Andalusia for 8 days in August by train

It is a nice Itinerary Jenny. I was going to mentioned malaga as a day trip from Granada but since you mentioned there will be a huge Brit invasion coming there in August, may i suggest the beach town of Nerja in the Costa del sol as a day trip from Granada to avoid the large tourist crowds in Malaga. It's less than an hour from there by bus. Overall, the itinerary look solid. It would have been nice to stay overnight in Cordoba but you only have 8 days.

https://getbybus.com/en/bus-granada-to-nerja

Please please please, consider visiting another part of Spain in August, Andalucia is notorious for being deadly hot, especially in August - (40+ C / 100+ F)!!!! This year's summer is guaranteed to have a number of heat waves, I doubt you will be able to do much sightseeing in daylight hours.

Please consider somewhere in the North, aka Green Spain, the Basque Country should be fine in August, or even Catalonia (Barcelona) would be a much better option than Andalucia in mid-August.

Carlos i think Jenny already booked her flight. I agreed with you it will be steamy hot in Andalusia during that time of year but what can you do, she has her heart set on visiting those cities in Andalusia. Let's just support her.

RJean, the only thing confirmed are the air tickets for that round trip from Madrid. One could easily take the high-speed train to Barcelona or Galicia in the north from Madrid, just as easy as taking the train down south to Andalucia.

As for support, I see not better support than my honest opinion based on personal experience. I think it would be unfair to sugar coat things, especially Andalucia in August. I think you will find Northern Spain just as interesting and varied as the south, and with much less tourists.

It will be hot. I have been to Andalusia or neighboring Murcia in summer many times: think "who left the hairdryer on" hot. But it's a dry heat (doesn't make it less hot, but makes it less dangerous if you stay hydrated), night temps are cooler, and somehow hundreds of thousands of people live there. Pack a hat, a refillable water bottle, and some common sense (think "siesta" or "long lunch inside"), and if Andalucía is where you want to go, you'll make it through.

With that in mind, daytrips aren't great. Do plan on spending a night in Córdoba, and maybe in Toledo before your flight, skipping scorching Madrid entirely? It's close enough to the airport for a 12pm flight, be it by train or by taxi (100-120€, steep but not outright crazy).

As mentioned, you could look at the north for bearable temps, but 1000s of others are I Andalucia at this time, so do what you can tolerate. As to plan, I would suggest visiting Cordoba on the way to Seville and consider staying overnight. You still have to get to Granada. So I wouldn't plan a Malaga daytrip.
There are some Alhambra tickets left, but you need to buy those online asap....and they might define whether you go to Granada at all or Malaga instead

I agree with you Carlos. You're from Spain so you're a climate expert in that region. Hopefully when Jenny reads the posting, she will take your advice and head to Basque country or Galicia. Since she is also seeking a beach excursion on her trip, San Sebastian in Basque region has a beautiful beach to meet her needs..

In the end, it is up to the OP to decided their final itinerary, I only wish they strongly consider the alternatives (i.e Northern Spain), especially when the weather is such a concern. Remember actually living in Andalucia and being a tourist in Andalucia are two different things, locals are not running around during all the day, trying to see as much as they can in 8 days.

I believe that you have to go through Cordoba to go from Sevilla to Granada by train. Therefore maybe stop in Cordoba for the day on the Sevilla-Granada travel day, which will save the back and forth. I actually prefer the Mezquita in Cordoba to the Alhambra in Granada, but two days in Granada will barely scratch the surface.. A day trip to Toledo makes sense, but it only takes 30 minutes or so to get back to Madrid from Toledo so why not stay the evening/night which is lovely there, and there are great restaurants. RS has really good recommendations there.

You can check out various possibilities at:
http://www.renfe.com/EN/viajeros/index.html

Thank you so much, everyone! You all have been incredibly helpful. I understand that it will be miserably hot, but I am hoping that my fascination with this region will overshadow the heat. I'm taking most people's advice and adding an overnight stay in Córdoba, and forgoing Málaga since a beach is low on my list of priorities.

It is hard to tell the best route from Sevilla to Granada. The new high speed train is active these past 3 weeks. The map shows the construction was via antequerra, but some random searches on Renfe train line show routes through Cordoba. I visited enroute from Sevilla to Madrid, so I know it is on that routing.
If you decide to take the comfortable bus, it definitely does not go through Cordoba.

Jenny,

I think you’ve made a good choice in spending an overnight in Córdoba (one of my favorite cities in Spain)

I’d suggest taking the train to Córdoba on day of arrival then continuing on to Granada, then to Sevilla.
The main reason I suggest this route is to avoid the long trek from Granada to Madrid. We took the ALSA bus from Córdoba to Granada then from Granada to Sevilla. The bus schedule offers more time options than the train.

You must also book your Alhambra tickets NOW if you’ve not done so already. I just checked the Alhambra website and most of August is already sold out. There are very few tickets available at the end of the month.

If you cannot get the ‘Alhambra General’ ticket, do consider getting the ’Dobla de Oro General Ticket’.

Enjoy your trip and let us know how it all turned out for you!

For those planning a holiday based on weather, then please consider humidity as much as temperature. I'd much rather spend a few days in Granada in August compared to Barcelona. Granada's average high temperature will likely be higher, but it should be dry, whilst Barcelona's humidity could well be oppressive - you're more likely to feel like a damp rag in Barcelona than in Granada (or Seville).

Nevertheless, the sun will be beating down in Andalucia and it's wise to plan your days accordingly. For example, I wouldn't want to be in the open on the Alhambra in the afternoon - so go in early morning. Similarly, you don't want to be queuing outdoors for Seville's catedral or Alcazar, so perhaps pre-book. Have access to water and, instead of sightseeing, always take a long lunch in a shady restaurant during the real heat.

You can play around with the railway times. But for what it's worth, I'd go first to either Granada or Seville, then go to Cordoba between the two.

Malaga is great (including its many Britons; sorry about us), and there is a lot more to it than the beach. Indeed the beaches in the city are not that brilliant. I think you're confusing the city of Malaga, with the wider province of Malaga which includes the rest of the Costa del Sol where, indeed, many Britons go in August. I've noticed a lot of Americans on here don't understand the difference. Still, given your short time, I'd agree you should skip Malaga this visit.

Thanks, again! (And, sorry, Nick, don't mean to lump together all the Brits; I'm American and clearly the worst of the two). We've decided to do 3 nights in Sevilla, 1 night in Cordoba, 2 nights in Granada (unfortunately a 2pm ticket to Alhambra was all that was left), and 2 nights in Madrid with maybe a day trip to Toledo. I appreciate everyone's advice :)

Nice that your plan is coming together and you were able to get Alhambra tickets. I would like to suggest an umbrella - as a parasol. It isn't a regular North American thing, but it does work as your own mobile shade. Also don't be averse to taking a good old USofA bandana, wet it and put it around your neck for cooling.
Now that you know your Granada dates, check to see whether Cordoba fits in the train routing picture. It might be dependent on which speed train and time you want, as to whether the train from Seville to Granada goes via Cordoba or Antequera.
Enjoy.

Seeing the Alhambra at 2pm in August is better than never seeing it! I think you just need to be prepared for the sun. As well as Maria's suggestions, I'd also take water bottles with you. There is a kiosk and some water fountains. Also 2pm is presumably your entrance time for the Nasrid Palaces part of the complex. So apart from that requirement, you have time to stop and relax in the shaded parts as you visit.

I'm sure you'll have a great time there and in the rest of Andalucia.

Hi from Wisconsin,
Let me be frank. It can be ghastly in August. Make sure that every room you book has reliable AC. Andalusia typically is the warmest , and this time of year we should use the word hottest, place in Europe, which is why people go there in March.

I will be perhaps the only person in the world to say that the Alhambra just ain't that great. Maybe I have traveled too much or my expectations were too grand. I can't imagine standing in line waiting for our designated time to go in with a hundred or so souls all equally sweated up crowded together trying not to touch each other.

And the invasion of heavy drinking Brits should suggest going to a less popular beach unless....

Northern Spain is beautiful. The Europa Mountains are like Ireland on steroids. The food is fantastique. San Sebastian can be crowded, but other places along the coast are less so.

On the other hand, as the movie said, "some like it hot."

Have fun,
Wayne iNWI

Hi again,
Look at this next ten days in Cordoba. All 100+ with lows of 70+ which is an indication of hogh humidity. Really, walking around in 104 temps?

I want you to have a good trip.

Wayne iNWI

Seville is the biggie in Andalusia. Error on spending more time there. Granada is my second choice. Glad you are visiting Toledo.
Been to Malaga, I say skip it.

Hi all,
Thanks again, just wanted to update you on how the trip went:

Day 1: Fly into Madrid, train to Sevilla
Day 2-4: Sevilla
Day 4: Train to Cordoba
Day 5: Train to Granada
Days 5-7: Granada
Day 7: Train to Madrid
Day 8: Late afternoon train to Toledo, return to Madrid on last train
Day 9: Fly out of Madrid

We loved it. While Sevilla and Cordoba were very hot, the dry heat was just fine, and we just walked in the shade and took siestas from 4-6pm every day. Granada and Madrid were totally fine. We had such a wonderful time, and I can't wait to return to Spain -- maybe for Basque country next!

Jenny sounds like you had a wonderful vacation. I am glad we were able to assist you on planning it. Andalusia is truly a beautiful region of Spain. It's my favorite area in Spain. Malaga is a nice beach town and plenty to do there as well. You can go there on your next trip to Spain. Look into Northern Spain as well on your next trip, temperatures will be alot cooler then Andalusia during the summer.