Day trip to Segovia from Madrid

In the Fall of 2013, we had a weeklong apartment rental in Madrid but skipped one night so we could stay the night in Segovia. That allowed us to have a roast piglet dinner the evening we arrived, and to have the next day to see Segovia. We took an early evening bus back to Madrid the next day. Because the last bus and train of the day seemed to depart Segovia too early to let us enjoy dinner, we just couldn’t do it in a single day.

Maybe train schedules in May 2018 are different and will let you stay as long as you like, but stay as long as you can, and still get to Madrid at a time that works for you. This reply may not be specific enough to help you plan train tickets, but hope it helps.

Thank you Cyn! Rick's book says to stay also but like many people trying to do to much.

Hi. I did Segovia as a day trip in November 2017. It was quite feasible to do so - and still enjoy a roast suckling pig meal - at lunch.
I had a slightly different travel system, however. I left about 8 or 9 from Atocha station (as my apartment was close) and took the milk run train (so 2 hours instead of 1). It was very pleasant. You arrive at the alternate 'in town' station and then have to take a bus to town. I came back via the faster train with a transfer from Charmartin to Atocha. I bought the ticket upon arrival at Guiomar. I am pretty sure that was around 7pm departure.
I had time to visit the Aqueduct, Alcazar, walk the town, do a little birdwatching. I most likely visited the Cathedral, but they are now all a blur in my mind ;-) I did the walk that went through the old Jewish quarter which took in some old architecture and avoided a lot of the tour group clusters of humanity. (that would mean taking the road to your left rather than straight ahead along the main street).
Meal was a late lunch/early dinner sort of time. I think about 4.
The only reason to buy tickets is to ensure a seat. Savings may be 1 euro.

Thanks Maria i keep hearing about the Suckling Pig Dinner maybe we will have to get it!

I did this exact day trip last summer. I took the 8:00AM train from Charmartin to the AVE station in Segovia. Returned to Madrid on the 6:22PM train from Guiomar. I found that I had plenty of time to see all the sights in Segovia. It's not a very big town, so you should be able to take your time and focus on your priorities. It was a very easy trip, including the bus from Guiomar to the town center. Let me know if you have any more specific questions. Happy to help!!

If you go for suckling pig, go with a real hunger. Servings are large. Because it is so popular, they serve it as a menu del dia with generous midday hours. My first choice was jammed with locals and wouldn't contemplate my 'table for one'. I ended up at Casa Vincente. It seems to get reviews on either extreme of the scale. However, I enjoyed it very much. It was busy and there was a wait, but they gauged the wait time quite well when I told them how long I had before I had to head to the train station.

It is certainly not priced as the normal 10 - 15E menu del Dia of Madrid, but there is a number of local dishes including ponche segoviano which I just drooled over. They are also very generous with their wine. It isn't a glass with the meal, it is a pitcher. Smaller pitcher for uno person....but more than I can drink mid day. I was lucky and got staff that were friendly, but no time to chit chat...all about business. It is difficult as a tourist to get in and out particularly on a weekend when large families or local groups are having a leisurely meal....but I would still recommend it.