2 weeks in Spain

None of the places suggested would need or work well with a car. You might look at returning from Malaga. Into Barcelona, train to Madrid. Day trip from Madrid to Toledo or an overnight and then on to Cordoba (a night at best) Seville, Granada and then to Malaga for home trip. The airport in Malaga is very easy to get to even with a mid day departure. It is a two hour bus ride to Malaga from Granada, and the airport bus picks up at the bus station for abuot 45 min ride to the airport. Missing the fair is missing something that is little out of the ordinary. It will be crowd but worth the time.

Hi Lynn- we did pretty much that exact trip last May and it was just about perfect. Mwe had suchna great time. We flew into Barcelona, out of Madrid, and traveled to the places you list, including 2 nights in Toledo, all by train. We did visit Sevilla during the Feria, and it was one of the highlights in a trip filled with many memorable experiences. The Feria is not " touristy", it is a party the Sevillanos throw for themselves. The horses in particular were incredible. Lodging is expensive during that time, so we only spent two nights there, but it is not to be missed. I would be happy to post greater detail if you are interested.

You can probably get a better price, and shorter flight duration flying round trip in and out of Madrid. I'd suggest from Madrid to Toledo by train. Rent a car there and drive to Grenada. The train doesn't work well for this leg. It's about a four hour drive. If you like, you could stop briefly at Consuegra, Ubeda and/or Baeza (look them up and see which seem good to you) on the way. After Grenada, the car will still come in handy in Southern Andalucia. Places to see here could include Ronda, Loja, Antequera, Alora, Malaga, Nerja, Osuna, Italica, Cesare, Gibraltar, Castellar de la Frontera, Jerez, Arcos, and/or Cadiz. (Ronda, Gibraltar and Cadiz, plus some beach on the Luz coast, are my personal top choices but you should check them out and decide for yourself). Our plan for April is to drop our car after Cordoba and use a fast rail from there back into Madrid. As far as avoiding the Feria in Seville, others on this site have said it's not that bad. Crowds at sights are lighter because everyone is at the fair. I think we'll be in Seville between Semanta Santa and the Feria. It's kind of unfortunate because we would love to see a Bullfight there and I doubt there will be fights between the two.

Brad seems to be steering you toward a lot of places you didn't mention. We found prices into/out of Barcelona comparabel to Madrid when we went. (We flew on British Airways from Seattle and they have good flights to Spain.) The train between Cordoba and Granada takes only 2 hours 20 minutes. Between Sevilla and Granada, 3 hours. Make sure you spell it GrAnada when you look for schedules. Cars are fine if you want to poke around the small villages that are not served by trains. For cities like Sevilla, Cordoba, Granada, Toledo, Madrid and Barcelona, a car would be a pain. Particularly in the old areas (Jewish Quarter in Cordoba, Barrio Santa Cruz in Sevilla, and Albaycin in Granada), which are the most charming areas, you do NOT want a car. The streets are so narrow a car can barely fit and parking is impossible. Having a car in these area will force you to a larger, modern hotel in the new part of town, or on the outskirts.

Sasha is right. If you only want to hit the cities, skip the car - but plan to take a bus from Toledo, or Madrid, to Granada, (then work back around by train), a bus will be faster and much cheaper than doing it by train. I included the other suggestions because you asked for them. If you choose to visit some of them, you will probably want a car but a bus will work (although limited by schedules).