College student safe to travel alone in Madrid

It is safe for someone college age to travel alone Madrid to Granada. All passengers go through the metal detector and all bags are xrayed before you can get to the boarding gate at Madrid Atocha station, if that helps.

You have to fly Barcelona to Granada not unless you drive. The two are not well connected by rail. You could go to Malaga on a day trip decide when that when you get to Granada.

To emphasize what Jazz said, to get to Granada by train, you have to change trains and the total train ride is nearly 7 hours. Flying will take significantly less time, even factoring in the extra time to/from airports and lead time at the airport. And to correct what she wrote - driving will take even longer than the train. Google estimates 8.5 hours and they are usually underestimating, and that doesn't include pit stops.

Hello,

I think if your son is studying abroad in a foreign country, he will be more then able to travel on his own. What a great idea to visit him and spend some time in Spain. My suggestion for YES/NO Malaga would be: why not go to Granada first. You don't have to reserve anything beforehand. If you decide to go to Malaga, I believe the bus is the best option. 2 hours if I am not mistaken.
Me personally, I like Granada better than Malaga... :-)

You don't have a lot of time considering the amount of ground you are intending to cover, so I would skip Malaga/Nerja.

The fastest way to travel between Madrid and Barcelona, by far, is to take the AVE train, given that you will be starting from the center of Madrid rather than traveling on to Barcelona the same day you fly to Spain.

You may be able to save considerable money on your train tickets by buying them now, but be absolutely certain your itinerary is locked down, because the lowest-cost promo tickets are non-refundable and non-changeable.

Investigate Alhambra tickets right away if you haven't already bought them. They sell out months in advance.

I think this is safer than when he drives from your home back and forth to college. Just about any form of mass transportation is safer than driving.

Thanks for the suggestions, we will fly to Granada and spend an extra day there rather than try to fit in Malaga. Are the two days in Sevilla are enough to really enjoy the town?

Could you muster the energy to press on to Barcelona on arrival day? That consolidates a little. Two days is slight for Sevilla, even though I like Cordoba and Malaga for that matter more, but it just depends on your own list of things to see. Skipping Malaga/Nerja gives you another day for Sevilla. Some would see Cordoba as a day trip, but I found it magical at night so even though I don't like two night stays generally, I can't say to skip the overnights there.
You could save Madrid since it is the easiest place to return to, but perhaps your son would like to show you around a bit.

I agree with the others. It’s safe for your son to travel to Granada via bus or train.

You’ve made a good decision to skip Málaga.
Consider giving Sevilla the extra day.

Have you booked your Alhambra tickets yet?
If not, you really need to do so ASAP.

I just checked the Alhambra website and there are a handful of tickets available for 9/29 but they will soon disappear.

If you can’t get the Alhambra General tickets, consider booking the Dobla de Oro General tickets NOW, before they sell out- there are very few tickets available for your dates.

Enjoy your trip!

The tickets for Alhambra sold out quickly for the last few days of September, but we were able to book for 9/29 on Day 8. My revised itinerary still allows us to spend time with our son in Madrid on our last days in Spain. I have to remember that's the real reason for the trip in the first place!

It's good to hear that you were able to get your Alhambra tickets.
Many travelers are not aware that these tickets need to be booked way in advance; usually 3 months in advance!

Make sure you also book tickets for many of the main attractions in Barcelona : )

Enjoy your time visiting your son in beautiful Spain!