easiest was to get from Madrid airport to Toledo, and train advice

In guidebook it says to take C1- Atoche then train to Toledo. Is this still the best current advice?

That guidebook advice is correct.

Also, I am confused which train website is best for tickets from Madrid -Barcelona, and if in fact the AVE does include a free "commuter" ticket that you can use to Toledo.

You can use http://www.renfe.com/

or

https://www.thetrainline.com/?redirected=true

The latter is more user friendly.

Yes, you can take the C-1 or C-10 Cercanías (commuter train) from the Barajas Madrid Airport (Terminal 4) to Puerta de Atocha train station.

You will need to get train tickets from Madrid to Toledo, and these can be purchased at the airport upon your arrival.

If you’d be taking the AVE train from Madrid to Barcelona on day of arrival, then the Cercanías train from the airport to Atocha would be free.

The Cercanías ticket is only €2.60 pp.

Enjoy your trip!

The Atocha train station can be a little confusing. Just asked at the Info kiosk, or we asked a security person and headed down to the correct location. There were some comfy chairs to wait for the train to Toledo.

Lately, trainline is adding a small service fee to some transactions. Regarding the Cercanías ticket, I got the Cercanías ticket included when I purchased my ticket to Sevilla at the airport from Renfre. The Cercanías ticket covers the trip from the airport to Atocha (or whatever Madrid station you need to get to to go to (Barcelona, Toledo, etc.) When the tickets were purchased from loco2 or trainline, the Cercanías ticket was apparently not included, and I had to buy one from the Renfre machine. I asked in the RENFRE office about this and she said my observation was correct. I think if you have to purchase, Cercanías tickets are about 2.5 euro when from or to the airport and about 1.2 euro from a Madrid metro station to the various train stations (Chamartin, Atocha, etc.) I have found loco2 very easy to use and since I've noticed the service fee from trainline that they don't seem to disclose, I will be using loco2 in countries where I find the country specific rail website to be user surly.

The ticket-buying process at Atocha Station can be confusing, so I agree that it is best to buy the Madrid-Toledo ticket at the airport train station. The sales agent should know how much time to allow before scheduled departure, but if you want to stop for something like buying food and prefer not to be rushed, you might ask for a later departure.

There is a ticket office opposite the entrance to the cercanias (suburban/commuter) train to Madrid. You should buy your tickets to Toledo there. The agent will give you the next available train that you can connect to. They will also give you the free tickets to get on the C-1. After you go through customs, follow the signs that have a picture of the train and/or say Renfe.

I always use the official Renfe site to buy tickets. I've had trouble using a credit card, but Paypal works fine. Are you going from Toledo to Barcelona via Madrid or staying in Madrid? If the former, allow at least 30 minutes transfer time in Atocha. In any event, it's a good idea to buy your Toledo-Madrid tickets in advance, since they often sell out. And avoid buying tickets at Atocha, lines can be excruciatingly long.

Thank you all for the advice! I ended up booking through Renfe a round trip mad-toledo since i didn't want to take a chance of them selling out as advised. We miss out on the free commuter ticket, but I'd rather have confirmed space. Also booked the AVE mad-barcelona rt for 215 rt total for 2.

Appeciate all the great advice!

I'm not sure that you do miss out on the Cercanías ticket. When the time comes, put your toledo ticket UPC against the reader on the RENFRE machine. I don't see why it wouldn't accept that and give you the Cercanías ticket unless I'm missing something. You purchased your roundtrip ticket directly with RENFRE, correct? Its worth a try

Have you received your ticket as a PDF? If so, look on it for the phrase "CombinadoCercanias" (as one word) followed by a code. That code can be redeemed in a ticket machine for a free ticket for the cercanias train. If you have difficulty redeeming it, ask (I had to do this in Barcelona Sants station, but with Renfe personnel help, it worked fine).

Yes, i purchased through Renfe and i have PDF. The only thing i see on it that could be is Includes C.I.F. and a code.... Would that be it?