I have a 2 week trip to Spain and want to fly to Malaga and then travel to Granada (Alhambra). I then want to travel by train to Barcelona (high speed train). Would appreciate suggestions regarding how best to get Malaga to Granada. Also, is it best to return to Malaga to catch AVE train to Barcelona or Cordoba?
Ray
I do not know what you want from 'best'.
The train journey to Granada from Malaga city is longer than a bus journey and requires a change of train .
If you mean you want to go immediately from flight arrival to Granada, depending on timing you could be going direct by bus rather than going to the city first - www.alsa.es
'I then want to travel by train to Barcelona (high speed train).' and 'is it best to return to Malaga to catch AVE train to Barcelona or Cordoba?' - which, what? See for yourself on the RENFE website, but there is no complete AVE journey to either from Granada.
To add to Neil's post, buses in Spain are much nicer than buses in the US (if that's where you're posting from). So you need not worry about taking them instead of trains. As he said, they often go direct on routes that would require a change of trains, so they can be faster. So, for any proposed journey you should check buses and trains before deciding.
Train schedules and routes can be checked on Spanish Rail (RENFE) http://www.renfe.com/EN/viajeros/index.html, or you can get schedules (but not prices) for all of Europe on German Rail (Bahn): http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en. Here's Rick's tutorial on how to use it: http://www.ricksteves.com/plan/tips/db_tips.htm
For booking Spanish rail (substantial discounts if you can navigate the system and book in advance), there are tutorials on Seat 61: http://www.seat61.com/Spain-trains.htm#How_to_buy_train_tickets_for_Spain or Tripadvisor: http://tinyurl.com/cu48wk5
