Andalusia Itinerary

Your route sounds great,just need to change the order a bit. We did a lot of the same stops in April, only starting in Grenada. Either direction works as well. Two additions that we enjoyed were Gibraltar & Tarifa. Hasta la Vista!

For that list, your best routing would be Madrid-Cordoba-Sevilla-Cadiz-Jerez-Arcos-Grazalema-Zahara-Ronda-Granada-Madrid....a big loop, if you will.
The idea of taking the train down to Sevilla is a good one....the AVEs take less than 3 hours to cover the distance, and you can get discount fares up to 62 1/2 days in advance at www.renfe.es
The question is...how many nights do you want to spend in what places? With 10 stops in 14 days, you'll be spending a lot of your time packing and moving. I would suggest a night in Cordoba (you'll be tired after your plane ride), three in Sevilla, two in Cadiz, one in Arcos, one in either Ronda or Zahara (I prefer the latter), two in Granada, then a couple of days to explore Madrid. You will find that it will actually be cheaper to rent your car for 3 or 4 days...up to a week...than just take it for a couple of days, so maybe consider picking up your vehicle in Cordoba. Just remember that you will have to be very careful of the streets in central Sevilla, which are very narrow and confusing....finding hotels with parking in the larger cities is also key. And you may as well keep your car until you get back into Madrid....there are some interesting stops during the 5-hour journey back to Madrid, including Cazorla, Jaen, and Consuegra...you may want to consider an overnight along the way.
If you want to save some money, consider taking the train to Malaga, taking the commuter train out to the airport, and renting there (or flying directly into Malaga.) Then do a loop through Nerja-Granada-Cordoba-Sevilla-Cadiz-Jerez-Arcos-Grazalema-Zahara-Ronda-Malaga...then the fast train back to Madrid. You'll find airport rentals at Malaga about half of what you'd pay elsewhere. Similar deals are available if you do the circuit from/to Sevilla or Granada airports. Check carjet.co.uk

The only thing I'd add to Norm's comments is that IMO - I'd avoid having a car while in Sevilla. It's best to stay in the old town but the streets are sooo narrow and winding and confusing, I'd hate to imagine driving them. And it's so easy to take the train from Cordoba to Sevilla.

I do concur with driving from Grenada back to Madrid. The train is not the most convenient and I bet the drive would be enjoyable.

Thank you all for your comments. We've been to Madrid before so we probably will not spend much time there. In terms of driving or taking the train from Granada to Madrid, the only reason I'm leaning to taking the train is because I don't want to have the car in Granada for three days (and I hope the train ride will be relatively scenic). I think picking up the car in Sevilla on our way out of town and dropping it off in Granada on our way into town eliminates most of the driving on narrow, confusing city streets.

Sevilla's narrow one way streets are horrific and very easy to get lost in by car.....we did! The GPS was so mixed up it didn't know where to send us next!

Jen...I understand your concern about keeping the car for 3 extra days. But, with 3 days in Granada, you may find it nice to take a day trip down to the coast at Nerja, or even into the Sierra Nevada. And don't forget, you'll get a better rate if you book the car for at least a week.
As an aside, carjet.co.uk is offering a great rate if you rent from Sevilla airport and return it to Granada airport. It includes all deductibles, so your exposure is $0.

Jen, the train ride from Granada to Madrid is scenic IMO. The trains are limited and fill up, so if you do decide on the train, be sure to book your reservation in advance.

We just got back from our trip through Andalucia with our two boys ages 12 and 14. This was our itinerary- we had a great time! Flew into Madrid and caught a flight to Granada 1.5 hours later. Spent 2 days in Granada- took a train to Ronda. Spent one night in Ronda (highly recommend Hotel Enfrente Arte- best hotel of the trip!). Train to Algeciras, then bus to Tarifa where we spent 3 nights. Took day trips to Gibraltar (by bus) and to Tangier(where we used Aziz as our guide- so great!). Took a bus to Seville and spent a day there. Took the AVE to Madrid and spent 2 days there and flew back home.
We had a great time and enjoyed every minute!

Hey Jen. I have done two trips similar to this in the past couple of years. I would suggest, as others have, to definitely not have a car in Seville. Pik it up as you leave. Also, after seeing the white hill towns, we drove straight to the Granada Airport and dropped off our car. While Granada wasn't as crowded as Seville, it was nice to not have to worry about parking. Most things are close together, and there are plenty of taxis if you want to get across the city. We took a 20-30 euro taxi from the airport to the city. We also only spent 2 nights in Seville and 2 nights in Granada. If you are the kind of traveler that wants to see all you can, 2 days are more than enough in both cities. We also took a daytrip to Morocco from Tarifa...where we spent two nights. Highly recommend. I LOVED Ronda, and Cordoba. Be sure to give both at least half a day. Enjoy your trip!!

Thanks everyone for the very helpful comments. One last question - did you prefer Granada or Sevilla? Which was the 'highlight'?

Both Seville and Granada are worthwhile. Seville is a very beautiful city and the Cathedral is SPECTACULAR (if you can ignore all the "Roma" women trying to sell you sprigs of rosemary). I really liked the Alcazar and its gardens, also. That said, if I had to choose between the two, I'd choose Granada every time. It's a much more "liveable" kind of city. If you enjoy just getting out and wandering, doing a little shopping, maybe just experiencing the place, etc., then Granada's a perfect choice.

I enjoyed Granada more than Seville. Seville has more sights to see, but is more crowded, and dirtier. It depends on what you're looking for. If you're into wine tasting, bars, and nightlife, Seville is the place for you. However, if you're like me, and are not, Granada is a calmer, cleaner city. Granada is my favorite city in Spain.

I much preferred Seville to Granada. I absolutely loved the Alcazar, and loved the gardens out back even more. While we've never done this before on a trip, we spent a few hours sitting in the gardens watching the people, squirrels, and ducks go about their business. Maybe we're just easily entertained. We also quite enjoyed wandering around checking out the neighborhoods and having a few beers along the river. This was in March, when a lot of flowers and orange trees were already in bloom and the crowds were minimal.

As you can already see, though, the Seville vs. Granada debate is one of those Eternal Questions that doesn't really have an answer - it's all about personal preference. The good news here, though, is you will be visiting both!

I'd pick Sevilla over Grenada any day. As a tourist, I found much more to do and see in Sevilla. Grenada might be a more liveable city, but seemed to me to have less interesting things to do. Of course, the Alhambra is well worth it and Grenada has enough to see and do to fill the rest of your time there (minimum two nights).

Grenada over Sevilla. Actually we prefered Cordoba over Sevilla, but we are not in the majority.