My friend and I are planning a two and half week trip to Spain at the beginning of August. We're flying into Madrid from the US and plan on spending the first half of the trip in Andalusia. Our goal is to do Seville, Cordoba, Granada, Ronda, and if we have time...Marbella. What's the best order to do these cities in and what's the best/cheapest mode of transportation between these cities?

Also, is it true that people in the US can't take advantage of the web or estrella fares on the renfre website because renfre mails the tickets? How do the web fares work? Can we just reserve now and pick up once we get to Spain?

I don't think renting a car will be an option for us.

Any advice on planning this trip would be greatly appreciated!

ttt

Madrid- Cordoba- Sevilla- Ronda - Marbella- Granada- Madrid.

But: If you don't want to move from town to town, you can pick either Sevilla or Cordoba as a base and visit either town from the base.

IMO, trains are first choice for going from Madrid to Cordoba and Sevilla. And back from Granada to Madrid. There are buses running from Sevilla to Ronda, and probably further South to Marbella, but I'd prefer to have a car once I left Sevilla for Ronda, Marbella, Granada - but return it once I got to Granada. Andalucia is not only cities to visit, but at least half of its glory comes from the small white villages or towns or national/ nature parks. Those are easier to get to with a car.

Is there a specific reason why you don't want to get a car? Driving in rural Spain is no rocket science. The roads are well maintained and signposted. And rental cars don't cost much.

Remember, August is extremely hot in Andalucia (often the hottest part of mainland Europe), with temparature regularly topping 40C/104F - 45C/113F. And while air-conditioning is widespread, it's by no means universal and the thermostat is often set uncomfortably high for Americans. Don't plan on doing too much sightseeing during the hottest part of the day (12 noon to 6 pm). With a long siesta (1-5 pm typically), you don't have much option anyway.
Book accommodation in Marbella well in advance - other places aren't too bad as it's low season for accommodation because of intense heat. And be sure to pre-book Alhambra tickets online now at www.alhambra-tickets.es

You can book estrella and webfres from US. Renfe website takes US credit cards and you just prit out your own tickets - no need to line up to get the actual tickets in Spain. The key is how to navigate between Spanish and English parts of the renfe site. Follow Maribel's page on renfe:
http://maribelsguides.com/mg_renfe_tutorial.html, with a link to a tripadvisor tutorial and step-by-step instructions on how to book.

"...spending the first half of the trip in Andalucia."


So, that means you have about 8 days for Andalucia?

cowboy1968 - no, just thought it would be too hard to figure out where to rent car from and how to get that process started.

nanbug - will be in andalucia for about 8-9 days.

So I take it that getting a Spain Rail Pass might not be a good idea but rather looking for webfares on the renfre?

With 8-9 days, I'd skip Marbella, there's not enough time.

Yes, Renfe fares will be cheaper than a train pass. Use Maribel's guide that Alec posted above to help you.