madrid, toledo, segovia and Salamanca..best itinerary for all these

'a good plan to see them all and some of madrid of course with out moving from hotel to hotel every night.'

Then presuming public transport, stay in Madrid. At least for easy day tripping to Toledo and Segovia by train, my guess without looking for the detail, at less than forty minutes each way. Even Salamanca at two hours and something each way will probably give you eight hours there. Why not obtain a guide book or google?

How are you traveling? Car or public transport? I made a sort of reverse auto trip from the Basque country to SdeC and then to Madrid. It should be easy enough to stop at Toledo on the way to Madrid. From Madrid you can drive to Segovia, through Avila (to see the walled city) and then on to Salamanca before turning north to Compostella. On you way to Segovia, I would definitely visit Monastery of San Lorenzo de El Escorial.

In SdeC, I stayed at the Rick recommended Costa Vella hotel. Great staff and convenient location. I'd definitely stay there again.

In Madrid stayed at the Hotel Europa on Puerta del Sol. Convenient central location, ETBD group was staying in this hotel at the same time.

In Segovia, I stayed at the Hotel Infanta Isabel on the main square - if you stay there, they provide valet parking cheaper than the public lots at the bottom of the hill. Very convenient for visiting the Alcazar and the Cathedral. The Roman Aqueduct is a 5 minute walk down the hill and the TI is in this area, as is Meson de Candido if you want to splurge on suckling pig.

In Toledo, I stopped at the inexpensive and convenient Hotel La Posada de Manolo. They have private parking available.

Buses will be your best friend. I'm not sure how you visit 4 cities in 4 or 5 days without moving. Conceivably you can day trip from Madrid. I wouldn't recommend it. The food and lodging are much better and much cheaper outside of Madrid. It seems silly to pay Madrid prices when you're not really staying in Madrid.

Take a fast train from Barcelona to Madrid, probably taxi to your lodging. Since Madrid's biggest draw is museums, you may not want to stay too long there. Madrid has nice parks if you're there the right time of year.

Train or bus to Toledo, it's a short enough trip that there's no real advantage to the train. Each bus station has an information kiosk with an English speaker who will help you figure out your options and book your ticket (I normally drop by the day before so I can plan my travel day). I'd prefer staying in Toledo as a base to see both Madrid and Segovia to using Madrid as a base for the three.

Toledo to Segovia by bus is the best option, again a taxi to lodging.

From Segovia, go on to Salamanca by bus and taxi to lodging.

We stayed in the Hotel Santa Isabel in Toledo and it was very nice. Some of their rooms are priced as low as $41/night. An added bonus - they have a very nice roof top terrace. We found a really good wine and cheese shop near the hotel and ate our dinner up on the terrace with a view of the cathedral. You can take a city bus from the train station that will drop you at the main square which is about a 5 minute walk from the hotel.

Day 1 Madrid
Day 2 Excursion to Toledo
Day 3 Excursion to Segovia
Day 4 Early train to Salamanca - Renfe offers direct services Madrid Chamartin to Salamanca - approx 2h 40m.
Day 5 Train to Santiago de Compostela

14:15 dep SALAMANCA
15:10 arr MEDINA DEL CAMPO
0h 55m
connect with
16:12 dep MEDINA DEL CAMPO
20:41 arr SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA
4h 29m

Brad has good suggestions - especially on not paying Madrid prices.

Another option is to store most of your luggage at the Madrid train station, then travel light to Segovia and Toledo with overnight stays. Since these are "day-trip cities" from Madrid, they are much nice early mornings when the majority of tourists haven't yet arrived and from late afternoon after they've gone. Then spend a night or two in Madrid (leaving your big suitcase at the station). It will be easy to travel and switch hotels with only an overnight bag.

Philip suggested Hotel Europa in Madrid and La Posada de Manolo. I've stayed at both and been more than satisfied.