That plan seems better to me -- gives you a bit more time to actually see things, rather than rushing about. JMO.

BTW, as for your conclusion that your dates of your home exchange dictate your plans, you might want to look up "sunk cost." Just an idea.

Hi kja, thank you. As always, I am open for suggestions and advice. In this case, the costs of any tour to Europe can be very expensive for South Africans because of the exchange rate and also the visas add to the cost. The home exchange does help in a way. But, I will appreciate it if you can give your idea of a trip itinerary. I will for sure have a look and then decide if we can rather change our plans.
Thanks a lot!

At the moment, we fly to Barcelona:
Arrive 20 April 2017
Depart 24 May 2017
These flights are booked.

My plan is then to fly to Bilbao, pick up a rented car, see Basque Country, do the trip down to Malaga. We will drop off at the airport and fly back to Barcelona, perhaps on 23 May.

It really depends on what you want to see and experience and on your preferred pace of travel. FWIW, I noted my preferences for time in Andalusia in my first -- the first! -- response to your post. And in case it helps, you could take a look at the report I filed on my trip to Barcelona, Bilbao, San Sebastian / Donostia, and parts of the Basque country -- to find it, just click on my name and then scroll down to the section trip reports.

More generally, for my interests, I would find this trip a bit too ambitious and would rather cut some things entirely than feel like I was skimming the places I did visit, but that's a decidedly personal preference based on my specific interests, and I suspect that for some people, this plan could work very well. Unfortunately, only you can decide.

If you haven't already done so, you might identify the things you most want to see in each location, check their opening/closing times on the internet, and mark them on a calendar. Then pencil in your transportation, add some time on either side (for getting to/from your lodging, checking in/out, packing/unpacking, getting oriented, etc.). Then see how things fit together. And note that many things in Spain are closed on Monday, and often for all or part of Sundays too; and many things in Spain will also be closed daily for a very long mid-day break.

BTW, you might consider visiting Segovia as a day trip from Salamanca. Just a thought....

Thank you very much for your time. I think I will slow down on my itinerary as we are more slow travelers than the ambition ones. There are so many places we would like to see!

Absolutely plan a trip (in the summer) to Portugal and Galicia. That sounds like another excellent trip that you cna look forward to.