Spain for a week?

If you are flying into and out of Madrid, how do you plan to organize your itinerary so that you are back there before departure day? You will arrive in the morning, and be out of the airport and into town by late morning. On departure day, you will most likely leave in the morning, which means you need to spend your last night somewhere fairly near Madrid airport. Let's say you see a bit of Madrid on that first afternoon and the next morning, then you head for Seville, spending the night. You would have a full day in Seville and another night. Marbella is three hours from Seville, but over six from Madrid, driving. So at some point, you have to spend the better part of a day getting to or from Marbella. Personally, I think you would be better off skipping Marbella just because it's so far out of the way from the other places you want to see. You could stick with just Seville and Madrid, maybe spending a night in Toledo on the way back, or doing a day trip to Segovia (from Madrid). There is plenty to keep you busy without spending a lot of time getting from place to place.

I agree with the poster above. Arrive Madrid but don't enter the city. Drive to Toledo, overnight there. Consider Granada. Continue to Seville - plan two nights minimum. Return to and explore Madrid after dropping the auto at the airport. Segovia is great if you can fit it in but you really don't have time.

Do you arrive in Madrid on 19 April and leave Madrid on 27 April? Were you planning to drive or take the train? Are you a Flamenco fan? Keeping in mind that Spain is a late-night country with dinner usually starting at about 9:00 pm or later in non-touristy places, nights can be a lot of fun, but getting from place to place will take time. Spending 2 nights in one place really means having only one day to see stuff. Unless there is some particular reason for going there, I would skip Marbella. Unless you have particular things to see or do in Seville (Flamenco, the fantastic cathedral) and as much as I love it, I would skip Seville, too. With only a week (or maybe less depending on your answer to the date question), you may not even adjust to Spanish eating times. I would stay in Madrid the whole time with perhaps a side trip or two. Check Trip Advisor for a quick look at things to do in Madrid. If you are there long enough, you might consider renting an apartment. HomeAway.com and VRBO.com are two common ways to find them, but I'm sure there are specific agencies for Madrid.

I agree with the others it is a lot of driving time. especially if you want to end in Marbella and then get back to Madrid. I have driven to Madrid from Malaga and it takes us about 4.5 hours. So depending on what time your flight left you would have to maybe leave the day before so that you could get back to Madrid in time which means you wouldnt really get anytime in Marbella. I think maybe stay in Madrid and do a few day trips so that you could cut out some of your travel time and spend more time seeing things!

Thanks SO much for your responses. I have friends in Seville so I definately want to take that in but decided to skip Marbella this time. I think Madrid and Seville will be enough. Any other tips are helpful!

PS I don't plan to rent a car. I'm taking the train per Rick Steves' advice!