Help needed! I could use assistance in planning a trip to Andalusia area. We are flying into Madrid in late February. Near the end of the trip, we'd like to spend 5 days relaxing in a smaller town/city near the coast. Our budget is modest. I've planned a lot of short stays, especially at the beginning of the trip, which may not be ideal. We would prefer to use public transportation and not rent a car. This is what I've laid out so far. I appreciate feedback!1 night Madrid (flight arrives at 11:30 AM)
1 night in Toledo
4 nights in Seville
2 nights Cordoba
1day in Granada
2 nights Rhonda
2 nights in Jerez, Sanlucar or Cadiz
4 nights in a smaller city or town that is walkable
2 nights in Malaga

I'm sure you'll see some wonderful things no matter what you choose, but your allocation of nights confuses me a bit.

Are you planning to spend any time in Madrid? It might make most sense to leave immediately for Toledo. If you do want a day in Madrid, I'd urge you to think through your priorities very carefully -- it's a city with enough to keep many people happily busy for at least 4 days if not more.

One night is very little for Toledo, which I thought easily merited 2 or 3 nights. If you'll be jet lagged when there, I really don't know that one night would be particularly satisfying.

One day (how many nights?) is also very little for Granada. I was glad to have the better part of 3 full days there.

IMO: Four nights seems reasonable for Sevilla; 2 nights is nice for Cordoba, 2 nights is fine for Ronda, though you could probably cut a night there if necessary. I skipped the other places you mention, not for lack of interest but for lack of time.

Public transportation is Spain is excellent, so no need to rent a car.

I'm sure you realize that some of these places will likely be cold. weatherspark.com is a great resource for climate data.

Hope that helps!

I would spend 2 nights in Granada.

And if you do go straight to Toledo when you arrive, I agree with kja that you need 2 nights in Toledo because you will have jetlag when you first arrive. The train from Madrid's Atocha station to Toledo is a 30-minute ride.

I don't know what other smaller coastal town you could visit. The only coastal town we visited was Malaga, and we love Malaga. There is a lot to see and do there. Because late February is not beach weather, perhaps spend about 4 nights in Malaga? If you spend 2 nights in Granada, and 2 nights in Toledo, you will take away some nights from those 4 nights you haven't allocated yet. So you could add some of those nights to Malaga. Just a thought.

Thank you for these ideas. I entered my dates incorrectly. We are traveling near the end of MARCH to mid April This should mean that the weather is a little warmer.

To be honest, I've read so many posts on this forum that my head is spinning with ideas of places to visit. We are not frequent travelers, which makes it hard to narrow the trip to only 4 or 5 cities. I'm a very energetic traveler but my husband is more laid back.

I like the idea of going straight to Toledo from Madrid and staying for two nights. If we stay in Rhonda for one night, as Kja suggests, we could add a night stay to Granada. Looks like my biggest decision will be where to spend the remaining 4 nights.

FYI: Ronda, not Rhonda.

You mention choosing between Sanlucar, Cadiz and Jerez. And then adding another walkable smaller city.
I think you might choose two out of those three; they are all very walkable. So a total of four nights, or more, in two of those cities. My preference would be for Sanlucar and Jerez.

A small hill town that might suit would be Vejer de la Frontera, in the province of Cadiz. I think it's more beautiful and it certainly far less touristed, than the more famous Arcos and Ronda, which might be deluged with day trippers. You could reach there by bus from Cadiz or from Jerez. (only one bus daily from Jerez; at least two daily from Cadiz) ; the bus company is COMES.


End of March/early April is an ideal time to be in Andalucia; there is more chance of being too hot than too cold. But check the dates of the spring holidays, which will impact hotel prices and availability.


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I agree with the others that, if you are heading straight from the airport to Toledo, you should at least spend two nights. You won't feel like doing much on arrival day.

I think you will also need to spend 2 nights in Granada. You need a full day there, and spending two nights is the only way to ensure that.

I haven't been to Jerez, Sanlucar, or Cadiz, but as far as looking for another town to spend four nights I would take those nights and add them to places already on your itinerary. You are already spending two nights in Ronda, so, unless you are looking for a base for hiking or something like that, I think you'll find that the towns smaller than Ronda aren't great for a multi-night stay. Once you've seen those small towns, there isn't a lot to do in them. If you are thinking of the Pueblos Blanco, my theory on those is that you want to see the situation of these towns (more being better than less), rather than spend a lot of time in any one of them as there isn't that much to actually do in most of these towns -- a rare case where quantity provides a sort of quality of its own.

Thanks for all of your input. There's still a lot to work out, but I'm getting closer!

We will be visiting during Semana Santa. We arrive on March 26 and depart on April 15th. Does anyone have any thoughts on which area would be better to stay during the days around Easter? It seems that I could organize the later part of the trip several ways. Would it be easier to stay in Malaga, Ronda or Jerez during this time? Malaga sounds very busy during Holy Week.

Thanks for your help!