Home base for day trips; Madrid or surrounding areas.

I stayed in all three cities. Madrid is the best central point for multiple day trips. You could consider spending 1 or 2 nights in Toledo, but you don't have a lot of time and it's a hassle to change hotels.

People can be somewhat divided in the level of their appreciation for Madrid. If part of your group is art-focused, those folks may choose to skip one of the possible day trips and spend extra time at the Prado, Reina Sofia or Thyssen. Those less interested in art may like to know that there is a third fabulous day-trip possible from Madrid: Cuenca is about an hour away on the AVE line heading toward Valencia. (However, last-minute AVE tickets are rather costly.) Cuenca has an extremely picturesque historic district with hanging houses along a ravine, plus two small modern-art museums.

Cheryl,

There are several cities to visit from a base in Madrid. I have day tripped from Madrid to Toledo (twice), Segovia, and Avila. All are relatively easy journeys by train. Salamanca and Cuenca are also in day trip range - if you take the high speed AVE train. I have also spent 3 nights in Toledo and Salamanca and 2 nights in Cuenca. All were enjoyable trips. If you have the time available, any of these cities are worth an overnight or two. If, however, your time is scarce, day trip to the ones that appeal to you most.

Thank you so much for the feedback. The more research I do the more it seems just staying 4 nights in Madrid (5 if I can) wold work best for day trips. Is Pamplona a possibility and would it be worth while. Also do you know if you are traveling on the Ave and other trains is there a pass the can be purchased. We did the in Switzerland and it was wonderful. Thanks for the continued advice

I don't think Pamplona is in the same league as Toledo, Cuenca or Segovia (or any number of other Spanish cities)--unless you yourself plan to run with the bulls. It does have an historic district that's worth a wander, but to me it just didn't have the same degree of atmosphere as the first three. I also preferred Salamanca to Pamplona.

Edited to add: Pamplona's just over 3 hours from Madrid on the ALVIA, so not within what I would consider day-trip range.

I think it would be very difficult to make the Eurail Spain pass pay off, but I'm not clear how much traveling around Spain you are going to do. For some destinations buses can be handy, and they are nearly always cheaper than trains. There's a card senior travelers can buy that confers some worthwhile (though not huge) rail discounts.

You can save a great deal of money by buying your long-distance fast-train tickets well in advance if you are the sort of travelers who tend to pin down your schedule ahead of time. Toledo is a local train, and I think the current fare is always 12.90 euros, no matter when you buy the ticket.

You can poke around on the Renfe website and compare fares for travel next week with fares as far in the future as you can currently go, which seems to be early April. I see one-way ALVIA fares to Segovia for 12.90 euros.

Thank you so much. That is what I was afraid of with getting a pass. It Switzerland it paid off b;/c at the time of travel it was offered buy one get one so it was well worth it. The dollar and Euro are close now which is good for us. WE are not Seniors yet! Close though. I do think we will skip Pamplona as were not the bull running type. So thanks so much for your feed back.

The good news is that Spanish trains cost less, per mile, than Swiss trains. That will help. And if you are in a position to buy your tickets for long trips on fast trains (such as between Madrid and Barcelona) well in advance, the prices will be very reasonable. If you are stuck with what looks like a costly last-minute purchase for a fairly short trip, you can consider taking a bus instead. Spanish buses are very comfortable. Some even have Wi-Fi. The bus will be slower than an AVE train, of course.

Definitely Madrid as a central place for day trips. Three or four nights is not much for Madrid when two days will be taken up by day trips. Don't miss out on the city of Madrid itself. We stayed five nights on our 2005 trip but took day trips on three days. We loved Toledo, Segovia, El Escorial, but I felt like it was not enough time in Madrid itself. Madrid is a really easy city, compact and walkable and with great transit.

Again Thanks. This is what I am thinking about now. A rough and very changeable draft itinerary. Arrive Barcelona from Toronto Stay five nights. Do day trips and the Barcelona Area. So much to see there I will look for guidance on that too. Then travel to Seville and thinking 4 nights day trip to Cordoba and still researching the rest. Then to Madrid for 5 nights doing day trips to Segovia, Toledo, Avilla. Thoughts! Also would each one of these be a full day or would there be stops along the way. We will fly out of Madrid. I have not booked air yet and am currently working with amount of days in Spain. Minimum will be 12 nights but I am hoping to squeeze 15 nights..if everyone in our party has enough vacations. Thanks again

One additional thought I am trying to only move our home base 3 times would be willing to do 4 if necessary. Will be renting from AirBnb. Just seems easier would consider a night in a hotel if necessary but just seems like so much time is wasted in packing checking out and checking in!

The plans you've laid out sound great to me. Fewer hotel changes will be more relaxing, especially given that there are five in your group. And go for all the time you can get. If someone has to go back early, why can't the others stay on?

I was underwhelmed by Avila, which certainly does not require a full day. Basically, you have a wall you can walk on (but you can do that in Girona, Catalunya, too, and it's a vastly more interesting city to me), and there are some old buildings, but it's not all that atmospheric. I spent several hours in the university town of Alcala de Henares, also near Madrid, and I enjoyed it a lot more. And to my mind, Cuenca has a lot more to offer than Avila. But it's sort of unpredictable how each of us will react to a place.

I believe people moving around by car sometimes try to combine Avila with Segovia or El Escorial. I can't address El Escorial, which I've never seen, but I certainly wouldn't want to give up part of a Segovia day for Avila.

Edited to add: Although I skipped the El Greco Museum, I was glad to have two full days (3 nights) in Toledo. It's definitely a full-day destination if you're a day-tripper. The medieval hill town is really large, and there are many actual sites to enter. They include some lovely buildings designed by Moorish architects, different from what you'll see in Barcelona and Madrid. Incidentally, the historic district is fairly hilly, so that will slow you down a bit.

Acraven-Thank you so much. When I looked into Avila it did not really stand out to me. I am really looking forward to Toledo & Segovia. How did you travel to and from Segovia. I have read that it is better to take the bus than train as the station is in a remote location..

Do you have any thoughts on the area surrounding Seville and types of day trips. I have some ideas but nothing definite. Had also thought about Velancia!

I just checked my mini-notebook from this summer's trip, and I did indeed take the bus from Madrid to Segovia, at a cost of 7.95 euros. I found TripAdvisor info on the (relatively new) bus station you'll use in Madrid. Some guidebooks may still refer to the old station.

On the Segovia end of the trip you'll still have a bit of a walk to the historic center, but it's not terribly far, and as I recall it takes you past at least one very old church (not currently open--probably unsafe). And I thought it a good walk because of the way you approach the city's main (and monumentally impressive) sight.

It has been decades since I've been to Andalucía, and I've never given it the time it deserves. Ronda's the only small city/town I've seen down there, and I highly recommend it. It's a trek for a daytrip from Seville via public transportation, though. I'd look into one-day bus-tour options from Seville for Ronda and/or the white villages. With five people it might be practical to arrange a private tour at a reasonable per-person cost.

The train will take you to Jerez de la Frontera or Cadiz, cities that some people have mentioned positively here but which I've never researched.

Valencia's not practical as a day-trip from Seville (better from Madrid). It does have AVE service, which is fast but means you really need to buy your tickets right after they go on sale--and commit to a specific date and time--to take advantage of the promo fare. I've never been to Valencia but spent two nights in Cuenca, on the AVE line between Madrid and Valencia in late May. I loved it. It has that perfect-for-me combination of an exceptionally atmospheric historic district for wandering around and some actual sights to see (cathedral and two small modern-art museums).

I suggest starting a separate thread titled something like "Possible Daytrips from Seville" to attract the attention of folks with current info on that area. Do summarize the rest of your itinerary so responders have an idea of what else you'll be seeing in Spain. And of course include the time of year, the size of your group and your dependence on public transportation, as you did in this thread.

Look at your day trip options and then prioritize, depending on your preferences, before allocating your spread of nights. In November the weather will be more favourable in the south (Sevilla).

From Barcelona: Girona, Figueres, Tarragona, Monserrat (can be half day)
From Madrid: Toledo, Segovia, Avila, El Escorial (can be half day). Cuenca and Salamanca are even day options by AVE train.
From Sevilla: Cordoba, Jerez, Cadiz, Arcos de la Frontera

To include a stay outside the big 3 cities I might be inclined to ...
Barcelona (4) >> Sevilla (3) >> Jerez (3) >> Madrid (4)

From Jerez you can quickly get to Cadiz by train, and Arcos de la Frontera by bus.

I agree with acraven. Base yourself out of Madrid and take a bus or train to the other locations. One could easily spend a week in Madrid.