I am having a hard time deciding what to do! We arrive 9am in Madrid - here is what I initially thought -

Day 1 - arrive Madrid
Day 2 - Madrid
Day 3 - Toledo by train, return Madrid
Day 4 - early train to Sevilla
Day 5 - Sevilla but leave late afternoon to drive to Granada
Day 6 - Granada
Day 7 - Granada am, drive to Madrid (airport area) with stop in Ubeda
Day 8 - 11am flight home

But now I am thinking that is too short in both Granada and Sevilla.

Do I eliminate Toledo? I really want to see highlights of Madrid, Sevilla and Granada, but like to relax a bit in cafes as well as experience small towns.

I am also thinking that I need to spend the night prior to visiting the Alhambra in Granada as it seems you need to arrive early - will attempt to buy tickets online before we go??

BTW - we are traveling first week of November.

Any help is much appreciated!
J

Yes, eliminate Toledo.

That is an ambitious schedule. There will be little time to relax and see the smaller towns.

You only have 7 days (one jetlagged) actually in Spain.

Trying to visit Madrid, Sevilla and Granada in this short time is in my opinion way too rushed.

Since you need to fly into/out of Madrid I'd probably chooise Madrid and Sevilla. I usually recommend a minimum of 4 nights in each of these cities so 7 is even a little short. Trying to squeeze in Granada would be too much travel and very little relaxation during such a short time frame.

Not enough time and you are selling seville way short. It deserves 3 nights and Granada deserves two. I would skip toledo this time.

I was recently in Spain for 2 weeks, and given your itinerary, I would also suggest that you drop Toledo. As much as I enjoyed Toledo, it is a rather intensively touristy destination as a day trip.

What is the motivation for renting the car? You can take a train or bus from Seville to Granada. I'd also look at either a cheap flight to get from Granada to Madrid - this will maximize your time in both cities.

You might even want to reverse the itinerary a bit. Start in Madrid, then take the overnight train to Granada. Then you can go to Seville and finish with the AVE back to Madrid.

There seems to be three groups of people using the sane itinerary,