What order should we do in Andalucia?

Just to clarify, are you also flying home from Malaga?
What time do you arrive/depart?
The time would be a major determining factor -- as does how close you need to be to Malaga before departure.
Also, will you use public transit exclusively throughout the trip?

We did this route, with intervening stops, via rental car:

USA to Malaga
Ronda
Cordoba
Seville
Granada
Malaga to USA

Worked out great.

A direct train from Málaga-Costa del Sol Airport to Sevilla would be easier than going to Ronda that requires a transfer. There are also direct trains between Sevilla and Cordoba / Cordoba and Granada / Granada and Málaga Aeropuerto.
To get to Ronda take a bus from the airport to Marbella where you can transfer to get to Ronda: https://www.avanzabus.com/. There is also a direct bus from Ronda to Sevilla: https://damas-sa.es/.

Thanks for the replies. We love traveling by train, but have driven in Europe before and can do that as well, so to be honest, I was still torn. I was thinking of maybe renting a car for the part between Granada and Ronda. Thoughts?

Hi, Tammy. Great trip to look forward to. I've been there twice in February, great time to visit. Malaga's airport is much larger than Sevilla's, so it's easier. Since you are presumably flying home from Malaga, then renting the car at the end and dropping it at the Malaga airport makes the most sense. It doesn't really matter much what order you do the 3 cities. Go to the one that's easiest to get to from Malaga first. That depends on frequency of buses/trains.

I'd drop a night from Sevilla and add it to Ronda so you'll have more time in the hill towns. I found driving the highways very easy, driving into the small hill towns sometimes very challenging. Do get the smallest car you're comfortable with. Ronda was relatively easy to drive in and out of. Best if your hotel has on-site parking.

PS, I know I still owe you Venezia.

Is it easy to take the train from Malaga airport to Sevilla? Or do we need to take a taxi to the train station?

There are no direct trains from Malaga Airport to Seville.

You take the local Cercanias train 3 stops into Malaga and change at Malaga María Zambrano station for the direct trains to Seville.

The local journey runs every 20 minutes and takes 8 minutes.

isn31c,
thank you, so if I understand correctly, there is a train from the Malaga airport that we take 3 stops to transfer to another train that goes to Seville?

Tammy,

Yes that applies for any destination beyond Malaga- in the other direction the Airport line goes through the resorts as far as Fuengirola. After the call at the main line station the Cercanias extends one stop further to Malaga Centro Alameda.

Personally I've gone by bus from Fuengirola (where I was staying) to Ronda as a day trip, then back in the afternoon on the train to Malaga, changing trains at Bobadilla (on the Madrid to Malaga main line) because the train to/from Ronda goes to Granada. That is not a super frequent service- maybe 4 or 5 trains a day.

There used to be several competing bus companies from Fuengirola to Ronda but the one I can find on line is Avanza Bus- https://booking.avanzabus.com/web/index.php

There may or may not still be other companies who do not have an on line presence.

So you could train from Granada to Ronda as your last city, then bus down to Fuengirola and train to airport, if the bus timings work for the time of your flight. Fuengirola to the Airport is about 30 minutes on the Cercanias.

Yikes, ok, I might be more confused now than ever. I'm new to this train travel stuff. This is our itinerary, starting and ending in Malaga.

We arrive on Feb 18th at 3:35pm and would like to get to Sevilla that day.
Sevilla for 5 nights
Cordoba for 3 nights
Granada for 4 nights
Ronda for 2 nights
and back to Malaga where we will have to overnight before a 6am flight in the am. I need help with all logistics on this route. Where it makes sense to take the train, bus or rent a car. Also, when should I purchase the train tickets? in advance? wait till we are there (although I'm a planner and like advance purchase). TIA!

NIck, I wish we had more time, but alas, this is the time we have. My husband is not a city person, therefore, I like to work in smaller towns and villages, hence Ronda. A little more rural than Malaga I think.

There are no direct trains from Malaga Airport to Seville.

Thank you for the feedback. I always learn something when I'm wrong.

My husband is not a city person either. But, last September, we flew into Malaga and spent a couple of days before doing a driving tour of Andalucia. We thoroughly enjoyed Malaga and found it welcoming, walkable, and relaxing. We would happily return. After walking the El Caminito del Rey, which was awesome, we stopped in Ronda. We found Ronda to be extremely crowded, touristy and unwelcoming. It was unpleasant, to be kind. We did spend the night in the nearby village of Arriate which was lovely and had amazing food, so Arriate may be a quiet option if you decide to visit Ronda.

Suggest you consider this:

Malaga
Drive to Ronda and hill towns. Perhaps drive along the coastal route and stop along the way. Enjoy Grazalema or other hill towns.
Drive to Sevilla. Drop car.
Train to Cordoba
Train to Granada
Return to Malaga

Or reverse. You might appreciate the quote of the hill towns at the end of your trip.

Sevilla for 5 nights
Cordoba for 3 nights
Granada for 4 nights
Ronda for 2 nights
and back to Malaga where we will have to overnight before a 6am flight in the am.

Transportation. Cercanias is like a suburban train in the US, a bit nicer than a metro. I've never taken an Alsa bus but others say they are very comfortable and similar to tourist buses. Get used to the Renfe website for planning. You'll also want to buy well in advance for those big discounts on high speed train tickets. I've never used 1st class, 2nd is very comfortable. None of your trips are very long. Allow a few minutes at the train station to locate your train and go through security (usually perfunctory, rarely a line of more than a couple people). Trains close their doors 2 minutes before departure. The only time you'll want a car is when you leave Granada. There are rental offices at the train station but they are small. If you need an automatic, you may need to rent from an airport location.

I'd go to Granada first partly because it's closest to Malaga. Also because there are probably more choices for rental cars in Sevilla and Cordoba than Granada and you'll see more of the pueblos blancos from there to Malaga. 3 full days in Granada is enough, even if you're jetlagged on the first one. Then to Cordoba by train or bus. Then Sevilla. Rent a car drive first to Arcos for 1/2 day visit, continue to Ronda. The best of Ronda is sunset views. Use the next day to visit more pueblos blancos. You can spend evening hours wandering the historic center of Ronda. Ronda is actually a large town. I think you'd like to spend time driving through the hills, enjoying the view and stopping to explore a few of the villages. Just don't try to drive to far into them when you see a steep street!

Consider spending a few hours in Malaga, since you'll be there anyway. It's historic center is charming, has Roman ruins and one of the oldest wine shops in Spain. A wine-taster's paradise, they pour small glasses from the barrel and fun as well.

Thank you all for your advice! Since I had already booked our hotels, I’m going to keep our itinerary as is cause I’m too lazy to rebook everything even though they are all refundable.

Therefore, we are going to land in Malaga and go straight to Sevilla. I am thinking about trying to find a private transfer, that way in our jet-lagged state we don’t have to fiddle with the train transfer or wait for a bus.