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Itinerary concerns and feedback on adjustments

Posted by (Bay Area Ca, USA) on

Hello forum friends,

I thought I had my itinerary and travel times straight but took another look and am reconsidering our plans.

We had hoped to work in Salamanca on this trip but I took another look at bus and train routes and reconsidering because of the lack of direct options and having to back track to Madrid. Here’s our current plan for a 20 day return trip to Spain.

CURRENT PLAN
land in Madrid train to Segovia
3 nights Segovia - jet lag adjustment and slow pace
From Segovia to Salamanca
2 nights in Salamanca
From Salamanca to Cordoba ( this is the leg I am concerned about since it looks like, it’s just under 4 hours by train back tracking to Madrid)
4 nights in cordoba
From cordoba to Sevilla
5 nights in Sevilla
From Sevilla to Madrid
4 nights in Madrid and depart

Questions:
1) is there anyway to reorder this trip to keep Salamanca in the itinerary but without a half day train day?
2) we’re not completely opposed to a half day on a train and have backtracked before - but is a visit to Salamanca “ worth” the travel times/ route given the rest of of our itinerary? Worth meaning given the rest of our itinerary is there enough uniqueness about Salamanca’s sights, cuisine, culture etc. that warrants the travel times? We enjoy university cities but don’t necessarily need to go out of our way if that’s the main attraction.

Option 2 itinerary

Fly to Madrid and take train to Segovia
3 nights in Segovia
Train from Segovia to Toledo
2 nights in Toledo
Toledo to Cordoba (remainder of itinerary same as above)

I recognize this option still requires going back to Madrid for a train connection but it looks like the travel time is about 2 hours . I’ve been to Toledo as a day trip but would love your thoughts about a two night stay.

Thanks for advice!

Posted by
8286 posts

Only you can decide if it’s worth it.

Whichever option you choose, going from a town north or west of Madrid to a town south or southwest of Madrid requires one to go through Madrid, and possibly different train stations. To the best of my knowledge, there’s no way of avoiding the backtracking or reordering it to lessen the travel time between Salamanca and Córdoba.

Posted by
1148 posts

Salamanca is a lovely city but on this particular trip, when there are so many other towns/cities you can include, I would skip Salamanca. It's just too much of a detour. So I would choose the second option, without a doubt.

If you want to explore an interesting small city that is on the route (at least it's on the route on the map; you'd have to look at train routes), I would include a night in Caceres before heading to Cordoba. (When we went to Caceres, we actually did go to Extremadura after Toledo.

Posted by
30003 posts

Those are all interesting cities, definitely worth your time. I've spent multiple nights in each of them (all on the same trip) and would gladly return. I'd have to do a deep dive into local sightseeing to be sure (and interests can vary a lot), but I think I'd schedule as many nights in Toledo as in Segovia. However, I'm a really big fan of Toledo, and I know some folks find the historic center too quiet at night.

Renfe's website doesn't make it easy to see routings for trips like Salamanca to Cordoba. Do pay attention to which train stations are involved in Madrid. I think you will need to transfer from Chamartin to Atocha.

Although I seem to be emotionally incapable of following the advice, I think poster Chani's suggestion to schedule long train trips for the late afternoon or early evening, while sightseeing attractions are closed, is a good one.

Posted by
58 posts

Thanks everyone! We decided to stick with our original plan . With 20 days a longer travel day feels doable and often a nice break to sit, enjoy scenery, plan the next leg of the trip and catch up on reading. The journey sometimes is the destination!

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