Itinerary help

Posted by steve.b (Brookfield, IL) on 01/26/25 05:54 PM

I am planning a 2 week trip to southern Spain in October to celebrate my 60th birthday with my wife. It is cheapest to fly on Tuesdays, so we will be going Tuesday to Tuesday 2 weeks later. I am planning to fly into and out of Madrid possibly connecting to Madrid from Granada or thereabouts at the end of the trip to minimize train time. All other travel would be by train. Does this itinerary make sense?

2 nights in Madrid
1 night in Toledo
4 nights in Seville with a day trip to Ronda
1 night in Cordoba
3 nights in Granada

This leaves me with 2 days unaccounted for. Is there another destination in that area that would be easy to get to by train that I should be adding?

Posted by Lynne with an e

Santa Cruz, CA

01/26/25 06:15 PM

77 posts

I would add more time to Madrid, which you’ll need to do at the end of the trip for your flight home. There’s your extra 2 days right there. Not only will you likely want more time there, but logistically it makes more sense to already be in Madrid for your flight. I would not suggest taking a train from elsewhere the day before your flight (and certainly not the day of your flight) in case there’s a snag with train travel , such as a strike. Like Pam from Coeur d’Alene, I’m risk-averse!

Posted by steve.b OP

Brookfield, IL

01/26/25 07:18 PM

35 posts

This is a good suggestion. My thinking was flying from Granada to Madrid; it only adds $100 to the round trip airfare and we wouldn’t be spending the money on the train fare from Granada to Madrid, and we would already be there at the Madrid airport for our flight home.

Posted by ChristineH

Gettysburg PA

01/26/25 09:40 PM

7345 posts

Consider going to Toledo on arrival to avoid split stay in Madrid
You have to go back to Madrid d to get train to Sevilla anyway
I would want to be IN Madrid night before departure

We had more time-22 nights
This worked well for us transportation-wise

RT Madrid
Toledo 2 driver
Sevilla 4 via train thru Madrid
Ronda 2 via bus
Marbella 3/Malaga 1 via bus
Granada 4 via train - this was too long here
Cordoba 3 via train-loved Cordoba-worth more than a day trip IMO
Madrid 3 via train

Posted by Mike L

Detroit, MI

01/26/25 10:06 PM

1064 posts

What time of the day does your plane arrive in Madrid? Can you take the train to Seville on the same day you arrive in Madrid? Why do you want to spend 3 nights in Granada? Would you like see Nerja? I only spent two nights in Granada. Is El Escorial appealing? I didn't make time for it; it is about 28 miles from Madrid. Does this sound appealing?:

Tuesday, wed, Thu, and Friday nights in Seville, bus or train to Granada,
Saturday, Sunday, and Monday nights in Granada, train to Cordoba,
Tuesday night in Cordoba, trains to Toledo (you will have to switch trains in Madrid. If RENFE says there are no trains from Cordoba to Toledo, there are but you have to buy separate tickets to Madrid and Madrid to Toledo),
Wednesday night in Toledo,
Thursday, Fri, Sat, Sunday, and Monday nights in Madrid.

Posted by steve.b OP

Brookfield, IL

01/27/25 05:29 PM

35 posts

After a few tweaks and more research I think I have settled on the following:

Fly into Madrid and take the train directly to Seville
3 nights in Seville
1 night Arcos de la Fronteras (drive)
1 night Ronda (drive)
3 nights in Granada
2 nights in Cordoba
3 nights in Madrid

I decided to add the Route of the White Villages to the itinerary to get away from the big cities for a couple of days.