Sevilla day trip: car or train??

Train, no contest, unless you like to drive in a large city with narrow winding streets. The cost of parking isn't the problem, it is the congestion, old streets, etc.

Take the train from Cordoba to Seville. The day before Palm sunday can be hectic with crowds in Spain. Traffic and parking can be a headache. You don't need the hassle. Take the train and be stress free. From Seville you can train to Jerez and also visit that town.

The train will be much faster--about 45 min. vs. 1 hr. 45 min. And that's without considering the time required to pick up and return the car and locate parking in Seville.

However, the train tickets may be quite costly at this point. I suggest looking at the fares immediately. They will not go down. The cheapest tickets (if any still remain) will be for non-refundable/non-changeable tickets. Here's the Renfe website. If you wish to buy now and have trouble with the Renfe website (it isn't an easy one if you don't read Spanish), you can probably get about the same price from trainline.eu. Do not buy from RailEurope.

It was my assumption that someone planning to take a day-trip to a city where most people spend multiple nights would want the fastest form of transportation possible. The MD train will take at least 33 min. longer in each direction. The schedule might also be an issue for some (late-sleeping) travelers, in that the latest practical MD departure is at 9:08 AM.

At the moment there are good prices on AVANTs at 7:55 and 10:20, as well as on an AV City train at 9:10. The other departures (all AVEs, but not more than 2 or 3 minutes faster) are more expensive. The schedule shows one morning train already sold out.

Buying a $55 train ticket for a day-trip would make me most unhappy. That's the walk-up price on the AVEs.

I'm seeing 24.30 euros for the AVEs, one way. But it wouldn't be the first time I misinterpreted rail fares on the Renfe website.

I'd agree with the first response that you don't want to be stopping on the way. The main obvious place "en route" anyway is Carmona - which we "discovered" only a few weeks ago and is absolutely top-notch, but it needs a day in itself rather than taking valuable time from Sevilla. Trying to do both on one day-trip would be the worst of both worlds.

Parking in the Sevilla centre (or as close as you can get), where the principal sights are will probably be about €15-20 for the day. In practice, given the Sevilla one way systems, no access streets and traffic, I think you should assume at least 2+hrs from Cordoba until you park your car.

There's a list of more central car parks here. Heed the warning about cameras watching you. http://www.andalucia.com/cities/seville/gettingaround/car.htm

Easier and cheaper would be to park outside the centre - but then you'd need to use local transport to get to/from the things you actually want to see. For example, parking at Avienda Blas Infante is, I think, free. But it needs a short metro trip and walk to get to, for example, the Catedral. Still probably less frustrating than going further into town.

Don't leave anything visible inside when you park your car and don't leave anything valuable/important in it, even if hidden.

Personally, I'd advise you do this day-trip by rail. I realise it's annoying to have a car and then pay extra to go by train instead. But, I do believe, it will mean a quicker, less frustrating journey and worth the cost.

If you're intending to visit the Real Alcazar, buy tickets in advance to beat the queue.

Semana Santa begins on Palm Sunday. I don't know, but it's possible in the centre some road closures and diversions will already be set up on the Saturday.

Awesome advice, thanks all!

But why not book tickets on the RailEurope site? I've read that it's easier than the Renfe site, which is notorious for rejecting North American credit cards.

RailEurope often doesn't show all the trains. Some people think it prefers to show the more expensive ones; that's not something I've ever attempted to verify.

Rail Europe often (always?) charges more for the tickets and/or charges substantial extra fees.

Loco2.com is used by a lot of people on the forum. It sells at the same price as the railroads and reportedly does not charge fees.

Trainline.eu is also used by a lot of people on the forum. It also sells at the same price as the railroads. I'm not clear on its current fee policy, but if it charges extra fees they are very small.