Hi, I'm reaching out to those of you who might know more. My sister and I will be in Spain in April. With only 2 of us to share the rental cost/gas/parking, it's hard to know if the flexibility trade-offs are worth the extra cost.
I'm trying to fit in a side trip to Cordoba on our way to Ronda to see the La Mezquita if that wouldn't be rushing our time in Seville (Arrive there on Monday around 1:30), need to get to Ronda by Wednesday night.
Then travelling from Ronda to Tarifa on Thursday.
Then travelling from Tarifa to Granada on Saturday. We could pick up the car in Seville or Cordoba, and return it in Granada. The cost is around $260 for the car rental.
Posted by
Mid-Atlantic area
8306 posts
You need to check the public transportation options to the places you want to go. There may be no train service to some or bus schedules may not work with your timetable, but you’ll know that once you check out the options.
For the few days you’d have a rental car fuel cost will be nominal. My guess is you’d probably use a half tank at most. There are free parking lots in most cities. You may need to walk for 10 minutes to reach the historic center, but there would be no parking cost. You need to look up free lots prior to going over since most are not marked as being free. City center parking in larger cities is most in underground garage and does cost €15-€20 a day. In larger cities it will be more. If your lodging offers pay on-site parking it may be €11-€15 a day, so less expensive than a parking garage.
The rental insurance coverages you choose can add a significant amount to the car rental cost.
Posted by
OP
Vancouver, WA
45 posts
Seville to Cordoba is a 42 min train
Cordoba to Ronda is a combination of 2 trains taking 2.5-3 hours vs 2h17 min driving
Ronda to Tarifa is a combination of train & bus taking 3 hours vs 2h14min driving
Tarifa to Granada is 2 busses for 5.5 hours vs 3h18min driving.
There's the extra stress of parking, but there's the added convenience of shaving time off our trip times. Maybe I'm overthinking this?
I think our hotel in Ronda has parking in a garage provided, but our hotel in Tarifa does not.
Posted by
Mid-Atlantic area
8306 posts
Hopefully someone who has used public transportation to those places will chime in. I always get a rental car due to the places we visit.
If you look up parking, hotels, etc., that you are going to visit before your trip and bookmark them to whichever navigation app you use, you can go straight to them. That takes away much of the stress regarding parking.
Posted by
SF
93 posts
We are a group of 4, including my brother. Our dad loved to drive, but we thought we'd use the train to avoid the issues with restricted driving zones. After doing the math, our numbers really suggested the convenience of a car and savings meant we should do the whole trip by car rather than renting one after we took the train from Madrid to Cordoba. Overall, car rental prices in Spain seemed fair, and train tickets didn't seem that expensive but when you are putting 4 people in the car, the savings became substantial. I tried a variation of train/car itineraries and it seemed that Granada was the most expensive place to rent and that the train fare to Granada from Cordoba seemed the most expensive. Even acknowledging the cost of parking for longer stays in Cordoba, Granada, and Seville, we have decided to do the whole trip by car.
Like you, La Mezquita in Cordoba seemed incredible. We will also be there for the Patios celebration. Good luck with you travel planning and have a wonderful time.