First Time in Spain

Have a friend who just returned. They loved the place and the area. They went to Morocco one day from the dock at Gibraltar, said that was not somewhere they would return. Did drive some in the area and found the countryside to be beautiful and the people welcoming. The Moon Guide to Spain will be a good source of information..

I find it extraordinary you are going on holiday anywhere without basic research.
Andalucia is bigger than many countries in Europe and you badly need to buy or find a good guide book or research on the web.

No need to purchase guidebooks. Go to Maribelsguides.book. Very good information about Spain, you can download PDFs. They went to Morocco one day from the dock at Gibraltar, said that was not somewhere they would return I guess your friends have only been to Tangier. That's the least interesting part of Morocco. Marrakesh and Fez are incredible.

The best thing to do is get a selection of guidebooks and see what is nearby that might interest you. Will you have a rental car? Does the week include the day you arrive and the day you leave (so you only actually have five days)? With a few more details filled in, we can offer better suggestions.

Thank you for your reply. Yes, we will have a rental car. We'll have a total of 6 day to explore.

Yes, but with only a week, they won't have time for Marrakesh and Fez. Ronda and Antequera are both a little over an hour's drive - in opposite directions. Both are very lovely places to visit for a full day.

No one suggested purchasing guidebooks. You can probably find a good assortment at your local library. Things like towns and castles don't move or change much from year to year, so it won't matter if they aren't the newest editions (except for things like opening hours and prices).

Where and how will you be arriving? If you rent a car, ez enough, be sure and get an international drivers license (aaa for $20). Seville should be an overnight stay. Ronda can be a pleasant day trip. We are not fans of Gibraltar, others are.
Have you previously been to Spain?

Down the coast we liked visiting Gibraltar, it's a definite change of pace - both because it's English as well as the giant rock (one of the Pillars of Hercules), built in defenses, and apes. Nearby Tarifa was a pleasant surprise too. The beaches become somewhat isolated and unspoiled after Tarifa. There are decent Roman ruins not far up the coast from there:
https://www.google.com/search?q=baelo+claudia&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=Q70oUoHcF9XK4AOcz4DoDg&ved=0CDkQsAQ&biw=1437&bih=933 We weren't interested in the ferry to Morroco. Visiting Tangier is the equivalent of going to Tijuana and saying you have been to Mexico. Inland, I like Ronda. It has some good options - historic bull ring/museum, scenic gorge, ruins going back to pre-reconquista, stairway built to fetch water from the river at the bottom of the gorge, and is a nice white town in itself. About the same distance from Marbella as Ronda, but in a different direction, is Antequera. It has some free passage tombs and museum that are worth a stop as well as some nearby climbing/hiking trails. November is probably a great time to visit. Maybe not beach weather but hopefully pleasant.