I can't offer any adice on where to,stay in Cadiz but I'm not sure why just because Sevilla is a smaller airport than Malaga you would think it better to fly into Malaga. Other things being equal eg the cost of the flights, if my final destination was Cadiz I would fly into Sevilla, especially if you don't want to hire a car.

The train journey from Malaga will take in the region of 3.5 hours and as far as I know there are no direct services - you seem to always have to change in Cordoba in most instances. Whereas Seville and Cadiz are both on the same express line from Madrid and it will take less than 2 hrs - in fact the fastest journey times seem to be just over 1hr 30mins. You will need to factor in the time to get from the airport to the station but the fact that both the airport and the city are smaller than at Malaga, makes that rather painless. Just remember that there are two stations in Sevilla (Santa Justa and San Bernardo) and both have direct train services to Cadiz so make sure that you go to the one the train you are booked on leaves from.

I've flown into both Malaga and Sevilla when travelling to Andalucia and unless a flight to Malaga is from a more convenient departure airport and/or the flights are considerably cheaper, I would always choose Sevilla. A smaller airport means you are in and out in no time and a taxi into the city is not too expensive - it's a fixed fare (check with the airport website for the current rate but depending on time of day it was between €15/22) but there is a regular bus service costing less than €3 per single journey which drops off at the central train station.

http://www.sevilleairport.com/getting-to-seville-airport/seville-airport-trains.htm

Spanish trains are quick and efficient but you do usually need a reservation on the intercity expresses but these are changeable at no extra cost in my experience. From Cadiz you would be able to use the train to visit not just Seville but also Cordoba which is on the same mainline. Have a look at the details here for how to book your ticket and the way to get the best deals.

http://www.seat61.com/Spain-trains.htm#How_to_buy_train_tickets_for_Spain

SM

Thanks for that, i was considering flying into Malaga as speaking to someone from there he said it would probably be more difficult to travel on from Sevilla airport as there probably wouldnt be the same public services as its smaller, i was thinking more Sevilla myself and your information seems to make Sevilla the best option thanks very much and for the links.

Glad I could be of help. Sevilla is something of a hub for the train system in Andalucia and is on the main North/South high speed line - think of it as the Crewe of the region Whereas Malaga, being out on the coast, is on what is more like a branch line when it comes to travelling to other cities in the region. Enjoy!

http://www.map-of-spain.co.uk/large-map-of-trains-railways-andalucia.htm

SM

Thanks again that link is going to be useful for planning rail journeys around spain.