Good morning,
I would appreciate advice on the route we will take to visit towns outside of Madrid
Pick up a car after we visit Madrid for 4 days
We want to drive to ... And may spend the night in each place ( what do you think?)
Segovia
Salamana
Toledo
Then return the car to Madrid and take the train to Barcelona continue our visit there and fly back to USA
Your views? what would you do ?
Thank you
Pat
We went to Segovia when we arrived and then went farther north into the mountains near Rascafria, beautiful area. Later we went to Toledo, not as big a favorite for us as these first two places. Salamanca? Do you mean Salamanca??
Are you sure you want to drive? All of your selected cities are connected by rail and bus and those services are cheap and good and then you avoid looking for parking or staying out of limited traffic zones. You said you may just be going for the day or one night so public transportation seems like the better choice to me. How comfortable are you driving in another country? If you are set on renting a car, the roads and highways in Spain are good. I have not driven myself, but I have a very close Spanish friend I often visit and have travelled to many places in Spain with her by car, including your three mentioned cities.
If you are just planning to visit those cities then I suggest public transportation but if you like to meander and explore along the way then use the car. Speaking of exploring: if you have the car and extra days to explore, nearby to Segovia is La Granja de San Ildefonso. It is a beautiful royal palace site. And again, with a car, about 40 minutes outside of Toledo is Consuegra, famous for its windmills and castle on the hill overlooking the plains below. Very picturesque. There are lots of great options to visit from Madrid. Toledo is one of my favorites. The cathedral there is outstanding. How many days do you have in all for your trip? Are you sure you want to combine or have enough time to combine Madrid and Barcelona? Would it be better to focus on one area and save the other for a future trip? If days are limited then maybe consider fewer daytrips. Enjoy your trip!
Just confirming--are you already booked to return from Barcelona?
I would check the train schedules first, but since you often have to make round trips from Madrid to surrounding cities via train, it might very well make better sense to drive Segovia-Salamanca-Toledo. It would be better if you had more time so you could explore Extremedura by car, for example, but this gives you a taste and might inspire a future trip. From Salamanca south to Caceres is especially pretty.
You don’t state how long the road trip will be. I would recommend spending a night in each town if driving. You can make a loop to visit the towns and it really doesn’t matter which way you go, clockwise or counterclockwise. Assuming you pick up the car at the airport I’d visit Toledo, followed by Salamanca, and end up in Segovia. That would put you north of the airport for an easier return. There are some toll roads in that area, especially from Segovia back to Madrid. We avoided all of them on a recent trip by taking back roads but we weren’t on a tight schedule. Between Salamanca and Segovia you pretty much must pass by Ávila, so consider making a short stop to see the walls. Near Segovia is Coca castle if you like castles. En route back to Madrid is another castle, Castillo Manzanares el Real.
Google maps should give you no toll options if you use it. Gas (E95) was running about 1.85€ per liter ($6.80 a gallon at today’s exchange rate.)
In Toledo we stayed at Hotel María Cristina outside the historic center since it has its own parking garage. There is free parking in Toledo along Paseo de la Basílica. It’s on the side of town near the Roman Circus ruins.
These suggestions are wonderful Just wonderful !
We were going to spend the night in each town
Segovia
Salamanca
Toledo
I think we wanted to drive to make it easier to stop if we see something interesting or just have that freedom. We have driven in Italy and France ( Normandy area) dropped the cars off in he city.
Sometimes I think I am all over the place but
We want to see Madrid , leave the city. head for towns, then get a fast train to Barcelona 4 days ( one day in Monserrat)
Keep the advice coming
Pat
I like Nick's suggestion because I really hated driving to and from Barajas. The surcharge would have to be in the hundreds for me to avoid doing that!
I don't really like doing one night stays in rapid succession, but I don't like a lot of back and forth on a train either, so I think you have the best option.
