Believe Myriam goes to Conil so the beach photos are probably of there. No beaches in the Malaga area would have so few people !

The beach photos are of Bolonia and Tarifa, where we went on a daytrip from Conil.

We stay in Conil indeed but I didn't take any beach photos this time.

Our itinerary last year was
4 nights Málaga with daytrip to Frigiliana and Nerja
2 nights Ronda (to Sevilla via Grazalema and Zahara de la Sierra)
2 nights Sevilla
10 nights Conil de la Frontera with (half) daytrips to Cádiz, Arcos de la Frontera, Tarifa, Bolonia.

Our itinerary in 2014:
4 nights Málaga (to Córdoba thru the beautiful Alpujarras mountains)
2 nights Granada
2 nights Córdoba
10 nights Conil de la Frontera with (half) daytrips to Vejer de la Frontera, Cádiz, Sanlúcar de Barrameda, Jerez de la Frontera.

Here's the link to my 2014 album
https://www.flickr.com/photos/104652...57678358941850
Enjoy!

Myriam, Thank you so much for sharing your photos! They are beautiful! You have an excellent eye for composition. I am more excited now for our trip to Spain in September.

Thank you, KarenWoo.
If you love Spain as much as we do, you will want to return over and over again. Six weeks until our next trip.

So after going through all the options, we are now thinking of cutting out Ronda. If we spend the entire day roadtripping we will miss out on a day in Granada. We only have 1 full day in Granada so I think we want to get in to Granada at least around 3pm to enjoy some of the day. We are thinking of cutting out Ronda and just making a drive through Grazalema, Zahara and Villeluengo Rosario for cheese. Does this make more sense? We will stop at one of these places for lunch.

I would cut out your whole white villages tour. Stop in Ronda for a look around and lunch and continue on to Granada.

lilceeja What I would do is probably not what others would do, and depends on what interests you, but it seems like you want to see the white towns for yourself and I think you should just toodle along and see what you have time for.

I liked Grazelema because we didn't have much time, and it was pretty much stop outside the town, walk around, drive through and continue. The little towns are pretty much all the same that way. Arcos is a little bigger.

Personally I would take a day from Madrid and stay overnight in Ronda (you will get the sunset from the Mirador). At the Hotel Don Miguel, get a room overlooking the gorge. Make sure you are up and ready with camera for sunrise. Take a walk across the bridge to the old town, walk down into the gorge.

Continue on to Granada, through Antequera, where you can stop and see the Alcazaba, have lunch at El Escribano.

But if you love museums, stay the extra night in Madrid. Make a list of what you want to see there, and then figure out how many nights you need to stay.

That's just my opinion. You have to decide what's important to you. IMO all of Spain is lovely and worth every minute.

Your call! FWIW, 1 day in Granada is barely sufficient IMO.

I'm not sure I understand your current itinerary (or itinerary options), but I suspect that if you drop all the white villages save Ronda, you won't need a car -- you can visit Ronda by public transportation. But maybe (probably) I'm missing something important here?

Oh boy i missed that you only have one night in Granada. Agree with kja that is not enough time.

@ sundriedtopepo: I'm not sure if the OP has only one night in Granada ... I'm having real difficulty identifying the plan! The last comment from the OP that I saw upthread referred to one DAY in Granada....

Yes a more complete itinerary would certainly help!

Hi ! Sorry for the confusion. We are staying 2 nights in Granada but will really only have only full day. We will drive from Seville to Granada so we're thinking we will probably get in around 4pm, will have the whole next day to explore and then would be flying to Madrid the day after at 130pm. Is that enough time ? We would then have 4 nights in Madrid but I can change this to 3 if a night in Ronda would be worth it.

<Are the beach photos of Malaga?>

For beaches in the Málaga region, you could go to the 4 kilometres long and very wide beach in Torre del Mar, some 15 miles east of Málaga city. Very popular with Spanish tourists, but this huge beach hardly get crowded. By the end of September it will be ideal, warm and sunny and all the space you could want: http://www.torredelmartoday.com/torre-del-mar-beaches/

Torre del Mar is also known for awesome seafood restaurants (the major fishing port in the region is just east of Torre del Mar in Caleta de Vélez). La Cueva is to die for, many Spanish think of this as the best no fuss freiduría along all of the Andalucian coast: http://freidurialacueva.es/ https://www.tripadvisor.es/Restauran...Andalucia.html

And fine beaches in Málaga city itself: https://www.spain-holiday.com/Malaga...ty-beach-guide

Doesn't get much better than a couple of hours on the Malagueta beach and then lunch in El Cachalote beach restaurant just below the 5 star Gran Hotel Miramar
El Cachalote: http://chiringuitoelcachalote.com/
Gran Hotel Miramar: http://www.granhotelmiramarmalaga.com/en/

.. and four miles inland from Torre del Mar you have the old market town Vélez-Málaga: http://www.andalucia.com/province/malaga/velez/home.htm

Vélez-Málaga is the capital of the beautiful Axarqía-region: http://www.rusticblue.com/andalucia_...a_axarquia.php

Small Comares is perhaps the most spectacular "white village" in the area, sitting on a mountain top some 16 miles inland from Torre del Mar. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comares
http://www.andalucia.com/province/malaga/comares/home

Yes, Comares is very pretty and only a short drive from Málaga. It's in my pictures (the 2014 album), on the first page.

Again, I find it hard to comment on Ronda without knowing your itinerary. Does it include Cordoba? I, for one, wouldn't consider skipping Cordoba in favor of Ronda -- IMO, Cordoba's Mezquita is one of the world's gems (not just a highlight of Spain) -- up there with the Alhambra. The Alhambra itself can take a full day -- or more! -- so whether a single day in Granada suits your interests is something only you can decide.

If it makes any difference, here's something you might want to consider: Because Madrid has an international airport, it is probably easier to reach than anything else in central or southern Spain. And that means that it would be most easily included on a subsequent trip to Spain, or elsewhere for that matter! So, much as I adored Madrid (and I did), and even though I felt hard-pressed to see everything I wanted to see in Madrid in just 4 days, it might a place that you can shortchange on this trip. Just a thought....

Our itinerary is this :

-Fly in to Madrid and train to Seville- get in Seville around 230 pm- 3 nights Seville and one day trip to Córdoba
- drive to either Ronda and spend the night or road trip through white villages to Granada and spend 2 nights
- fly to Madrid and spend 3 nights if do Ronda or 4 nights if not. Day trip to Toledo.

Does this sound doable? I have been to Madrid before but my husband hasn't. I don't want to cut it completely but would be okay cutting out a night.

Hi. I'm just jumping in on this, and I have been considering many of the same questions. As part of a two-week trip, we also will be driving from Sevilla to Granada, and I'm wondering what route to take. Ronda looks very cool, but I'm wondering whether we might be missing out on something more impressive. Would that be a good mid-way stop for lunch and a little sightseeing? Should we plan more than one stop? We don't want to be overambitious, but if there's a can't-miss place on the way, I wouldn't want to miss it. Thanks, as always, for your help.

It depends on what you want to see and experience! I wanted 4 nights in Sevilla, 2 nights in Cordoba, 1 night in Ronda, 3 nights in Granada, 2 nights in Toledo, and 4 nights in Madrid. Obviously, you don't have that much time, so you need to decide on your priorities. Although I enjoyed it, I would skip Ronda n favor of more time in any of these other places. JMO.

The good news is that you will see some wonderful things no matter what you decide.

I would NOT drive for this trip -- there is absolutely no need to do so, and public transportation in Spain is excellent.