kweenshaker

Day 1 leave Madrid
Day 9 arrive in Tarifa in a.m (or night before).

We would like to see Seville, Cordoba and a day/overnght trip to Granada, mainly to see the Alhambra. What about Malaga? Ronda? Is Tarifa worth a little time? (We're connecting there to take a ferry to Tangier). Anything we should add or subtract? (I obviously don't expect to see ALL of these places).

My main question is the most efficient order to travel to these cities in by train or bus.

Any suggestions appreciated!

kja

IMO, you will need to be selective. My ideal itinerary for these destinations: 3 days in Granada, 2 in Cordoba, 4 in Sevilla. But that's just me -- what matters is what YOU want to see and experience. Here's what I recommend: Get some good guidebooks (or spend some time with a few in your local library) and plot your wish list on a calendar. Each time you propose to change locations, pencil in your transportation, add some time on either side for getting to/from your lodging, checking in/out, packing/unpacking, getting lost/oriented, etc. Note that many things in Spain are closed on Monday, and often for all or part of Sundays too; and many things in Spain will also be closed daily for a very long mid-day break.

Trying to see the Alhambra with just one night is really pushing it -- 2 nights makes it much more reasonable, 3 if you want to see Granada's other treasures. Be sure to book well in advance.

I'd visit in the order just stated. For your transportation options, see rome2rio.com -- but be sure to check the links it provides, as rome2rio is not sensitive to seasonal variation in schedules. Both trains and buses are convenient and comfortable; trains are high-speed, so with such a compressed schedule, you might want to go for them when possible.

Hope that helps!

docdan1

The AVANT train Madrid to Seville is truly high speed. Madrid to Cordoba is just under 2 hours and Cordoba to Seville in the same direction/same line and just 45 min. YOu ould theoretically just make Cordoba a day trip on your way to Seville. I'm not suggesting that, but it is an option.

kweenshaker

Thanks to both of you!!

kja - I do have a document started actually, it's just difficult to find the best ways to go from city-to-city and gauge how much time should be spent in each one. I'll play around with Rome 2 Rio.

docdan1 do you (or anyone else) know if there are storage facilities at the train stations? (Not sure if this would be something available after the horrible attacks in Madrid). A day trip on the way to Seville is entirely doable, however we'd have annoying roller bags with us.

kja

Many people visit Cordoba for just a few hours. I was glad to have 2 full days there.

docdan1

I'm sorry, you'll have to get that info from others. Possibly the state rail service? http://www.renfe.com/

kja

Re: storage lockers in Cordoba -- given the number of people who make this stop, I think luggage storage is available, but can't guarantee it. Have you checked recent trip reports?

LuisJp

Tarifa is very small. I spent there an hour or so for a rest on the driving from the west to the east. Bricks and a port. I enjoyed seeing the Atlantic and the Mediterranean at both hands. But you could cut them all, just consider a spare time for the boarding. Malaga has a castle. I used a car, but many climbed on foot. Beaches and a usual city center. It is a rather big city, but a few to see compared with the big three. Granada, I spent a few nights there. It took me a whole day just to the Alhambra and the facing hill. I enjoyed the city centers and suburbs as well. But one day would work, I suppose. I visited many sites along the sea almost no one knows, but just drove thru Cordoba and Sevilla and completely neglected Ronda. They are all easy sites to visit at a later chance. You could do all the top three in this trip, but taking just some is not a bad idea to reserve the needed time that you would get a satisfaction. If you are not likely to come back to Tarifa, you could weigh the area near Tarifa. I visited Gibraltar. The Rock, the tunnel, the apes, and the airport. All were a great fun. I have been to Cadiz twice. Why twice? I could not explain. There is no specific place. But I felt comfortable, I believe, or due to its special geological location. Sanlucar de Barrameda, Nerja on the coast, Ubeda and Jaen near Granada...

Rome2rio is good, the original. But I usually use GoogleMaps. For spots, search the place name with Google. Some show you a mean dwelling time in the right panel, although I am away from the average, as in the above.