Madrid to Southern Spain

Not sure about finding any apartment with two bath rooms...all the ones I have rented have only one. You will likely find places with sleeping space for four adults, but not three bedrooms...perhaps a soafa pull out and one bedroom seems to be the normal. Check www.madridman.com for possible places...he covers more than just Madrid by the way.

As for the car, there will be at least four suitcases, one for each of you it appears...four adults, plus four suitcases will be a very very tight fit for sure. You will need to be sure to rent the largest available, which may limit the places you can go and park in an area....or might have to ditch a suitcase along the way. The rental cars in Spain are not the large ones we have here in the States...even their large cars are small compared to us...but nice. Check the rental specs carefully.

I have been to the places you mentioned, except for Morocco. When I did my planning, that seemed like a lengthy add on from Seville so I did not seriously consider it. A few things to ponder.... Toledo can be a nice day trip from Madrid. You may want to consider that instead of staying a night which would make a train from Granada to Madrid possible. Also, we did Cordoba as a day stop when going to Seville on the train....train from Madrid to Cordoba...put luggage in bus station across the street from the train station.....cab to the Mezquita and then a walk to some nearby sites.....cab back..... pick up luggage and on train to Seville. We did a number of day trips from Seville.

Thank you for your helpful replies.

We have rented cars in France, and were able to jam a really large suitcase and 2 carry-ons into the trunk, but I know what you mean about tight quarters! If we skip the car, I don't think we will be able to wander the countryside.

I think we should make both Toledo and Cordoba a day trip.

Thank You!

Last November I traveled from Madrid to Lisbon. Here's a map of the Spanish portion of my trip. Madrid>Seville Having toured Madrid on a previous trip, I drove directly to Toledo and spent the night. And then one night in Cordoba with a detour to Consuegra to see the classic windmills. An overnight in Granada and then to Ronda, through two of the white towns to Arcos. After a night in Arcos, it was off to Seville.

I could not have made this trip without a car. By the time you figure in the cost of rail tickets for four persons and the freedom it would offer, I might benefit you to avoid the train altogether and just rent a car. If you're starting off after visiting Madrid, you could easily leave in the morning, visit Toledo and continue to Cordoba for the evening. If so, I would stay 2 nights in Cordoba. I stayed at Hotel Albucasis, convenient to the sights and only 27 € per night. Parking - a necessity in Cordoba and a cost of 14€ per night - is available at the hotel. I don't know if cheaper, convenient parking is available.

Driving from Granada (Hotel Anacapri 70.90€ per night including breakfast and parking 16.50€) to Arcos is a great way to see some fantastic scenery. A stop in Ronda to see the amazing Gorge and visit the bullring and museum, then through the white towns of Grazalema and Zahara before spending a night in Arcos (Hotel Los Olivos 50€, free on street parking). The white towns are nice to see but for me were basically a rest stop rather than a tourist visit.

If you do drive from Arcos to Seville and you pass through Espera, watch out for the churros stand in the middle of the town. If it's open, have some fresh, hot churros and thick hot chocolate.

You mentioned you're budget conscious. The ferry from Tarifa to Tangiers is $45 and the train to Casablanca about $17. And it'll take close to 7 hours to make the trip. I don't know how much there is to see in Casablanca but give it some serious thought. I was considering the visit to Tangiers but was content to remain in Spain.

I've rented apartments through VRBO and Air BnB. Generally, they are not available for short terms of a day or two. In Istanbul I was lucky enough to score a 2 bedroom apartment with 1 1/2 baths - a real luxury.

Best of luck with your travels.

Thank you.

The train tickets add up to almost a thousand dollars, making the trip ridiculously expensive, and trapping us
by train schedules.
What was the drive to Lisbon like, and how long was your trip? How were the roads in Portugal?
Did you fly home from Lisbon?
Thanks again,
Nancy

We had no trouble renting a Ford Focus Diesel Wagon [Edit: Standard Transmission] in Seville (wish they sold them here; very economical), returning in Granada (parked on the sidewalk in front of the Granada agency, on the manager's instructions.) This is about the biggest car you want to drive in a Pueblo Blanco, or park in an underground garage in a city. Even so, you'll have to fold in the mirrors at times. It does mean that your bags are hidden only under a window-shade pull-out.

We stayed three nights in Ronda and didn't feel that was too long (referring to your 'too far apart' comment.) Different people have different travel styles. In fact, we drove to Gibraltar from Ronda for a daytrip, which was too far, and not worth the trip. (Easy highway driving, however. Much better road surfaces than in the tax-starved U.S. today, at least some years ago in Spain.)

Although we are not really budget travelers, I think it is unrealistic to expect to find an apartment with two private bathrooms for a very short-term stay. I dislike the whole idea of AirBNB, but that's certainly "budget". I don't have real B&B experience in Spain, but you have specified (as I would) that you require two private baths. There are plenty of modest and clean small hotels in Spain, some listed in Rick's book. Although Rick doesn't care for TripAdvisor, I have found that it can be very useful for accommodations with a large number of reviews.

I'd probably try to stop in Cordoba (for a night if you can spare one) on the way to Seville.

Pick up the car in Seville and see some white towns, Gibraltar, beaches, etc. between there and Granada. Drop the car in Granada, after your stay there, catch a flight back to Madrid (the train is pretty circuitous and car or bus are a long drive).

Definitely visit Toledo, either from your first Madrid stop or second (train or bus both work fine to get there from Madrid).

Regarding lodging. I personally prefer to call directly. Most European places either have, or have access to, multiple types of lodging. When you call directly you can say "I need a place for 4 people, spouse and I and our two kids (I normally say ages). I'd like two bathrooms. What do you have?" then let them suggest what they can offer (more often than not it doesn't fit comfortably into an internet search). If it works, ask how much; if it's a good price, book it.

If bathrooms down the hall don't work for you. I'm thinking you are more than likely going to need two ensuite double rooms (one set up for a couple and the other set up with separate beds. I can't remember staying in an apartment that had two-bedrooms and two-bathrooms - they have always been two bedrooms, one bath (but that may just be what we've been in).

Thank you for your suggestions.

I think we might scale down by flying from US to Seville and spending most of our time there, maybe a day trip to Cordoba and the Pueblos Blancos. We would have to skip Madrid and Toledo, and sadly Grenada.
I'm wondering if Seville would occupy us for a week, though.

The drive to Portugal from Seville was on roads comparable to an interstate. I took 2 weeks to go from Madrid to Lisbon. Here's the Seville to Lisbon route I took. I stayed 1 night in Salema on water, then a night in Evora, Castelo Rodrigo, Porto, Obidos and two nights in Lisbon. I did not go to Sagres and didn't have time for Sintra - unfortunately. PM me and I'll be glad to send you my travel calendar with the hotels in each city.

Roads in Portugal are very good. Some of the highways are privately owned and require a transponder to pay tolls. I rented my car in Spain (Spanish license plates) and when crossing into Portugal attempted to get a transponder but was unable to. The hostess at my B&B in Salema told me that other folks had the same problem. Apparently if you blow through the tolls - as I did - the powers that be won't attempt to contact your auto rental place in Spain to charge you. I paid where I could and didn't when I couldn't.

If you want to keep it more reasonable you might want to do the south of Spain and then on to the coast of Portugal. I rented a car in Malaga and drove it and the roads were great, as well as it being heaper than the trains, expecially with more people. We had 3 people and luggage and camera equipment and had no problems with our rental car fitting everything, but we do travel relatively light.

If the sibs are going out together I would let them share a room...or let them stay in a hostel near your hotel.

Thank you for your suggestions, they have helped me to figure some of this out. I will start a new thread with more detailed questions.

Thank you for your suggestions.
I think we are going to follow Phillip's route, but begin in Segovia.
Nancy

we found a 2 bedroom 2 bathroom hotel in Seville. Eurostars Regina. Very reasonable.