6 days in Andalucia

Hello travellers!

I will have 6 days in Andalucia at the end of March, and was wondering if you could help me with the details.

The plan is:
- Sun: Arrive in Cordoba by train around 11 a.m. Leave bags at railway station (?) and visit mezquita. Take evening train to Seville. Sleep in Seville.
- Mon: Seville, sleep Seville.
- Tues: Seville-Ronda, sleep Ronda.
- Wed: Ronda-Granada, sleep Granada.
- Thur: Granada, sleep Granada.
- Fri: Granada - Madrid.

We will move about by train / bus I guess (it seems quite pricey to hire a car unless you return it to the place you hired it). Is it even possible to make a stop-off in Ubeda / Baeza on the way from Granada to Madrid without a car?

Will we find places to leave our bags in Cordoba and (if we stop there) Ubeda / Baeza?

Is the time (1 day 2 nights) in Seville too short? Should we spend an extra night there and have only one night in Granada?

Should we book ahead the bus from Granada to Madrid?

Thanks heaps!
S

Some, for what I would consider a fast paced itinerary.

'Will we find places to leave our bags in Cordoba' - yes, in the bus station opposite the train station, about 100 lockers.

'and Ubeda/Baeza' - very unlikely there is anywhere dedicated. You may wish to trust an accommodation or a bar owner for a consideration, but I doubt you have time to do either justice - there is no journey Granada to Madrid less than four and half hours, (how much are you carrying for six days!?)

'Should we book ahead the bus from Granada to Madrid?' - if you are arriving in Granada by bus, purchase when you arrive will be soon enough. Note, there are three direct trains a day Ronda to Granada, the bus journeys available are indirect and more time consuming (if I recall correctly). Also the train station in Granada is central, the bus station is not. Also, therefore consider train journey Granada to Madrid.

This is one bus company you need - http://www.alsa.es/portal/site/Alsa
Train - http://www.renfe.com/

Thanks. Unfortunately there are only two trains per day from Granada to Madrid (one around 9 a.m. and the other in the evening), so it looks like it'll have to be the bus.

How much are we carrying for 6 days? Hopefully not too much, but I do realise that it's an ambitious itinerary in an unfortunately short space of time...

Your itinerary seems very rushed for me but I'm not you, you can have a different travel style.

Is the time (1 day 2 nights) in Seville too short? Should we spend an extra night there and have only one night in Granada?

We can't answer your question without knowing what do you want to make/visit at each location or what are your interests.

Is it even possible to make a stop-off in Ubeda / Baeza on the way from Granada to Madrid without a car?

Yes, it's possible. Take the first bus from Granada to Úbeda or Baeza and the last train from Linares-Baeza to Madrid... How many things you'll be able to visit in that amount of time in another question.

Should we book ahead the bus from Granada to Madrid?

Book it a few days before your departure to play it safe.

Thanks everyone - your comments have been very helpful.

What are our interests? I think no different from anyone else who goes to Andalucia: beautiful buildings, beautiful countryside...

I have three more questions.

1. Cordoba - Sevilla

Can we leave our bags for the afternoon at the Cordoba train station, or only the bus station? If it's only at the bus station. Are the Cordoba bus station and train station close together? Does the bus from Cordoba to Sevilla take much longer than the train? Which bus companies do this route?

1. Ronda villages

We'll probably hire a car in Sevilla, drive through Ronda (where we'll spend the night) and leave it in Granada. Are there many other nice villages to see along the way? Is there any particular scenic route? How much time would the Ronda - Granada leg take, if we stop off along the way? As we're unfortunately so pressed for time, we'll have very little time in Granada before having to head back to Madrid, so any more time spent in the Ronda area will cut down our time in Granada.

1. Granada - Madrid

One option would be to keep the car and drive it back to Madrid, stopping in Ubeda / Baeza. (Ideally, we'd leave the car somewhere along the way and continue with bus / train, but it doesn't seem possible...) Is it a nice (and easy) drive? How much is it likely to cost in petrol and motorway tolls?

Thanks!

1. Only the bus station for your bags, as I said at #1 - 'opposite' meaning 20 metres entrance to entrance.
   The bus journey Cordoba to Seville is with http://www.alsa.es/portal/site/Alsa - you can now compare

thanks Anne Mariet (sorry, i didn't read your post carefully enough)

45 mins for the train, 1 hour 45 mins for the bus (no contest: I'll book the train)

how much time will I want in Cordoba? we arrive around 11 a.m.