Would love advice as to the need/place to reserve for advance booking of train tickets to travel to the following cities:
Madrid - Toledo (round trip same day);
Madrid-Sevilla (one-way);
Seville-Córdoba (day trip);
Seville-Malaga (one way, then to Nerja);
Nerja-Granada (do we need to go back to Malaga by car/bus?);
Thank you. Our trip begins end of June
There is no need for advance booking if you are only worried about the train being full. Trains rarely sell out. However, advance booking may allow you to book at a discount (if available) so if your schedule is set in stone then you can save a few euro with purchasing on-line.
Madrid to Toledo & return is on AVE, even though it's only 30 minutes, so on my recent trip I booked it in advance online, because I'd read (might be incorrect) that it was better to book AVE trains in advance.
Also, no later than your arrival at the Toledo train station (great architecture of the train station!), you will want to reserve your return train, Rick suggests this because the return trains during commute hours can apparently be fully booked.
Seville - Cordoba: I bought at Seville station on day of, from a train station sales clerk.
Buying in advance will save you money.
Nerja-Granada (do we need to go back to Malaga by car/bus?) No need to go back to Malaga; just take the bus from Nerja to Granada. It's a nice, modern bus.
Rick's Spain guidebook and website have lots of info about booking trains in Spain, specific to these routes.
I agree with Kent's advice on the Toledo tickets. You needn't rush, and you won't save any money by buying early, but you don't want to get marooned in Toledo if you've paid for a hotel room in Madrid, so I would buy the tickets ahead of time unless I was waiting to see what the weather was going to be like or something like that.
It appears ALSA has bus service from Nerja to Granada six times a day on weekdays in late June. Most of the trips are scheduled to take between 1:50 and 2:30. I have taken quite a few ALSA buses, and they are comfortable.
You do not under any circumstances want to buy the tickets to Seville at a staffed counter at Madrid's Atocha Station. I spent 3 hours in line there back in April. The vending machines are fine if they like your credit card and you are not using Tarjeta Doradas (senior discount cards). But you won't know about the credit card situation until you get there--too big a risk. Buy the tickets in advance (which may get you a discount if you're sure of your schedule and buy nonrefundable tickets). Loco2.com is easier to use than the Renfe website.
I don't think I've ever needed to buy a ticket at the Seville train station, so I don't know whether there's a risk of horrible waits there as one encounters in Madrid. If your schedule is firm, I'd buy the tickets to Cordoba and Malaga now. You may save some money, and I have definitely seen AVE trains sell out.
As I believe you know, Nerja has no train service. ALSA has frequent buses from Malaga.
Your insights are appreciated. Have the most recent guidebook but was unclear.
I do have an additional question re Loco2. Any experience with the phone app v online purchase?
