I have read many southern Spain itineraries with great interest as that's where my husband and I are heading in June 2020. First Europe trip, but well travelled in Asia, which is so much closer to Australia
1-8 June in Barcelona, where we have an event for a few days as well as time to sightsee. We then have 14/15 nights to share between Madrid/Toledo & Andalucia before Portugal for 13 nights then Morocco for 10 or 11 nights before our flight out of Casablanca home.
Thoughts please on this plan as while I have been reading quite a few travel forums I am still unsure, as of course every one has a different view. There has been much helpful info for sure but more will assist greatly.
Draft Itinerary:
Train morning 8 June from Barcelona to:
Madrid- 4 nights? Is this too much/enough. Like a mix of museums, street life, parks and views.
Train to:
Toledo- 1 or 2 nights? Small city, sounds lovely. Maybe head straight through to Toledo on 8 June then back to Madrid- would that work?
Train from Madrid to:
Granada- 3 nights hoping this is enough time.
Bus or train?- not sure current best travel option to:
Cordoba- 1 or 2 nights?
Train or bus to:
Seville- 4 nights
Then fly Seville to Porto- there is a Ryanair flight.
Wondering if worth staying less time somewhere and heading to Jerez or Cadiz for a night or 2. Or is that wasting time travelling, with our time restriction, and better to spend more time in fewer places ? Personal decision I guess, and we don't want to always be on the move as there seems to be so much to see everywhere.
Thank you

All depends on what you plan to visit in these cities. Madrid (with the visit of the most popular museums) needs at least 3 days.
Toledo can easily be done as a day trip, Segovia, El Escorial or Avila too.
The minimum for Cordoba is 1 day, for Granada 2 days and for Sevilla 3 days.
The train is the fastest and most comfortable way to travel between Barcelona, Madrid, Cordoba, Granada and Sevilla.
It's also possible to travel by train from Sevilla dp 17.25 to Porto, with a hotel night at Merida (ar 20.47, just in time for dinner), a Spanish town full of Roman monuments (really worth to visit). Merida dp 15.25 - Elvas (place where visitors of Evora have to change to a bus) ar 15.48 (Portuguese time) - Coimbra ar 19.34 - Porto ar 20.45.
There are also overnight trains (sleeping cars) from Madrid to Lisbon and from Tanger to Marrrakech, as well as ferries from Tarifa to Tanger, from Algeciras to Tanger Med and Ceuta (both on the way to Tetouan) as well as from Malaga, Motril and Almeria (close to Granada) to Melilla/Nador with connecting trains to Fez.

I think you have planned a perfect trip for Madrid, Toledo, and Andalucia! We had 15 nights for an almost identical trip. This was our itinerary: Madrid (4 nights), Toledo (1 night), Cordoba (2 nights), Granada (2 nights), Malaga (2 nights) and Sevilla (4 nights).

IMO, 4 nights is good for Madrid, considering your interests. We visited the Prado, Reina Sofia, Palacio Real, Retiro Park, Temple Debod (great views), San Miguel Market and had time for a bit of leisurely wandering. We didn't have time for the Thyssen or Sorolla museums.

We had one night in Toledo, which was sufficient for us. We didn't see everything but we were ok with that. Some people here recommend 2 nights (or perhaps 3 nights) in Toledo. That depends on how much you want to see. But I would not recommend taking nights away from anywhere else to add it to Toledo. You could, however, have a second night in Toledo if you allocate 15 nights for this portion of your trip instead of 14 nights. And yes, it would work if you go to Toledo first from Barcelona. You do have to change trains in Madrid, but that is easy to do. By doing this, it will be easier to travel from Madrid to Granada because you don't have to back track from Toledo.

We had 2 nights in Granada, but I wish we had a 3rd night to see more sights in Granada and spend time wandering through the Albaicin. To do the Alhambra justice and to see it properly, we spent almost a day there (which included eating sandwiches on a bench for lunch, and then stopping for snacks and a drink at the Hotel America). We also returned at night for the night time tour. The Alhambra is so beautiful! Please don't rush through it. We also saw the Cathedral, but spent only a very small amount of time in the Albaicin. So I think 3 nights in Granada should give you enough time.

I don't know if the train is running from Granada to Cordoba. It wasn't when we were there in 2017 so we took the ALSA bus from Cordoba to Granada (we visited Cordoba first). I highly recommend the bus. It is clean, modern, air conditioned, and very comfortable. Much better than buses I've used in the U.S.

I recommend 2 nights in Cordoba, one of our favorite cities. The Mezquita is magnificent! But there is more to Cordoba than just the Mezquita, such as the Alcazar, Palacio de Viana, Roman Bridge, and wandering through the Juderia with its white-washed walls, narrow lanes, patios, and flower pots.

And I think 4 nights in Seville is perfect! That is what we did. We visited the gorgeous Alcazar, Cathedral, Casa di Pilatos (a hidden gem), Plaza de Espagna, Triana, several markets, took a carriage ride, saw a flamenco show.

I haven't been to Cadiz or Jerez so I can't comment about those. But it would add more travel time and more hotel changes to your itinerary. I prefer to spend more time in fewer places, which it seems like you feel that way as well. Maybe one solution would be to spend one night in Toledo instead of two nights, and spend 5 nights in Seville so that you could take a day trip to Jerez? I think it's possible to day trip to Jerez from Seville but not entirely sure.

Should be a great trip!

Timing obviously depends on your particular interests, but FWIW:

• I wanted 4 full days (so 5 nights) for Madrid, not counting day trips, but then I'm a museum fanatic and so spent days and days in that cities' wonderful museums.
• I spent 2 full days in Toledo and did not see everything I wanted to see there. I think the idea of going straight there from Barcelona makes a LOT of sense.
• 3 nights is perfect for Granada, IMO -- one day for the Alhambra (book as soon as you can, day and evening if possible!) and one day for Granada's other treasures.
• For me, same as with Toledo: I spent 2 full and wonderful days in Cordoba.
• 4 nights is, IMO, perfect for Sevilla.
• I haven't been to Jerez or Cadiz, and so can't speak to them. Based on what I've read, if I had an extra night or two, I'd probably consider Malaga.

Hope that helps!

The responses to my enquiry about our first Spain trip tinerary for Madrid/Toledo & Andalucia have been so helpful. I now feel confident we will have a great plan.
Just need to decide on some travel leg options e.g train or bus for Granada to Cordoba & Cordoba to Sevilla, then book all the train legs & whatever bus trips that may need booking when they become available.
Also must work on selecting our accomm and booking the many tickets for sites/sights as they become available.
Your thoughtful responses have got me on track and I look forward to the rest of the planning.

Looks like a good plan to me. For what it's worth, I believe that the trains from Granada are running now (they weren't when we made the trip in October of 2018).

And if the trains are not running for every leg of your trip, I can recommend ALSA bus. We used it twice on our trip. The buses are modern, clean, air conditioned, and the seats are very comfortable.

Do the buses also require advanced bookings, as I believe is required for most train travel (except Toledo to Madrid)? Or is it just more local bus routes, like between Cordoba and Seville, that may not require early booking?
Thank you

Maxine, I purchased our bus tickets online in advance because that is how I like to do things. This way I didn't have to worry if there were tickets available at the last minute for the time I wanted. I don't know for sure that advance purchase is necessary, but I do remember that the buses we took were full.

Thank you, I will have the itinerary planned and accommodation booked so I will also book the transport.

"Do the buses between Cordoba and Seville also require advanced bookings?"

You plan to waste your time.
The train ride from Cordoba to Sevilla (at least 2 departures every hr) takes 45 minutes, whereas the direct ALSA bus (about every 3 hrs) needs 2 hrs.
Granada - Cordoba: 1 1/2 hr by train, or 3 hrs by bus.

sounds like a great trip. when we were there last time all the locals we talked to raved about cadiz, which was not on our itinerary but it will be for the next trip!

neckervd is right. You should take the train between Cordoba and Seville. What I meant is if there isn't a fast train between Granada and your destination, I recommend ALSA bus. The fast trains were not running to/from Granada when we were there in September 2017. I understand they are now up and running, but from what I've heard, there is limited service. Am I right about this?

"there is limited service"
Yes, 5 trains only every day (between 7am and 7pm).

Train is definitely the go then if running- time is of the essence. I will have to set reminders to keep checking train schedules so that I can book once available. Thank you.
However I just need to tweak our itinerary as I am still not set number of nights exactly, although I thought I was, for Toledo & Madrid. This effects the dates for planned 3N Granada, 2N Cordoba , 4N Seville. However will have to bite the bullet and decide. I would love to not have to be so planned for the whole trip, instead having some leeway in between certain planned arrivals and departures points, but it appears to be necessary.
Thanks