Best mode of travel from Granada - Seville- Madrid

Hi there!
My family is traveling via bus from Granada to Seville in June. There is a train, but since there is construction on the line in or near Granada, taking a train involves a bus from Granada and then a switchover to a train in Antequera to continue on to Seville. The bus/train transfer is actually handled by Renfe, so it's not as complicated as it sounds, but it does mean you have to get on and off the bus and transfer yourselves and your luggage. We are a family of five, so we chose just to take the bus. It's roughly the same amount of travel time either way.

We are taking the train from Seville to Madrid. It's about 2.5 hours on the high speed train. Train schedules have not been released for my date in June (they are usually 60 days in advance, but for some reason anything after June 6th is not open yet).

I know you didn't ask about how to get from Barcelona to Granada, but we are flying.

Have a great trip!

Thanks. We are flying as well. Wish there was a better option going to Seville however. Maybe we can fly there too.

It's only a three hour bus ride from Granada to Seville. Not exactly a short jaunt, but would take less time than flying. I look at it as some nice downtime.

Thanks. I thought it was more like 4-4 1/2 hours by train. Bus is faster?

Bus or train take about the same - btw 3 hours to 3 hours 20 minutes. The bus is actually shorter.

The Supra Economy buses are no stops, three hours. Leather seats, toilets, Ac and wifi....train does not have wifi. Www dot alsa dot es then choose english and your June date. There are economy and supra buses....11-20 stops, or none. I'll be taking the bus come October.

John,

My mom and I took the ALSA Bus from Granada to Sevilla in October 2015.
It was easy. We had our hotel arrange a taxi to take us to the bus station (paid €8- €10), took the bus which was comfortable. My mom took a nap while I wrote in my travel journal and enjoyed the scenery. When we arrived to Sevilla, we took a taxi to our hotel.

We purchased our bus tickets at the bus station days in advance (when staying in Córdoba) but you you can certainly book them online prior to your trip.

Don't forget to book your Alhambra tickets 3 months in advance for best time selection!

Have a wonderful trip!

One night in Seville does not make it worth it.

David, you're right!

One day in Sevilla (how did I miss that?) is definitely not enough, you need at least three days.

I know one night is not enough but I want to smell the oranges, have a nice dinner, & visit the Alcazar before heading back to Madrid. So if we get there early afternoon, I think we can do that.

I mean visit the Alcazar the next day before heading back to Madrid.

John, what are the full details of your overall trip ?
Looking at train departures to maximimize your time should you choose a single night stay. An early departure from Granada could give you approx 30 hours in Sevilla.

TRN13941
Dep 08:43 GRANADA (Spain)
Arr 12:07 SEVILLA-SANTA JUSTA (Spain)

AVE 2171
Dep 17:45 SEVILLA-SANTA JUSTA (Spain)
Arr 20:15 MADRID-PUERTA DE ATOCHA (Spain)

Thanks for the detail. I will definitely look that up. Our trip starts in Madrid, 3 nights, fly to Barcelona, 3 nights, fly to Granada 1 night, train to Seville, 1 night, train to Madrid 1 night & home.

John,

Is this a typo or do you really intend to fly from Madrid to Barcelona?

Our trip starts in Madrid, 3 nights, fly to Barcelona, 3 nights

You may consider traveling to Barcelona via AVE ( high speed) train (travel time is 2.5 hours) instead of flying there from Madrid.

Keep in mind that the Barcelona airport is located on the outskirts of the city whereas the train station is near the city center.

Enjoy your trip!

Already booked the flight.

John,

I presume you weren't aware of the high speed trains that travel this route?

For future reference, you may consider booking "multi-city" flight tickets, where you fly into one city, and depart from a different city, and thus avoiding backtracking.

Yes, I am aware of the high speed trains but made a decision to fly. I don't there is a Seville to JFK non-stop flight so that's why we are going back to Madrid. Overall, I'm happy with the itinerary. Would have liked more time in each of the stops but couldn't be away longer.

Still unsure about mode of travel from Granada to Seville. Bus or train, train or bus....Aieeeee!

I am in a similar quandary and thought to look and see where the stations are for the train and the bus leaving Granada. I had sort of decided on bus as it means no in between luggage handling; however from what I can gather, the train station is more central in Granada.

Well, I finally read Rick's page. Train station is approx 7 euro taxi ride, bus station is an 8 euro taxi ride. Alsa bus website - I just chose a date - Sept 18th. depart Granada at 8am arrive Seville 11 am - supra economy (so the bells and whistles I mentioned previously) just under 30 Euro. Leave at 10 am arrive 1pm, on normal bus (no bells and whistles), 5.25 euro for no changes or cancellations. Neither have any stops.
They seem to alternate about every 2 hours between supra economy and normal buses throughout the day.

Hi John,

What I meant is that you could have flown directly to Barcelona and out of Madrid.

Anyway...

Still unsure about mode of travel from Granada to Seville. Bus or train, train or bus....Aieeeee!

Here are the reasons why I chose to travel from Granada to Sevilla on the ALSA bus:

• There are more time options for the bus than for the train.
• To avoid transferring from bus to train at Antequera Santa Ana train station.

Given you are set with your plans, how does your Alhambra visit fit in? Day 7 or 8 ??

Day
01. Arrive Madrid
02. Madrid
03. Day to Toledo
04. Fly to Barcelona
05. Barcelona
06. Barcelona
07. Fly to Granada
08. Alhambra?? Train to Sevilla
09. Sevilla. Train to Madrid
10. Depart Madrid