5 Days: Seville and Andalusia
Five days adds Ronda’s gorge to the Cordoba, Italica and Granada spine, a day trip with no useful direct train, worth the bus only once you have days to spare. Tighter on time? The 4-day version stops at Granada. Got a sixth day? The 6-day plan adds Cadiz as a slower reward day.
Book these before you go
- Granada’s Alhambra, Nasrid Palaces slot required, sells out weeks to months ahead: book via tickets.alhambra-patronato.es
- Real Alcazar timed entry, if you’re also seeing the city itself: book via alcazarsevilla.org
- Santa Cruz or Triana hotel: check rates on Booking.com
- A Ronda day tour, since the return bus schedule is the hard part to plan solo: browse tours on Viator
Day 1: Land in Seville, get oriented
Seville Airport (SVQ) sits about 10km northeast of downtown; the EA bus runs to the centre in 35-46 minutes for EUR4-5, a taxi is a fixed EUR25-30 fare, 20-25 minutes. Check into a hotel near Santa Cruz, Triana or El Arenal and spend the evening on the river rather than front-loading sightseeing: walk the Puente de Isabel II into Triana as the light drops, and have dinner at a bar rather than a sit-down restaurant. If you’re also planning the Real Alcazar in the city itself, book it now, peak-season timed slots sell out days to weeks ahead and there’s no walk-up option.
Day 2: Cordoba and the Mezquita
Santa Justa station puts Cordoba 40-45 minutes away by AVE, dozens of trains a day, fares from roughly EUR10-25 depending on how far ahead you book. Get the early train: the Mezquita-Catedral is free Monday to Saturday 8:30-9:30am (no groups admitted), arrive by 8:15 to queue, otherwise adult entry is EUR15 (hours and prices ). Spend the rest of the morning in the Juderia’s whitewashed lanes before an early-afternoon train back to Seville.
Day 3: Italica, then a free afternoon
Italica is the shortest day trip on this whole list: 15-20 minutes by car or about 30 minutes by bus toward Santiponce. It’s one of the Iberian Peninsula’s earliest Roman cities, birthplace of Trajan and Hadrian, with one of the empire’s largest surviving amphitheatres; entry is free for EU citizens, roughly EUR1.50 for everyone else at most sources (verify on site). It’s a half-day outing, so use the afternoon back in Seville for whatever day one’s evening didn’t cover, rather than treating today as two half-planned things.
Day 4: Granada and the Alhambra
Granada is 250km southeast, 2h35-3h by direct train or about 3h by ALSA bus (EUR14-27), roughly 2.5 hours if you drive instead; this is the one day on the whole trip that wants an early start and a late return, not a half-measure. The Alhambra needs a booked timed slot for the Nasrid Palaces (general admission EUR21, EUR22.27 online) chosen at the moment of purchase; peak-season dates sell out weeks to months ahead, so this is the one booking on this trip you cannot leave until you land. A guided Alhambra day trip holding a pre-reserved ticket block is the fallback once general release is gone.
Day 5: Ronda and the Tajo gorge
Ronda has no useful direct train, rail via Antequera runs about 3h50, technically possible and not worth it, so take the Damas bus (roughly 2h15) or drive (1h40). The payoff is the 120-metre El Tajo gorge spanned by the Puente Nuevo, plus Spain’s oldest bullring, the Real Maestranza (EUR9-12 with the museum). A Ronda day tour from Seville handles the bus timing if you’d rather not plan your whole day around a single return departure.
How far ahead should you book the Alhambra?
Weeks to months ahead, not a few days before. General admission runs EUR21 (EUR22.27 booked online), and every ticket carries a mandatory timed slot for the Nasrid Palaces; only 6,600 tickets are sold each day, and peak-season dates sell out as much as 90 days out. Book directly through tickets.alhambra-patronato.es , never a reseller, the official site is routinely undercut in price by markup sites that outrank it in search.
Can you reach Ronda by train from Seville?
Not usefully. The rail route runs via Antequera and takes about 3h50, which turns a day trip into most of a day spent on trains alone. The Damas bus (roughly 2h15 direct) or a rental car (1h40) both beat the train by a wide margin, so plan around one of those instead of assuming Spain’s excellent rail network covers this route too.
The distances, side by side
| Day trip | Distance from Seville | Train or bus time | What it costs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cordoba (Mezquita) | ~140km | AVE ~40-45 min | Train ~EUR10-25; Mezquita EUR15 (free Mon-Sat 8:30-9:30am) |
| Granada (Alhambra) | ~250km | Train ~2h35-3h, or bus ~3h | Train/bus ~EUR14-27; Alhambra EUR21-22.27, book weeks-months ahead |
| Cadiz | ~99km | Direct train ~1h25-1h40 | Frequent service, fares vary by how far ahead you book |
| Ronda | ~100-130km | Bus ~2h15 (no useful direct train) | Bus fare plus Real Maestranza bullring EUR9-12 |
| Jerez de la Frontera | ~90km | Train or bus ~1h | Bodega tours and tastings bookable same-day |
| Italica | ~10km | Drive 15-20 min, or bus ~30 min | Free (EU) / ~EUR1.50 (non-EU), verify on site |
| Pueblos blancos (Arcos) | ~90km, ~1h20 drive | Self-drive or organized tour (public bus is sparse) | Car rental or tour cost varies |
Book the Ronda bus seat and the Alhambra slot in the same sitting; both are the two bookings on this trip with a real chance of falling through if you leave them for later.