Hello! Traveling as a family of six (four kids under 15) and am trying to figure out our Granada to Madrid portion of travel. Specifically, whether we should return our rental car in Granada on June 14, stay in Granada without a car for a couple of days, and find a way to get from Granada to Madrid on June 16th (likely a bus that takes over 5 hours, no train options without tranfers). Alternatively, we could keep the rental car and drive to Córdoba (which we would otherwise miss) on the 16th. We have the option of returning the rental car in Cordoba (this would add car parking hassle in Granada for a couple of days), , and then take a high speed train back to Madrid that evening. Flying back to states on the 17th at 10am. Our trip is set up for the former option right now, thoughts welcome! Emily
Posted by
New York, NY
1580 posts
Em - I think the former option is better. You at least have a chance to visit Cordoba with the kids then drop off car by the Cordoba train station and take high speed train to Madrid. Hertz and Avis are right by the train station in Cordoba.
The average travel time between Cordoba and Madrid via train is 1h50 minutes. The quickest route is 1h43 minutes. The first train leaving Cordoba is at 07:22, the last at 20:29. There is an average of 23 trains a day between Cordoba and Madrid, leaving approximately every 43 minutes.
In those couple of days you have in Granada. Do a half day trip to the small town of Nerja. There are plenty of beaches there to keep the kids active. Nerja is just a 1h 10min drive from Granada.
Posted by
Paris
6887 posts
As a family of six, are you renting a large van? Make sure it's large enough for people PLUS luggage...but parking will not be convenient.
The option to drive to Córdoba and take a train later sounds good, but 6 train tickets will be expensive at such a short notice, and it will be a long day as Granada to Córdoba is a 2.5 hour drive, significantly eating up into sightseeing time.
In your situation you could actually drive back to Madrid, it's less than five hours, on a good highway that is quite scenic in some sections (and barren in others).
Posted by
Sevilla
1296 posts
You want to avoid driving in Granada city centre, so if that's where your hotel is, I'd leave the car in a car park away from the centre for a couple of days. Then drive to Cordoba, which is definitely worth visiting, and catch the train later that day to Madrid (or just drive there?).
Currently you do need to change between Granada and Madrid (that shouldn't be necessary later in June, but unfortunately not in time for you). But the train/bus to train transfer at Antequera is very straightforward and saves an hour. So if you decide to skip Cordoba, I'd do that rather than take a 5+ hour coach journey.
Or couldn't you drive from Granada to Madrid? There are several worthwhile stops along the route in Andalucia such as Baeza (brilliant visit) and further north through La Mancha, etc. Avoid driving into Madrid centre, however.
Posted by
OP
4 posts
Thank you for your feedback! We changed our plan to drop the car in Madrid at the airport (avoiding driving through the city) on the eve of the 16th. No buses, no trains. Assuming that driving from Cordoba to Madrid airport is not too bad? I grew up in Jersey so know how to drive in cutthroat traffic, but live in Idaho now where it's a bit quieter!
Posted by
Barcelona ☀️ Sweden ❄️
3897 posts
Madrid Barajas Airport is on the outskirts of the city in the northern part, you will coming from the south from Cordoba, so you'll need to take one of the routes that goes around the city (minimises traffic) probably the E-5 or the R-3.
If you have a few hours for a little side trip, consider these sights that are close to your route:
The Windmills of Consuegra - those historic windmills that are emblematic of La Mancha and Don Quijote, worth a stop and few photos. Next door is the Castle of Consuegra, a former Moorish fortress that was taken over by the Knights Hospitaller during the Reconquista.
Roman town of Segobriga - an intact Roman town that was completely abandoned during the very early middle ages, only recently begun excavations, relatively undiscovered by most foreign and even local tourists
Posted by
New York, NY
1580 posts
Carlos - Are there private tours to Segobriga or would I need to utilize a car rental? You've peeked my interest to explore that area and see the Roman ruins on my next Andalusian trip. Great tip amigo.
Posted by
Barcelona ☀️ Sweden ❄️
3897 posts
Hi RJean, I'm not sure if there are any organized tours of Segobriga, it's pretty off the radar even for Spaniards. I only knew of it because I am specifically interested in this part of antiquity. Segobriga is fairly isolated in the plateau of La Mancha (one of the reasons why it survived), I stopped there with a car driving from Toledo to Cuenca, there is a small museum on site and the entrance fee was only 6 euros.
If you have a chance to stop by I would highly recommend, you basically have the ruins of an ancient Roman provincial town all to yourself, only 20% has been properly excavated. I'm sure you can hire a car from Madrid to take you there and back (only 1 hr each way). There are on-site docent tours in Spanish every hour or so.
Here is the official website (only in Spanish) but has good images and a areal video: https://cultura.castillalamancha.es/patrimonio/parques-arqueologicos/segobriga