Seville Base: 6 Days in Andalusia

Six days builds on the 5-day version , adding Jerez as a sixth day trip and forcing an actual choice between sherry and horses. Everything through day five stays the same; this is the spine with one more stop bolted on. The 7-day version adds the final piece, the pueblos blancos.

Book these before you go

Day Focus Distance/time from Santa Justa Cost
Day 1 Cordoba, the Mezquita AVE ~40-45 min ~18-50 euros incl. entry
Day 2 Granada, the Alhambra Train ~2h35-3h ~50-76 euros incl. entry
Day 3 Italica, Roman ruins Bus ~30 min Free (EU) / ~1.50 euros non-EU
Day 4 Cadiz, old town and beach Train ~1h25-1h40 ~20-35 euros
Day 5 Ronda, the gorge Bus ~2h15 or drive ~1h40 ~30-58 euros incl. bullring
Day 6 Jerez, sherry bodega Train/bus ~1h ~10-25 euros

Day 1: Cordoba and the free hour at the Mezquita

Catch an early AVE from Sevilla Santa Justa; the roughly 140km run takes 40-45 minutes, with dozens of trains a day and fares from around 9-10 euros booked ahead, according to Renfe’s timetable . The reason to go early: the Mezquita-Catedral is free Monday through Saturday from 8:30 to 9:30am, no groups admitted, against a standard ticket of about 13 euros the rest of the day. Arrive by 8:15 to queue. It is the single best free-and-crowd-free move in the whole region. Spend what is left of the day in the Juderia and around the Roman bridge before the train back.

Day 2: Granada and the Alhambra

Granada sits about 250km out, roughly 2h35 to 3 hours by direct train. The Alhambra’s general ticket runs around 21 euros, 22.27 euros online with the booking fee, and comes with a mandatory timed slot for the Nasrid Palaces chosen at purchase. Book only through the official Patronato site ; resellers rank well in search and charge more for a ticket that sells out fine on its own. Missed the window? A guided Alhambra day trip from Seville usually holds a block of pre-reserved tickets as a fallback. Give the whole day to this one; it earns the travel time on its own.

Day 3: Italica, the Roman city everyone skips for the cathedral

Fifteen to twenty minutes by car, or about 30 minutes by bus toward Santiponce, sits Italica, one of the earliest Roman cities on the Iberian peninsula and the birthplace of emperors Trajan and Hadrian. Its amphitheatre held around 25,000 spectators, bigger than most Roman arenas still standing anywhere. Entry is free for EU citizens and about 1.50 euros otherwise, per the official Italica site ; it is closed Mondays. After two full days of timed tickets and early trains, half a day here, with nothing to book and no queue to manage, is close to a rest day.

Day 4: Cadiz, Spain’s self-declared carnival capital

Cadiz is about 99km away, and a direct train covers it in 1h25-1h40 with frequent departures, no advance booking needed. It is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in Western Europe, an old town wrapped around a narrow peninsula with beaches a short walk from the station. It also calls itself Spain’s carnival capital, its February Carnaval famous for chirigotas, satirical singing troupes that roast local politicians in verse; outside carnival season the same irreverence shows up in the street art and the unfussy seafood shacks along the seafront. No headline ticket to manage here; walk the old town, sit on the beach, eat fried fish, head back.

Day 5: Ronda, the gorge with no useful train

Ronda sits 100-130km out depending on the route, and the rail option, via Antequera at about 3h50, is too slow to bother with. A direct bus, Damas, roughly 2h15, or a 1h40 drive is how everyone actually gets there. The payoff is the El Tajo gorge, a 120-meter drop spanned by the Puente Nuevo, plus Spain’s oldest bullring, the Real Maestranza , which runs about 9-10 euros with its museum. Skip the crush at the main bridge viewpoint and walk down toward the old Arab baths near the river instead.

Day 6: Jerez, pick sherry over the horses

Jerez de la Frontera is about 90km away, roughly an hour by train or bus. It offers two headline options, a working sherry bodega tour and tasting or the Royal Andalusian School of Equestrian Art’s dancing-horses show, traditionally held Tuesday and Thursday, though it is worth confirming the current weekly schedule before building a day around it. Pick the bodega. A solera-system tasting, where sherry is blended across barrels stacked by age rather than vintage, teaches you something specific that the horses do not, and same-day bodega visits are easy to arrange once you are there. Trying to fit both plus a stop in Cadiz into one day is how this day trip falls apart.

Should you pick the sherry bodega or the horse show in Jerez?

The bodega, unless you already know you want the horses. A solera-system tasting is specific to Jerez and teaches you how the sherry in your glass got there; the horse show is a genuinely impressive spectacle but is not unique to this town. Pick one and commit, since Jerez does not reward trying to do both properly in a single day.

Is six days too many day trips in a row?

For most people, yes, which is exactly why Jerez, the lowest-stakes day on this list, sits at the end. It has no fixed ticket and no sell-out risk, so it is the easiest day to shorten into a half-day or skip for a lie-in if five straight early starts have caught up with you.

Buy the Alhambra ticket the day you book your flights. Every other day trip here, Jerez included, can be decided from your hotel room the night before.