We are considering the options for a day trip from Malaga. Your advice and recommendations on Caminito de Rey or Antequera and Torcal is appreciated. We are open to other suggestions as well.

We are also planning on renting a car and driving from Malaga to our next destination, Seville. We are thinking about stopping in Ronda and one of the white villages along the way. We'd like any suggestions and advice about that too.

Looking forward to hearing from you all.

I left you a note on your other thread about the drive from Málaga to Ronda

Antequera is an easy day trip from Málaga via high speed train
renfe.com
Hiking in Torcal is best with a car
https://www.andalucia.com/environmen...ect/torcal.htm
All the info you need on the Caminito del Rey, which requires a reservation
https://www.caminitodelrey.info/en

We lived in a small town just north of Malaga for a while and did a number of day and overnight trips. If you are contemplating renting a car, I would do so to take any of those trips you have in mind. You could easily do Antequera and Torcal in one day though bear in mind that Atequerea is a typical Spanish town and shuts down for siesta time. Torcal is very a dramatic hike amongst the rocks but will probably only take a couple of hours. Some nice small towns around and about the area. For a wildlife fix see https://www.lobopark.com near Antequera

El Caminito del Rey would probably be my first choice. we have gone a couple of times . Here is a link to our blog post with a few photos and details https://accidentalnomads.com/category/spain/.

Including Ronda en route to Seville is a great idea. I would consider stopping a night at the Paradore there. As I recall, great food and views.

Bring a good pair of hiking shoes and a spare pair for Torcal, the trails can be muddy.
We stayed three night at the Antequera parador during our 2019 visit to Spain.
It is a nice town to observe local life and hand around a local ."third space", I don't know what would be a point of visiting for part of a day.