time in Sevilla it seems like an amazing city and I will definitely book my Alhambra tickets in advance

The buses from Sevilla to Arcos are infrequent. Arcos is perched on a hill. Buses stop at the foot and then you have either a steep walk or a free shuttle ride or a taxi, so Arcos isn't such a good base. Consider staying in Jerez. Take the train from Sevilla. The train station is walking distance to the center and there are hotels in between. You can then take the bus to Arcos for a day trip and/or the train to Cadiz. You can then hire a driver for the day to visit hill towns on the way to Ronda.

Malaga is a very pretty town with some good Roman ruins and museums.