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Rent a car versus other options in Spain

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We are going to visit my daughter and see Southern Spain. We will be arriving in Madrid on Sunday May 6, and flying to Seville that same day. She has exams, and we will explore Seville until Tuesday. She can leave around noon on Tuesday, and we want to go to Ronda and then on to Malaga. We are spending the Tuesday and Wednesday nights in Malaga. Then daughter takes train back to Seville for her next exam on Thursday, and husband and I will go to Granada (Thursday and Friday night), then to Cordoba (Saturday night) and then back to MAdrid (Sunday night and fly out early Monday morning).

So here is the question---
1) Do we rent a car in Seville, and drive ourselves to Ronda and Malaga, and then on to Granada and Cordoba (we will take high speed train from Cordoba to Madrid)

2) Have a private driver take us from Seville to Malaga, stopping in Anteguera and Ronda, and then rent a car in Malaga on Thursday and drive to Granada and then to Cordoba.

3) Have private driver take us to Malaga (stopping along the way), and then husband and I take a bus from Malaga to Granada (2 hours, $17 each), a bus from Granada to Cordoba (3 hours, $37 each), and then the train to Madrid.

Cost of Car Rental, 2 nights $179, 4 nights, $238. Cost of private driver, $446 for all three of us.

Thanks for the input---I love hearing from others and their opinions!!

Posted by
107 posts

We like driving when possible. We like to move around on our own (possibly changing) timetable. We found it pretty easy to get around Spain. If you have some experience doing so, it would be fine.

Posted by
54 posts

We recently returned from a three week trip through southern Spain. We drove from Malaga to Seville, stopping in Antequera for two nights, then one night in Ronda before dropping the car in Seville. It’s very easy to take the bus from Malaga to Granada- we did it in the opposite direction. It was an hour and 45 min trip. Easy and scenic.

Posted by
15585 posts

The only time you'd want a car is for a 1/2 day in Ronda. You won't have time for more than that on Tuesday and you won't need a car in Malaga or Granada. Given the cost of a private driver, I'd go with the rental - be sure to have GPS with you - but only from Sevilla to Malaga. If you keep the car longer, you'll probably have to pay for parking.

Posted by
7175 posts

Rent a car
Drive .. Sevilla to Ronda
Drive .. Ronda to Malaga
Drive .. Malaga to Granada
Return car
Train .. Granada to Córdoba
Train .. Córdoba to Madrid

I’m worried you will have next to no time in Ronda. I would stay a night each there and Malaga.

Posted by
7317 posts

We enjoyed driving from Seville to Granada, with a three-night stay in the Parador de Ronda. (Paid daily parking indoors at the Parador.) But the driving is time-consuming. And each lovely stop is 20 minutes off (and then, 20 minutes back onto) the fine highway. Old cities like Arcos and Ronda can be troublesome to drive in and park (see our host Rick's funny stories about "Bogus Parking Wardens" ... ), and you need the smallest car you can get, for passing through medieval arches and narrow one-way streets. There is no reason to worry about the driving experience, especially if you have a GPS or cell service. Can you drive a standard transmission?

There's lots of general things to learn about, like insurance, IDPs. (Does your car rental quote include actual CDW coverage? Have you had experience with the credit card coverage you may be planning to use?) You can start with Rick's free advice (top left menu desktop site version.) But a Search of this board will give lots of past advice about car rentals in Spain.

I have only been to the airport in Malaga. But I have bad feelings about a British Sunseeker Tourist Trap. (Uninformed Opinion.) Is your daughter confident about making the exam on time?

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