Does this itineary sound reasonable with some time to relax.
Fly into Madrid-2 nights
Train to Sevilla-3 nights visiting Cordoba during one of these days
Train to Cadiz-1 night
Rent a car the next day and drive to Jerez de la Frontera, Marbella,Gilbartar,Marabella ending in Rhonda for the night.
Train to Granada-2 nights
Train to Madrid-1 night and fly back to states
the next day.

I'm not sure if this is a reasonable itinerary as far as time and distance.

Hi Sandy,

I think "Jerez de la Frontera, Marbella,Gilbartar,Marabella ending in Rhonda for the night" is too much for 1 day.

Jerez could be a day trip from Seville one day or perhaps on the way from Seville to Marbella (that's what we did with family when they had only 2 weeks to visit).

You could look at our itinerary for a 3 generations tour as I tried to pack a lot in for a short visit.

I wanted them to see the best of Spain in that little time. We did Rhonda as a day trip from Marbella and that worked out well. We got around the parking problem by parking our van in the parador underground garage space & having a great lunch there!

Gilbartar would also be a full day day trip at the least, but I don't think it's worth it. You will see it from Marbella or on the way to Rhonda and it's most impressive from a distance.

You'll probably have to let something go. The roads are good, but you'll enjoy Spain more at a leisurely pace than trying to jam in too many places in a day.

Have fun!

Just posted on the area on another string. I would agree w/ WT. If you like to shop, you'll want to spend time in Ronda. Don't miss the bull ring and museum either. The parador is a great place to stay, check out the location and the view.

It seems a good schedule in that you'd take in many key places.
It seems a bit too hectic though and you might enjoy the trip a lot more if you maybe drop one of the places. You might otherwise up end spending all the time getting from a to b to c.

I am just back from the area; as others have said Cardiz to Jerez to Rhonda all in one day is hectic; the drive from Cardiz to Gibralter is gorgeous and you will want to stop at least in Tarifa. You need a day in Jerez especially if you want to 'sherry taste'; we did do Gibralter but depending on your interests, you could skip it--being an anglophile of sorts, I had to do it once. Would you consider renting the car in Seville and driving to Jerez on your way to Cardiz? It is a short and easy drive....

I was thinking we could rent the car in a smaller city, perhaps Arcos and take the car to some smaller villages for the day and maybe dropping it off in Ronda. How many days would you allow to visit 3 or more villages?

Sandy - any possibility you can fly into Sevilla and out of Granada, and save Madrid for another trip?

Madrid really needs more time anyway so if you could do that, you'd have more time in Andalucia.

I would suggest at least two days for 3 villages. It also depends on how fast you want to move, keeping in mind that Spain is very laid back and you fall into that rhythm very fast. In the smaller places, the town shuts down between 3:30 PM to about 6:00 PM and depending on which season you are going there isn't much 'day' left after that for sight seeing. In Dec/Jan that meant we too hit the bars after 6:00 PM By the way there is very little 'village' left in the Costa Del Sol, East of Gibralter to Malaga--it is too built up!

We ended up skipping Malaga and Rhonda this time due to time constraints. Places like the Alhambra in Granada, Mesquita in Cordoba and Alcazar/Cathedral in Seville are so breathtaking, we were metally (and physically!) exhausted after seeing them that all we could do the rest of the day was vegetate in tapa bars. So I would echo Shannon's suggestion about saving Madrid for another time if you want more time in Andalucia.

From Madrid you could take an early train to Seville, stopping off in Córdoba for the day (I presume they have luggage storage at the train station) and carrying on to Seville that same evening, to save on backtracking.

After a couple of days in Seville, train to Cádiz, pick up car and visit Jerez, Arcos de la Frontera, Ronda (no H), staying at the Parador in Ronda (I'd skip Jerez unless you are particularly interested in a tour of the sherry bodegas).

It might be cheaper and easier to get the rental car in Seville, stop off in Jerez on the way to Cádiz, then do Arcos and Ronda after leaving Cádiz ... then drop car off again in Seville and take train to Granada.

Then drive to Granada and back to Madrid.

Another idea (and I LOVE this route) ... take car from Seville and visit Arcos de la Frontera on the way to Cádiz. Spend night in Cádiz then drive along the coast to Tarifa and Gibraltar, stopping off in the costal villages along the way and having lunch in Zahara de los Atunes. Then a night or so in Málaga (way nicer than Marbella) and drive up to Ronda. Then drop car off in Seville and continue to Granada if you still have time.

So, are you properly confused now?

Nice travels through Andalucia. Some beautiful roads off the beaten track. A car is great but there are bus possibilities too. I rode a bus from Arcos to Seville last week. Never took that particular route before but it was good and cost between 7 & 8 €.
Arcos is the gateway to the hills. You can take a bus from Arcos to Ronda of course. I like the mountain roads in the Sierra de Grazalema and Serrania de Ronda. Was in Cortes also last week.
Now what was the question again....