We will be in Spain from 22nd March 2009 until 27th March 2009 when we fly back to London and then Chicago.

One of the plan was to fly from London to Madrid and back from Malaga to London. We would drive from Madrid to
Malaga stopping in Cordoba on the way. Another thought was to fly into and out of Malaga and drive to the nearby towns(maybe a day or two in Granada).

Which one is more advisable considering we will have our 2 boys ages 7 & 5 with us ?? Our kids are very well
travelled (have been going to India every other year since they were a year old etc) so we are not worried about the jet lag part.
Dont want to do the beach all the time, would love to travel around and get a feel for palaces, old towns too.
We will be definitely renting a car for the entire stay.

Have been reading the Spain report from 'kelliebellie' too and want to stay at a couple of Paradors too..specially
the one in Jaen. Any advice/suggestions will be appreciated !
Regards
Ashwini

Besides the Parador Jaen, there is the Parador in Granada at the Alhambra (very nice) and two Paradors to choose from in Malaga. You may be able to use the three or five-night plan offered by the Paradors, but you'll have to check if it is available at the Parador de Granada.

You might also be interested in reading Maribel’s new guide to Granada. It has some useful information on visiting the city (maribelsguides.com).

Also, March is a little early for the beach and with only five days, I would concentrate on Andalucía, flying in and out of Granada.

It is a very long, very boring drive from Madrid south to Granada, and because the restaurants all close mid-day for several hours, there will be (from my experience, anyway) nowhere to purchase food. I think it's good advice, above, to fly into Granada, a nice little airport and quite close to the city. You can pick up a rental car there and spend your time in that area (there's plenty to see and do).

Thanks for the responses ! We did a liitle bit of thinking over the weekend...Talked about: Flying to Malaga on Sunday, driving right-away to Granada. Then driving Seville-Ronda-Marbella in those 6 days and flying back from Malaga on Friday evening. Would it be too hectic ?? The rough plan we came up with is:
Day 1: Drive from Malaga to Granada
Day 2: Granada
Day 3: Afternoon leave for Seville
Day 4: Seville
Day 5: Leave in morning for Marbella with a stop in Ronda
Day 6: Marbella and a late evening flight to London

Thanks for the new guide website...Will go through it tonight !!

Is there a parador in Marbella..We were wondering if we should get the 5 night Parador card !
Regards,
Ashwini