Unfortunately we don't have enough days to visit all the places we want to go! We are definitely going to Madrid, Granada & Seville. Our plane tickets are RT Madrid, and we will use the AVE to go south.
I anticipate that we will have 4 additional days on our trip aside from time spent in those bigger cities. I have tentatively scheduled them as follows:
An afternoon spent driving from Seville to Arcos for the evening, then the next day driving from Arcos to Nerja via a lunch stop in Ronda (hopefully avoiding the worst parts of the Costa del Sol!).
A whole afternoon spent driving from Granada to Cordoba, then the next day in Cordoba before taking the AVE back to Madrid in the late afternoon.
Another full day based in Madrid in which we might do a day trip to Toledo on the AVE.
Can you steer me away from anything in this schedule that looks disastrous, or recommend alterations to my plan that worked better for you? Would you leave out any of these places to spend more time in the larger cities? I've currently got 2 1/2 days in Madrid, 2 days in Seville and 1 1/2 in Granada.
I know this seems like a lot of driving and not much time in the big cities. But...I am traveling with my mom who has mobility impairments but loves museums and a sister whose idea of a great vacation is parking herself in a tiny village for 10 days to absorb small-town atmosphere, rather than seeing any "sights". So we figured that my sister needs some small-town time and my mom would not be able to hop on and off trains and buses too much so a car for a few days would be easier.
We are definitely not planning any more than two things in a day (for example - a museum in the morning then an evening show) and the rest of the time is relaxation and soaking up the atmosphere. If we only hit the highlights so be it - at least we will have some good mom/daughter time, which was the entire purpose of the trip. I would appreciate any advice you could give me!