Finishing up a few plan details - you all helped me so much with the itinerary.

We are spending our last two nights in Toledo, and have an 11:15 flight. i think the best way to do this is by private transfer? What is the traffic like in Madrid? This is October 11th - the day before the national holiday. Does that make things better or worse traffic wise? I know in the US - it would make it 100% worse. I wonder if this is a wise decision.

IF the private transfer does not work, then I have to rearrange my itinerary. I would either have to skip Cordoba or Toledo for a night stay at this point. I would still go during the day. For some very odd reason, all Alhambra tickets are sold out October 4-5-6, and would have to move everything around Granada. IF I did this, what are opinions on which night to skip?

Could you add the entire itinerary? I don't know about others, but it's hard to wrap my mind around it without the day-by-day plan.
Madrid airport is mammoth--I would not want to come from Toledo that morning (but then I am the most non-morning person you will ever meet). It's an hour drive, no idea what it would cost, but traffic around Madrid can be hairy. I'd try to rework the order instead.
It's a 35 minute train, plus the taxi or train to airport, so for most people, probably fine.

It’s really tricky to spend one’s last night in Toledo with a next morning flight from Barajas. Many things could go wrong, and if yours is an international flight you’ll need to be in Barajas 3 hours in advance, or at 8:15 at the latest, which with your departure from your Toledo hotel coincides with rush hour on the M-40. The M-40 traffic can be bumper to bumper from 7:30 on, ime. Been there, done that. And October 11 is a work day in Madrid, not a bank holiday.

The only way I would do this is with an extremely reliable transfer arranged well in advance, and even with that, it would really give me pause. The conventional wisdom is always to spend the night in Madrid before a morning flight.

I don’t know the specific reason why the Alhambra tickets are sold out for Oct. 4-5-6. I even tried the “go around”, trying the purchase the more expensive Dobla de Oro tickets, which usually works, but both the general admission and Dobla de Oro are sold out for those dates.

The earliest AVANT train from Toledo to Madrid’s Puerta de Atocha station departs at 6:25, arriving 30 minutes later, then it’s a 30 minute taxi ride from Atocha to Barajas in good times.
But there could be a train strike, a taxi strike, etc. One never knows.

yorkshire Here it is- sorry - it was a long thread from yesterday

Madrid - 4 nights and 3 1/2 days (and could squeeze another 1/2 day before heading to Cordoba)
Cordoba - 2 nights
Granada - 3 nights
Seville - 5 nights
Toledo - 2 nights

Madrid - 4 nights and 3 1/2 days (and could squeeze another 1/2 day before heading to Cordoba)
Cordoba - 2 nights
Granada - 3 nights
Seville - 5 nights
Toledo - 2 nights

If nothing is booked yet, you could go to Cordoba on arrival--it's not a long train ride--then put Madrid last, but you'll have to play around with it to get Granada positioned right for your Alhambra tickets. Cordoba-Sevilla-Granada travel logistics are fairly interchangeable. You have to go back through Madrid for getting to Toledo regardless. Good luck!

Ditto yorkshire ^^^

It's always better to be in one's departure city the night before a flight out. If possible I'd definitely switch things around so all my Madrid days were at the end of the trip.

I would go to Córdoba on arrival, then Granada, via high speed rail, then Sevilla via high speed trail then if you want to overnight in Toledo, as other Fodorites have done, take the AVE from Sevilla to Madrid and at Puerta de Atocha, transfer to the 30 minute AVANT to Toledo for your overnight, then back to Madrid on the AVANT for your final days.

Why not
Cordoba
Sevilla
Granada
Toledo
Madrid
We have stayed over in Toledo and would definitely not make that the last night before departure. It is just more complicated logistically.

Another option would be to go to Toledo the first two nights.

I saw you wanted to do a long stay on arrival, but Cordoba is really a great place to shake off jet lag, and that nap on the train to start the day helps me tremendously. you won’t have to deal with storing bags or getting an early check in, it’s really the easiest solution.

Just saw Maribel’s advice. She is pretty much an expert on Spain, so would take her advice on itinerary.

Sassafrass,
Your itinerary is identical to mine Great minds and all that

EDITED:

This is what i will do in order to see Alhambra.

Cordoba
Granada
Seville
Toledo
Madrid


Now to change every single hotel reservation lol. Thanks for your help.

Perfect!

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In my opinion the Alhambra is worth any rearranging you had to do. We also had some trouble with tickets when we went in 2019. We ended up getting them through our hotel. You’ve probably already moved everything around though.
We too have a flight out of Madrid at the end of this year’s trip so we’ll train back to Madrid the day before and stay the night. I hope your trip is great!

My only addition to all that is to suggest you definitely spend 2 nights oin Toledo. So much to see and enjoy.