albatravels

We fly to Madrid October 31st and plan to take the AVE to Andalusia and rent a car once there. We speak Spanish and have driven in Spain is past trips.
Here are some questions we have:
Where should we take AVE to?
How many nights in each town?
Should we do Sevilla, cordoba, Granada or viceversa?
Other than Alhambra what should we not miss?
We are open to hearing your suggestions!!
Thank you!!!

PalenQ

Cordoba is the closest by AVE from Madrid so why not rent a car there to be picked up by the station? Then drive to Granada and via Ronda to Seville - hitting the iconic white perched villages between Ronda and Seville.

Granada to me is at best a day for the average tourist - Seville has lots to offer - 3 days or so - Cordoba is fascinating to but for most a day would suffice - if driving spent time going between these places - slow down and enjoy the beautiful Andalusian countryside.

crosscheck

We just returned from a similar trip, sandwiched in between a 10-day family vacation to Prague/Croatia and a 5-day visit with our son in Madrid. We speak Spanish as well. We were forced to take long siestas every day because of the heat, so you can probably do more than we did. (But we loved our down time and the weather in the morning and evening was perfect.)

We rented our car (a fantastic Volvo x40) through Atesa, booked through autoeurope. Seamless pick up at the Sevilla rail station, and return to the Cordoba rail station. I plan to do a trip report with reviews of our hotels and restaurants. Let me know your budget and I can weigh in.

Here's what we did (7 days, 6 nights):

Took the AVE to Sevilla, 2 nights (3 days)
Rented car in Sevilla, drove to Ronda (2 hrs w/ stop), 2 nights
Drove to Granada (2 hrs), 2 nights
Drove to Cordoba (2 hrs), .5 day (day trip)
AVE back to Madrid

If you're skipping Ronda and the white villages, I would recommend 3-4 nights Sevilla, 2 nights Granada, 1-2 nights Cordoba. Definitely make Cordoba your last stop because the train back to Madrid is shortest and most convenient from there.

Must sees:
Sevilla - flamenco at Casa de la Memoria (not a tourist show)
Alcazar; walk to other side of the river; Casa de Pilatos

Ronda - bullring; dinner overlooking gorge; wander through old town; you'll be able to hike in Oct/Nov; old Arab baths looked interesting, but we didn't go; we lucked out and were there for the incredibly photogenic féria

Granada - Alhambra (reserve morning tickets through ticketmaster in advance and pick them up in town at the Libreria de la Alhambra before your visit); sunset at Mirador de San Nicolas; Moroccan dinner; wander through the Albaycin; meant to go to Arab baths and see flamenco in the hills, but napped instead

Cordoba - La Mezquita. We planned on an official patio tour, but were there at the wrong time of day, so we just walked around and peeked at patios.

I'm sure others will weigh in with more to see and do. Enjoy - really awesome part of the world - we would have been happy to stay twice as long.

crosscheck

Interesting....PalenQ came up with the opposite order. I think the rationale for going to Sevilla first is that the Alcazar might seem less impressive after the Alhambra.

BigRuss

Cordoba is closest by AVE (Granada is not served by fast train) but will it have the car options? Granada and Seville are far larger cities.

crosscheck

There were at least four car rental places in the train station in Cordoba, but most closed for siesta. There was also a luggage storage place (consigna) across the street, in case you do a day trip the way we did. Sevilla's car rental places were slightly off-site, across a parking lot from the train station.

It doesn't make sense to rent in Granada because there is no AVE train service from Madrid.

Bedar

You didn't say how long your trip will be. But, I would train to Granada, pick up the car there and drive to Cordoba, drive to Ronda and on to Seville. At Seville I'd immediately ditch the car and when done with Seville, take the AVE back to Madrid.

You should see in

Granada:- the Alhambra, the cathedral with the tombs if Ferdinand and Isabella, and the Albycin (Arab quarter)

Cordoba:- the Mezquita, the Jewish quarter, and the Roman ruins. Outside town is Medina Azahara.

Ronda;- the gorge, the bullring, and the Palacio Mondragon

Seville:- Barrio Sta. Cruz, the cathedral, the bullring, and the Torre de Oro

Have fun !

kja

The timing and what to see really depend on what YOU want to see and experience, and for that, you really need to consult some good guidebooks. That said, FWIW I though Sevilla warrants at least 3 full days, Cordoba at least 2 full days, Granada at least 2 full days, and Ronda 1 day. None of those destinations require a car, and I would suggest that unless you plan to visit white villages other than Ronda, a car would actually be an encumbrance rather than a benefit. As for order, I would pick an order that lets you see what YOU want to see, given that some places will be closed on Mondays.

Michael

Fir an idea of what to see:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca...7622975757180/ and subsequent pictures.

albatravels

These answers are fantastic!!!! We have a total of 10 days to down in Andalucia and have to finish our trip in Sevilla because we fly from there to London. We may start in Cordoba, the Granada, Ronda, Jerez se la Frontera and Sevilla.
I am reading Fromers ( good itineraries) but you guys at Fodors are always my first stop.
I will digest this and shoot back more questions.
Gracias. Gracias. Gracias.

kja

> I am reading Fromers ( good itineraries)

I have often found Frommer's itineraries a good starging point, but thought Frommer's itineraries for Spain a bit faster-paced than I would have wanted -- and I travel solo and at a VERY intense pace. YMMV.

IMO, 10 days is generally a good allotment of time for Andalusia -- especially if that means 10 days ON THE GROUND. If you have less than that amount of time (e.g., if either of your flights are on these days), then you will need to be more selective in what you try to see. And even if you have 10 full days on the ground, including both Ronda and Jerez de la Frontera might be pushing it a bit. JMO.

albatravels

How about something like this:
Córdoba 3 nights(we arrive mid afternoon)
Granada 2 nights
Málaga 1 night
Cádiz 1 night
Sevilla 3 nights

Michael

My recollection from a long time ago is that Cordoba does not need more than 2 nights--one full day to visit the mosque and the historic neighborhood.

stokebailey

Sevilla: yes the Alcázar, Parque Maria Luisa and Plaza de España, tapas places in Triana.

Momddtravel2

So many great tips. I have only been to Spain once and am hardly an expert. But I will share a few things we loved on our trip in May.

In Granada we had an amazing meal at http://www.estrellasdesannicolas.es/home.php?idioma=en

The view was unbelievable. It is $$$$ but was fabulous.

In Seville we were ready for something other than Spanish food and really enjoyed this Italian place:

Osteria L'Oca Giuliva - Mateos Gago, 9 - really fabulous. Best Sangria I think we had in all the trip!

Not sure where you are staying - we had apartments on most of the trip but in Granda stayed at the AC Palacio De Santa Paula, Autograph Collection and it was excellent. I liked the location, the service was great and our room was lovely overlooking the interior courtyard.