Would love any advice or comments on our itinerary for our 1st trip to Spain.

Fly into Barcelona-4 nights
Fly to Granada-2 nights
Rent car and drive to Ronda-2 days with car
Drive to Sevilla-2 nights
Train to Madrid-5 nights, then fly home from Madrid

I neglected to mention we'll be in Spain late Sept thru early Oct, if that makes any difference.

I think 5 nights in Madrid is too much. I don't have an alternative for you but that's my thought. I didn't dislike Madrid I left that city with no real desire to go back- that's rare.

La Merce festival in Barcelona is sept 24 to 26 and alot of fun, I hear. Looks like you might hit it.
Also if you did not want to spend a couple of days in the Basque country and fly out of Bilbao.

sorry: meant to say if you did not want to spend 5 days in Madrid....

I don't think 5 nights (4 days) is too long in Madrid - you can make a day trip to Toledo or Segovia and , if it is your interest, see some of the greatest paintings in the world .
I am not sure about 2 days in Ronda..maybe an extra day in Seville or a day in Cordoba.

I'd add time in Seville. One night in Granada will be enough and then drive from there to Ronda - maybe one night there. That will give you extra time in Seville. 5 nights in Madrid is a lot - we did 3 Madrid, 4 Seville, 2 Malaga, 4 Barcelona, one last night in Madrid near the airport and then home. We took AVE from Madrid to Seville, rented a car and drove to Malaga with a stop in Zahara and Ronda; did a day trip to Granada and then flew from Malaga to Barcelona; flew from Barcelona to Madrid (no train was available back then) and home from Madrid. My favorites were Seville and Barcelona - would go back to either one in a heartbeat!

Maybe four nights in Madrid is a better idea. 3-4 nights in '
Seville is important and I really like 2 nights minimum in Granada. I also like Malaga for one night. Barcelona is okay, I'm a San Sebastian type of guy. Ronda is too quiet for more than one night for me, I might prefer Cadiz but the view from the bridge is a must see in Ronda. Many people will disagree with everything I've said (except Seville).

I figured 5 nights in Madrid with a day trip or two to include Toledo and/or Segovia. If we did only 1 day trip from Madrid, which would be best? Also, with 2 nights in Ronda, couldn't we have time to drive to some of the other hill towns? I only picked Ronda as a homebase.

Jubilada, we will arrive in Barcelona on the 23rd! Just in time with the festival! Do you have experience with it? What kind of festival is it?

I don't have personal experience but am going this year! It is a city wide festival of the patron saint of Barcelona. There are castellars , who build a many storied human building, the parade of the giants, fireworks, concerts, a huge wine tasting and many more events.
See http://www.barcelona-tourist-guide.c...-la-merce.html
for more details. It provides a link to the program, only in Catalan, and lots of description. There are many threads about it on Trip Advisor Barcelona forum.

Jubilada, that Giant's parade looks cool! Now I'm REALLY excited.

My only quibble with you intinerary is that Ronda is not a great home base. It is a small town worth visiting but with linited amenities.

The world's greatest and most prestigious flamenco festival - the Bienal de Flamenco - takes place in Sevilla from September 15th to October 9th. It's an experience even if you're not into flamenco, and you might be up for a big surprise.

Promo for the 2008 edition:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYwUL...layer_embedded

I would anyhow recommend you to spend some more time in Sevilla.

Having been to both Madrid and Barcelona (but not any of the other cities mentioned), I think more time should be spent in Barcelona. We were just there for a week, and easily could have stayed longer. Both cities have several day trip possibilities.

Check our Maribel's guide (they are free to print out from her website: www.maribelsguides.com).