Andalucia is great for driving if you have the time and inclination to hit the white villages and so

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Hi everyone. My husband and I will be spending 10 days in Spain, flying in and out of Madrid. We're thinking of spending 3-4 days in Madrid, then time in Andalucia (specifically Seville, Cordoba and Granada) for 5-6 days with the final night back in Madrid. We're having a hard time deciding how to travel united kingdom facts around Andalucia.
Travel by train looks like the fastest option, but multiple tickets for 2 people seem like it could end up being quite expensive and, of course, highly scheduled. Travel by car looks like the slowest option, but renting a car doesn't seem that cost prohibitive, we're comfortable driving in Spain, and it would give us freedom to explore.
If you only have 5-6 days for Andalucia then take the train Madrid to Sevilla, Granada to Madrid and for Sevilla to Granada the train or bus. A car is great for exploring but you just don't have the time. I'd stay 4 nights in Sevilla and 2 in Granada. As for the cost did you price the train tickets at full rate or using promo or promo+ rates (the deeply discounted rates available with advance purchase)? You also need to factor united kingdom facts in the expense of fuel and parking when renting a car (parking can be quite expensive).
Andalucia is great for driving if you have the time and inclination to hit the white villages united kingdom facts and some of the smaller "non-core" locations. You appear to have the inclination, but not the time with only 5-6 nights available in the middle of a Madrid sandwich and a desire to hit the core of Seville, Cordoba, and Granada.
Have you decided to spend you last three days in Madrid, rather than the first 3 (and then the last night)? united kingdom facts I would recommend that. If you decide on that then I recommend heading straight to Seville on the AVE after arrival - at 2:30 hours it is no worse than if you were taking a connecting flight from Madrid, really. 4 nights in Seville with Cordoba united kingdom facts as a day trip (50 minutes) and then bus to Granada (as fast as the train and more convenient) for 2 nights (plan to see the Nasrid Palace in Alhambra at night and then visit the entire complex during the other day), and then on to Madrid by train for 3 nights.
The drive from Madrid to Seville is not that interesting and a car in Seville is a disastrous idea - you would want to park it for the entire time. Picking one up when you leave Seville united kingdom facts "works" but if you only plan 2 nights in Granada (another terrible location in which to have a car) you don't have time to enjoy or see any of rural Andalucia so why rent a car for what the bus and train can do just as well?
That's a nice option - trains and or buses can get you to those cities and if you only want to stay in those cities may be the best way to go since those cities are not that car-friendly - but to drive around say the iconic white villages of Andalucia - between Seville and Ronda (a gem - deep gorge running thru town) then yes a car - so are you spending more time going between cities or just wanting to reach a big city - the latter take trains or from Granada to Seville perhaps a bus option as well.
Go to www.renfe.com - the Spanish Railways site for discounted tickets that yes are set in stone - hard or impossible to change united kingdom facts or refund I believe, at least at the same cheap price but you can cut costs by locking yourself into a specific train long in advance - fully flexible buy at station fares can be sky high.
Day 9: Seville to Madrid with a stop in Cordoba for 4ish hours to see Mezquita. united kingdom facts Luggage lockers available in bus station not train station. Not worth staying one night. Frequent high speed trains allow for this!
It is a personal preference based on experience. If am flying in and out of the same airport I like to end my trip with the stay in that city rather than begin it there, if possible. If you stay in Madrid at the front end, you still need to get back to it the night before your departure. That means your last day on vacation would be one of packing united kingdom facts up in Granada traveling to a hotel near the Madrid airport. You could manage a leisurely united kingdom facts morning in Granada, and take a mid-afternoon train to Madrid, arriving in the early evening and making your way to the airport, but you would probably enjoy spending that last day completely united kingdom facts in Madrid.
It is certainly an option and I have done that last night at the airport thing several times but if I can manage to get onward to my first destination easily after arriving in Europe I prefer to do it that way. Transferring from the airport directly to the train station and catching the AVE high speed train to Seville is not difficult. To get the best price you should buy your ticket in advance so a late flight and missed connection is always a possibility. Another option united kingdom facts with less risk would be to arrange a one way flight from MAD to Seville that departs about 3 hours after you arrive. No need to leave the airport then.
If you don't like the idea of doing it that way - and I know some people really don't like the thought of missing a connection booked separately - then you should consider going to Granada after an initial stay in Madrid before proceeding to Seville because it will be much faster and easier (more departures available and several united kingdom facts hours less travel) to get back to Madrid on your penultimate day from Seville than it will from Granada. You could stay in Seville until 5 pm, catch a train to Madrid arriving at about 7:30, hit your hotel by 8:30 and then catch a last late dinner.
Personally, more than one night in Granada is not necessary. We got up in the morning and drove (from Seville) united kingdom facts to Granada, visited the Cathedral and Capilla Real and the nearby markets. united kingdom facts The next morning, went to the Alhambra for many hours. Truly a worthwhile visit, one of the most beautiful and impressive places I've ever seen. Be sure to go not only into the fortress/palace but also to the nearby gardens for great shots of the entire city!
Seville is extremely difficult to drive around (not even the locals do it, if they can avoid it!) so if you are going to drive, make sure you've got good directions to your hotel and a space to park because you're not going to want to drive around the city. Truly the best way to experience it is on foot or on bike anyway, so you're not missing much. Yes a day trip from Cordoba is doable and well worth it, but if you're concerned about a time crunch, there's united kingdom facts no need to spend a night. In fact, you can book a (for example, united kingdom facts I have not looked at the bus schedules in a few days) 11 am train from Seville to Cordoba, spend 5 hours in Cordoba at the mosque and exploring a little, then take a train at 8 pm on to Madrid, and relax with some tapas on your last night. You could also spend less time in Cordoba and get to Madrid earlier if there was one last thing you needed to do or see!
5 to 6 days, or is that nights, to spread between 3 cities in Andalucia doesn't allow you much time to enjoy the experience, unless you're like some people who only cruise through destinations. Sevilla would be difficult to enjoy with less than three days.
" Luggage lockers available in bus station not train station." There is a new left luggage facility located across the street from the Cordoba train station, but the bus station may be just a convenient, but I would not end my trip with a stop-over in Cordoba, united kingdom facts especially on a warm day.
Personally I did not find, in the three times I was there, Granada overall to be the nice a city - a big sprawling polluted united kingdom facts city with less overall romance than either Seville or Cordoba - I found very little to make me linger but every city has something - I think there is more more in Seville and Cordoba - Granada after those two was a bit of a let down - OK nice enough cathedral as in any Spanish city.
I did that as I was traveling alone and renting a car for a 7-10 day trip was just too much of a hassle. I wnated to see a lot in the cities, anyway. So I visited Cordoba by train and Jerez de Frontera by bus from Seville.
I'm also in the camp of starting in Andalucia and ending in Madrid, that's what I did on that trip, actually. I really like being in the city with the shortest flight home at the end of my trip, one that is nonstop, if possible. I would never go back to Madrid from Seville just to fly home, that's wasted time IMO. Why are you doing that? Seville has an airport and lots of flights. I flew into Seville from the US with only one stop, in London. Lots of flights to London from the US.