KarenWoo

I agree with Maribel about Cordoba. I would stay there 2 nights rather than do a daytrip from Seville. I believe you really, really appreciate a place more when you have spent more time there. If we went as a daytrip, we would have of course enjoyed the Mezquita, but we would not have appreciated and enjoyed CORDOBA as much as we did. The same goes for Toledo, too. If we saw Toledo as a daytrip from Spain, I really think my opinion would have been "ok, it's nice, but what's the fuss all about?" I appreciated Toledo so much more after spending one night there, and two nights would have been better.

And based on what your plans are for Madrid, 4 nights is good. It makes sense to use Segovia as a placeholder if you find you have done everything of interest to you in Madrid. We didn't go there but I know you can take the train so you could always purchase your train tickets the day before if necessary.

And make time to have some sangria by the lake at Retiro Park!

Just read your last post about the private tour of the white towns. You might find that 3 days is enough time to see everything you are interested in Seville, so you could spend your 4th day in the white towns. I realize that you most likely have to book this tour in advance so you might have to decide before you leave. It all depends on how important it is for you to see the white towns.

Sassafrass

I said cities were a pain, but actually intended to say that “driving” in them was a pain, not the cities themselves.
However, in times past, we were crazy and drove into Madrid, Toledo, Cordoba, Granada and twice into Seville as well as many, many smaller towns. It was sometimes stressful and tiring, but also lead to laughter from locals observing DH’s navigational skills (and lack thereof) a few times. Once, a man in Seville motioned DH out and took over our car, getting it unstuck and into a parking area. We are either smarter, more experienced, less courageous or just a lot older now than we were then.

I also did not mean to imply that cities like Seville and well known places like the Alhambra were to be completely skipped in favor of smaller places, only that discovering the charm of small towns is also lovely. Major sights usually form the basis for our trips, but it really has been hearing fountains, a musician and children playing while parents socialized that most evoke Spain as well as other countries to me. We try to always include a few places like that, even if just for a stroll and dinner.
Whatever you do, this will be a fantastic trip for you.

KarenWoo

Sassafrass, we have had similar experiences watching children playing while their parents socialized and they bring back warm memories and definitely adds to the experience. Most recently in Nafplio, Greece, and several years ago in Cordoba on the Roman Bridge and in Toledo in Zocodover Plaza.

marinawright7406

Sassafrass No worries - I knew what you meant about the "pain." I am a seasoned traveller and love to immerse myself, which is why I was overthinking my cookie cutter itinerary. I like to go to other places besides "the big ones." I was nervous about too many hotel changes, etc. I do not know Spain at all except for many years ago, so it's all new. I can read particular people's responses over several replies and sort of "get" the direction they are coming from, if that makes sense, and I tend to then follow those people who align with my travel outlook. This particular thread I started has been extremely helpful to me.

KarenWoo Yes - I definitely need to make a tour decision fairly soon if we go private, since those book up months in advance. For this particular tour, it might be best to go private vs. public transportation. But I needed to sketch out my days first.

Thanks for everyone's help! I am sure I will be back on here.....

Maribel

I think that you will be much better off going on a private tour from Sevilla to the white towns, albeit expensive, as the company will maximize your time and you will see far more than if you tried to depend on public transportation, which really is limited and time consuming. The Damas bus company does the Sevilla-Ronda route, non-stop but the 9 am departure doesn’t arrive until 11:55 and the 3:30 return arrives at 5:30 with the last bus departing at 6:30, arriving back at 9:15 pm.

Ronda’s public transportation has been significantly reduced in the past 2 years, unfortunately.

Karen,
I know what you mean about just sitting on a square and watching the children at play. This evening I’m sitting on the stunning Plaza Mayor of Salamanca, the “golden” square with its harmonious sandstone architecture that just glows and watching the children play in the square while parents sit on the plaza’s terraces enjoying an evening drink.

About getting a vehicle stuck in an Andalusian city’s inner core maze——My late husband and I once managed to get a 9-passenger Mercedes van filled with teenagers very, very stuck in a tiny plaza in the heart of the Barrio de Santa Cruz. It was amusing to watch the local pedestrians stop what they were doing to offer their advice on how to maneuver the van out of the square. Of course, each gentleman had a differing opinion about the best option. It was quite an amusing spectacle.
After that, we stopped driving into these medinas, having learned our lesson.

twk

You've gotten a lot of suggestions, but I will add my two cents, having done a somewhat similar itinerary in 2018 (albeit in mid-October, rather than straddling September and October). Click on my name to go to my profile if you want to read my illustrated trip report.

I did Toledo as a daytrip from Madrid. If I had it to do over again, I would have spent a night or two in Toledo, and probably done this on arrival. Doing it on departure may be OK, but I worry about getting to the airport if things happen.

We did most of our trip by public transportation, but picked up a rental car in Seville for a few days to see the white hill towns (including Ronda) on our way to the coast at Marbella, from whence we made a daytrip to Gibraltar before heading back north to Granada. That's further afield than you plan to go, but, more relevant to your plans, getting out of Seville from Santa Justa railway station (where we picked up our rental car) was a piece of cake. You could pick up a rental car and do your own hill town trip, and the reason you might want to consider this is that its hard to know how you will enjoy the hill towns. To me, the attraction of the hill towns is to see their situation, rather than to spend a lot of time in them, considering the architecture is similar to what you will see in the old parts of Seville and Cordoba. So, in my view, you want to see as many of them as you can, without necessarily spending too much time in any one of them. But, that's just how I see it. You may feel differently (and we didn't go to Arcos which may well be worth the time it takes to go all the way to the top--but it was out of our way).

We loved Seville and would have enjoyed more time there. We did Cordoba as a day trip on the was to Seville (checking our luggage at the bus station across the street from the train station), which allowed us to see the Mezquita, but spending a couple of nights there would not go amiss, either.

xyz99

I'm planning a similar cookie-cutter trip for this spring, and let me tell you, I don't feel bad at all about it. These places are included in all the itineraries because they are special, unique and should be seen. Crowded? Yes...but we are part of the problem, part of those crowds too.
My personal approach is to start a trip at the furthest part, and work my way back to the departure airport. So we land in Madrid, and move right away to Sevilla for 5 nights. We're flying there, there's a flight Madrid - Seville at 11:40.
Then go Ronda - Granada - Cordoba - Toledo - Madrid, which is essentially your #2 option. We'll have a car from Sevilla to Granada, for Jarez and the white villages.
Happy planning!

cdnyul

I miss Pegontheroad.

Eternally young, never boring, always challenging herself and expanding her comfort zone.

I bet she would go to Ronda just to climb the via ferrata.