Just returned from Andalucia.
 

We have just returned from Madrid and Andalucia and had a marvellous time.
We spent:
5 days in Madrid with day trips to Toledo and El Escorial
2 days in Cordoba
4 days in Seville, then hired a car to explore the pueblos blancos (simply spectacular)
2 days in Ronda
drove down to the Costa Del Sol
and spent the last 3 days in Granada

Sadly our holiday ended all too quickly and I would love to visit Spain again.

We are so grateful to all the Fodorites that assisted in our trip planning and would be all too happy to answer any questions and do our little bit!

Please write more. I'm headed to spain in July and will be based in the Seville area for a week on business. Then I will have a week to travel in spain. Thanks!

Hi hdw
Seville is wonderful- full of energy and beautiful sights, interesting little streets to wander around.The food was great, especially the variety of tapas and the high quality. Must sees include the Catedral, the Alcazar, the bullring if you haven't see one before,Casa Pilatos and the Museo de Bella Artes if you enjoy art. We also saw a flamenco show, which we thoroughly enjoyed and also was at a bar where we were surprised by spontaneous flamenco dancing. How lucky for you to be staying there.
Cordoba is only an hour and a bit away from Seville and definitely worth a day or two to see the amazing Mezquita, the Alcazar and exploring the little streets of the Judeiria, and often stumbling upon gorgeous little patios
I would avoid the uninteresting new part of town. I didn't have the opportunity to see the ruins of Medina Azahara, but have been told that it is worth a visit (abt 10kms from Cordoba)
The highlight for me was the drive through the winding roads of the pueblos blancos, visiting Arcos de la Frontera, Grazalema, Zahara de la Sierra and Ronda and the caves near Benajaon. The towns are very charming but it was the scenery -green river valleys, precipitous gorges and rocky outcrops that was breath taking.
It would have also been nice to do some walks around the Parque Natural Sierra de Grazalema.
Maribel gave us fantastic driving instructions ( If you look up pueblos blancos, I am sure you will find it)
I wasn't too impressed with the Costa del Sol - miles and miles of apartment blocks and appalling beaches full of tourists. The beaches here in Australia and Asia are so much better.
However the sudden change driving down on the A-376 from the rugged mountains from Ronda to Marbella was worth the journey. It is well worth hiring a car as some of these places are not that well serviced by buses.
The Alhambra and the Albaicin in Granada was the highlight. We found Granada a little overrun by tourists and hippies and not as clean as some of the other cities.
We did the usual touristy stuff (first time in Spain) but also took the time to sit back at cafes and picnic in the parks and enjoy the nightlife.
Hope this is helpful and you have a great trip.

Hi mich1,
Your trips sounds great. We are planning a similar trip for June.
We are thinking of driving from Seville to Ronda for 2 nights. I want to visit Arcos, Zahara, Grazalema, and Gaucin.
Is this too ambitious? Should we stay a night in Arcos?

Also, we are driving out of Ronda to Granada via Nerja & Frigiliana to arrive in Granada around 6ish. What are your thoughts on that.

(We, too, are relying on great info from Maribel!) (I have a posting for 10-day trip but don't know how to insert into this! sorry.)

What do you think about the hotels you stayed in?

Glad to see more Spain fans; it is an amazing travel destination!

I'm planning a trip to Seville in July I will rent a car for a week to do some exploring--I can't wait for the Pueblos Blancos--do you think it's possible to do this as a day trip?