we flew from Barcelona to Granada ..worked fine.
How much you spend in places depends on your interest... Madrid is a big city with fantastic museums and nightlife.
Malaga is lovely - two hours from Seville by train.
Some posters adore Ronda, some don't .
Given the time frame ( and number of locations), your itinerary seems doable.

I'd look at the trains from Seville to get to Cordoba and Malaga. I've done both and Cordoba is pretty close for a day trip, I think Malaga is a bit too far for a day trip.

Malaga is great, a beaut of a museum, a castle (now a hotel but you can drop in for a drink), old town and good restaurants.

You don't say but you don't want a car in any of these cities, though it will be ok in Ronda. Still not sure why you want to go to it Ronda, it's a bridge, get over it

Rhonda?? Why you ask...Because it's there and it will another notch on belt of travel experiences.. If possible don't miss a trick!!!

You doing a lot of moving around. I would bag Ronda and not add Malaga. You can really use more time in Cordoba - a fascinaitng city - and Seville.

Be prepared for super high temps in the south - it;s often more than 100 in the summer - so make sure your hotels have great AC and good pools.

Malaga is at its best during 'feria de Malaga' in August.Since your plan is for September,you can skip it for this year.
In general,your plan is doable giving enough time to each city.
There is no bus but a direct train from Granada to Ronda(2,5 hrs)
There is no train from Ronda to Sevilla so you need to take a bus(2 hrs)
From Sevilla to Cordoba you can choose the bus(2 hrs) or the train(45 min)
Cordoba Madrid takes about 2 hrs by train and 5 hours by bus.
While in Ronda you can also explore Setenil de las Bodegas by public transport.
glad to help you more---have a nice time in Spain

do give yourselves long enough in Granada to do not only the day time tour, but the night time one too. they are really very different experiences and well worth paying the extra money for.

AND book both well in advance incase they have sold out for the dates you are going to be there.

I can see this itinerary working for you.

Do you think you might return to Spain? If so, Madrid is a likely entry/exit point and so a city that you would likely be able to easily visit again. It might make sense to add a day to Seville or Cordoba - or fit Malaga in - and either shorten your time in Madrid or cut Madrid from this itinerary entirely. (Note that I say that even as a great fan of Madrid! I thoroughly enjoyed my 3 full days+ there, and that time did not include my visits to Toledo or Segovia.) Just a thought....

Personally I hate 1-nighters so would either take away Ronda and spend 2 nights in Cordoba or visit Cordoba as a daytrip en route from Sevilla to Madrid. My advice regarding Ronda would be to skip it and add a night in Sevilla. Not only would it eliminate the one-nighter in Ronda but Sevilla is an enchanting city with lots of possibilities for daytrips (in addition to Cordoba) - Jerez, Arcos, Carmona, Osuna. I don't dislike Ronda it's just not as easy logistically to fit in your schedule with the timing.

kja also brings up a great point about Madrid. If there's a possiblity you'll return to Spain then you could save Madrid for another trip freeing up some time in your itinerary.

Also, if you're going to be in Barcelona from Sept 20-24 you're in for a treat as it will be during La Merce, the biggest festival of the year in Barcelona.

O am with CathyM. One night stands do not work.
What method of transport are you planning on using? Apart from the flying south that is.

I think it works. I am one of the Ronda fans, and I think an overnight there is a must versus a day trip because it changes so much at night--and the sunsets over the gorge are fantastic. It also breaks up your trip from Granada to Sevilla, particularly if you are using public transport. It really depends on your preference, if you think you can handle the accommodation change easily, then why not. If you are the type who likes to settle in, then consider fewer moves.
Malaga is nice, but I think you are hitting the highlights with this plan. I like your order because there is a high-speed train from Cordoba to Madrid, so it looks efficient to me.
I agree with kja that if you desire more time in Andalucia that you could put off a proper Madrid visit for the future.

Thanks for all the great advice. As far as the method of traveling, we were planning on using public transportation on the entire trip (except for the flight from Barcelona to Granada). If we decided to see Ronda overnight, I would consider renting a car. After reading alot of advice on other forums, I know most people say that I car is not necessary for my itinerary. I do like the idea of being on our own time-table however, and my husband and I usually prefer to drive rather than taking buses. So we may decided to get a car. Thanks for the info on train/bus logistics senozkadir. It is hard to make a decision on Ronda with so many varying opinions. I haven't considered saving Madrid for another trip. I am not sure if we will ever return to Spain, however. CathyM, I am bummed to learn that I will be missing La Merce! Do you think I should arrange my itinerary to see it?

I expect the flight from Barcelona to Granada will be public transport too.

bilbo,
Vueling is so inexpensive - It is almost public transit. !

I agree with Cathy. The view of the gorge in Ronda is spectacular but Seville is 100 times more interesting. It might be the best part of your trip. Ronda is quiet and sleepy at night but if you don't mind a one nighter in a quiet place then you might like it and it is the only part of the trip where I would rent a car. Read maribelsguides.com for great advice as well.

I'm another who would suggest skipping Ronda (though I've never been) and adding a night to Cordoba. We very much enjoyed Cordoba; as the former capitol of Moorish Spain, there is much to see in addition to the Mezquita. Sevilla was everything we'd heard it is, and we loved Sevilla. Granada we didn't love as much (we spent two nights there), but it was worth the time there to see the Alhambra.

Re train vs. car, we did both, though our itinerary on our most recent trip to Spain did not include Barcelona. We started from Madrid, and rented a car from there, to Toledo for one night, then on to Granada, as that's the most comparatively difficult city to reach by public transport. We parked right off the highway, in a public parking area that I'd located beforehand. We walked from there to our hotel (much too long a walk). We then drove to Cordoba, where we dropped the car. We took a train for the remainder of the trip, to Sevilla and then on to Madrid.

Ok, maybe I will skip Ronda and spend an extra night in Cordoba or Sevilla. I really want to thank everyone that has commented on my post. Traveling to another county can be so stressful! It is so nice of you all to take time to post and help others out!

Ok, I have another question. I have decided to nix Ronda, but I'm wondering where I should add the extra day. There have been suggestions of adding it to either Sevilla or Cordoba. I have been reading a lot about Toledo. Should I add an extra day to Madrid to do a day trip to Toledo? Or should I add it to Cordoba or Sevilla? Thanks for sharing your opinion

My opinion:

Ronda - just under 1 full day
Sevilla - 3 full days
Cordoba - 2 full days
Madrid - at least 3 full days not counting any day trips
Toledo - 2 full days

Enjoy!

Toledo is a very small town...2 full days would not be my choice.
I would spend 4 days in Barcelona as you intended.

Where to add the extra day kind of depends on your timing and definitely on your interests. I think you currently have only one night in Cordoba. If you added another night there, that would still give you only one full day in Cordoba, plus portions of your arrival and departure days. I would vote for that, but it really depends on your interests.

FYI, the Mezquita is free to individual tourists, and group tours are prohibited, until something like 10 or 11 in the mornings. So we visited twice - once during our full day in Cordoba, and then we made another short visit right before we left, on our departure day. I liked it that much!

We visited Toledo as an overnight on the evening we arrived into Madrid. So we spent that evening / night, then a little over a half-day on the next day. I could have spent a little more time in Toledo, but we were traveling on limited time over DD's Fall break. We spent some time outside the walls of the city, having breakfast at a local churreria and taking pictures, visiting the cathedral and its "mini-Prado," Iglesia Santo Tomé and the Museo de Santa Cruz. And during the evening, wandering around and admiring the city.

I agree with the above poster. Where to add the additional night really depends on your interests.

Assuming you're arriving I to Barcelona after a transatlantic flight you'll probably be jetlagged. So 4 days is a little tight for Barcelona especially when you'll also be traveling with a larger group doing this part of your trip - more people generally equals slower travel. So you could easily add the night in Barcelona.

2 nights in Granada is good.

3 nights in Sevilla is just enough to visit without any Daytrips. For cordoba as I mentioned I hate 1-nighters. An option would be to add the night to Cordoba so you have 2 nights. . Or add the night to Sevilla and give time for a daytrip (Jerez, Cordoba, Cadiz, Carmona, etc...). You could visit cordoba as a daytrip from Sevilla or even stop en route to Madrid. Cordoba can be done as a daytrip and many people do this when they are tight on time. But it also makes a nice place for overnights. If you decide to visit cordoba en route to Madrid then I'd add the night to Madrid. With the extra night in Madrid tou'd have time for a daytrip to Toledo. I wouldn't overnight in Toledo since you'd really only have time for 1 night.

Thanks for the suggestions! I think I will take the advice on adding an extra night to Cordoba. I am not a fan of passing through too quickly and think it will help the pace of our trip. Thanks again!

I don't think you'll regret it!

You might want to check out the beautiful and diverse courtyards of the Museo de Viana:
http://www.palaciodeviana.com/es/home.asp