Spain in the Fall Madrid drive to Seville and return via Train or Car?

I applaud you for taking the Extremadura route to get to Sevilla.

Whether to keep the car or not should depend on how long you have to get back to Madrid and if you plan on making any stops. You could easily stop in Córdoba. The drive from Sevilla is short, so you could get by with one night there. Further north is Almagro that is on Spain’s list of prettiest villages. Continuing on towards Madrid there is Consuegra with its castle and windmills and further east along the same road is Campo de Criptana with its windmills made famous in Cervantes’ Don Quixote. Even further east on the same road is Belmonte with its impressive castle used in the 1960s movie El Cid. North of it is Chinchón. It’s good for a short stop due to its main plaza and the buildings around it.

For the places I mentioned a rental car would be best. Later this year we’ll be making a similar loop, but with more stops and with probably more time. If you haven’t selected hotels yet, look into Paradors. There are paradors in Toledo, Mérida, Cáceres, and Zafra. There are also paradors in Córdoba, Almagro, and Manzanares.

I will add that the distances between the places you mentioned are short giving you plenty of time to make stops between destinations. Toledo-Cáceres is 2.5 hours; Cáceres-Mérida is 1 hour; Mérida-Zafra is 45 minutes, and Zafra-Sevilla is 1.5 hours. For example, between Toledo and Cáceres you could stop in Trujillo, home to conquistador Francisco Pizarro. There are a number of castles in the Zafra area. It will take some research, but I’m sure you’d find something of interest to you.

Segovia is not too far from Madrid and has an amazing Roman aqueduct and other cool stuff. Spain has a good high speed train network. You can get from Sevilla to Madrid in about 3 hours by train, and then another 2.5 hours to Barcelona. The place where a car really comes in handy is the Andalusia area south of Seville. Places like Ronda and Arcos don't have train connections, but you could drive to them, along with Jerez and Cadiz. There are also Roman ruins just outside of Sevilla. I guess a lot of people like Madrid, but I have been there twice and not really that impressed. Seville is great though. If you take the train from Seville to Madrid you will pass through Cordoba which has a great mosque/church and a Roman bridge.

I haven't driven in Spain, but there are segments of your trip where it will save some time. On the other hand, for a direct trip between Seville and Madrid, the train is a great deal faster.

If this is your first trip to Seville, I think 2 nights there is incredibly short. At the least, I'd tranfer one night from Merida, which has some Roman ruins and a good archeological museum but otherwise seemed very unremarkable.

Thank you so much for all your help and information!
A few quick follow up questions. If I choose to drive the loop Madrid west through Extremadura route to Seville then east back north to Madrid via Cordoba and Valdepeñas or two other cities.
Would one do Madrid at the very end of the trip or in the beginning if I am renting a car?
My flight arrives in Madrid around 2 pm so I feel like a 1 hour drive to Toledo is doable the first day.

Is it easy to do Madrid without a car?
Should I return the car to the airport before returning to Madrid?
Do I need to get and international drivers permit to rent a car in Spain?
Does anyone know on average how much the extra insurance for a rental would be?

Thank you again!
Heidi

It's far easier to see major European cities without a car. You can't just drive up to historical attractions or museums and park. Some streets don't permit vehicular traffic, and parking can be hard to find as well as expensive.

This doesn't apply just to Madrid. A car will be an annoyance in Seville, and large chunks of the historic areas of Toledo and Caceres are pedestrian-only.

Córdoba definitely works. I’ve never spent any time in Valdepeñas so know nothing about it.

We always pick up the rental car upon arrIval and depart immediately to our first night’s destination. You should have no problem driving to Toledo. We’re doing the same thing later in this year.

We spend a night or two in Madrid at the end of each trip to wind down. You don’t need a car in Madrid and don’t want one due to the ever increasing road changes; many to pedestrian only areas. The main tourist sites are very walkable, but we always stay by the Puerta Del Sol. The Prado and Retiro Park are 15-20 minutes from it as is the Royal Palace.

I drop off the rental car at the airport and take the metro into the city. There are other options such as taxi, bus, or the Cercanías train.

Yes, an IDP is needed for any person who intends to drive. Chances are nobody will ever ask to see it, but it is required. We’ve been renting through Enterprise our past few trips and it asks for our passport and state driver’s license when we pick up the vehicle. Get an IDP at AAA for $20 and a couple passport photos. If you belong to AAA it’s less.

Insurance is a wildcard since there are a number of options. Some people have CDW coverage through their credit card that they are fine with. There are also third party vendors such as Allianz that offer CDW for about $11 a day. If you get it at the rental counter there’s a basic CDW and also a zero deductible option that costs more. Coverage for damage to tires or windshield are generally extra as is personal injury protection. Each company is a little different. Which coverage you get depends on your comfort level. For piece of mind we now spend the extra money and get the zero deductible. Years ago when we couldn’t afford it, we got CDW through Allianz. Insurance can double the overall cost of a rental.

As acraven mentioned, parking can be an issue in cities. I look up free lots in each place I intend to visit and bookmark them on Google maps. That way I can generally drive right to them. On our trip we’re staying at Paradors and most have parking. Look for lots near your lodging if your hotel doesn’t have its own. If there are no free lots, I’ll bookmark pay lots.

Aparcamiento =parking (you can also search on Parking Gratuito)
Gratuito = free

When reserving a vehicle ensure there is no cancellation fee. Then, keep checking back to see if the price goes down. If it does, make a new reservation at the lower price then cancel the original one. For example, for our upcoming 24 days trip the original reservation was €760 for a compact SUV. My most recent reservation is €475 for the same vehicle. I check back every few days.

If you intend you use your phone for navigation I recommend having cables for for USB-A/2.0 and USB-C plugs. I’ve had vehicles with one or the other, or both. You never know which type outlet a vehicle will have.