We are traveling to Andalusia at the beginning of November. We plan to take a train from Madrid to Sevilla. At the completion of our stay in Sevilla, we plan to rent a car for use in Pueblos Blancos and possibly Jerez. The initial plan was to return the car when we arrive Granada. At the end of our stay in Granada we will take a bus/train to Cordoba and then train to Toledo (via Madrid). Now looking at a map, I'm wondering if it will be easier, to return the car in Antequera and then take the train to Granada. I would only do this if I could return the car close to the Antequera bus/train station and if driving in Antequera is easier than returning a car in Granada. Our hotel in Granada is pretty close to the Alhambra--Hotel Anacapri. Thoughts?
I have asked in the past about purchasing the train tickets. It appears that if I purchase my tickets in advance for Madrid to Sevilla, I would save $20-$30 per ticket, but potentially lose $120 + if my plane is delayed. So I'm just going to buy tickets when we arrive the airport. We arrive Madrid Airport at about 8am. I know to buy the tickets at the airport instead of the busy Atocha station. I may prepurchase the Cordoba to Madrid and Granada to Cordoba tickets, but even there when I compare the price of purchasing tickets tomorrow to purchasing them in a couple months, I don't see a savings big enough to merit being locked into a schedule. Correct me if I'm wrong. I have been using Rome2Rio to make plans and its easy to use. Is this where I purchase the tickets as well? I've been on the Renfre site and it seems confusing. For one thing, its giving me train rides of 7 hours in duration when I know the AVE train from Madrid to Sevilla should be about 2 1/2 hours.
Thanks!
Posted by
Chicago
8166 posts
rio2rome does not sale tickets it just links you to the operating company that sells tickets .
you can use trainline.eu or loco2 to by tickets without a fee or markup when renfe does not make sense.
and you may be looking too far in advance for trains; the schedule may not be complete for a trip 3 months from now.
Posted by
California 🦋
5294 posts
Jules,
Correct me if I'm wrong. I have been using Rome2Rio to make plans and its easy to use. Is this where I purchase the tickets as well? I've been on the Renfre site and it seems confusing. For one thing, its giving me train rides of 7 hours in duration when I know the AVE train from Madrid to Sevilla should be about 2 1/2 hours.
I will only address your train questions since I’ve not rented a car in Spain.
Rome2Rio is a great website, however, not always up to date.
Here are a few helpful articles you may want to read prior to booking your train tickets on Renfe.com:
- How to buy Renfe tickets online
- Train Travel Guide/Spain
- Buyng Renfe Tickets online
- Seat61.com/Spain-Trains
When booking train tickets on Renfe, it’s best to pay via PayPal instead of your credit card.
BTW, the reason you’re seeing a 7+ hour journey from Madrid to Sevilla is because you’re choosing ‘Madrid- Atocha Cercanías’ instead of ‘Madrid Puerta de Atocha’, as your departure station.
I’ve booked my train tickets via Renfe
without any problems, however, I’ve read that Trainline.eu is a more user-friendly website.
My mom and I traveled via the ALSA Bus from Córdoba to Granada. You may consider doing the same on your journey from Granada to Córdoba.
If you choose to take the train, keep in mind that due to railway construction around Granada, you’ll travel via bus (supplied by Renfe) from Granada’s train station to Antequera where you’ll transfer to a train which will travel the rest of your journey to Córdoba.
Have a wonderful trip!
P.S. You can now bookmark your posts for easier future reference😉
Posted by
Portsmouth
5541 posts
There's no such place as Pueblos Blancos, it simply translates as white village and refers to the many white villages throughout Andalusia. Pretty much all of the towns and villages in Andalusia are white, some worth visiting, some not.
Posted by
OP
Twin Cities of MN
6485 posts
@JC, Arcos, Zahara, Grazelema and Ronda. Didn't think naming all them was essential to the post.
Posted by
Portsmouth
5541 posts
@JC, Arcos, Zahara, Grazelema and Ronda. Didn't think naming all them was essential to the post.
It wasn't clear, the way it was written was to suggest it was one area rather than a type of village. I was merely pointing it out in case you were under the impression that it was a particular place as others have done.