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Train / Bus Transportation to & from Tarifa and other places

First, I am assuming that trying to get train tickets for a trip in June is impossible at the moment because it is too far out? There is one website that allows you to go all the way to make the purchases but then says they aren't guaranteed because they don't have the correct schedule out. Do they change that much?? Am I a fool to purchase those?

I am struggling with figuring out the following...
Madrid to Salamanca - would like to do the train, but if the bus is cheaper and basically the same time, then what does it matter. I just need to be guaranteed that they have routes between those two cities.

Next is Tarifa...
We will be heading from Seville to Tarifa - Looks like the bus is our best option as there is no train in Tarifa (from what I have read).

Then Tarifa to Granada...
There has got to be an easier way...Take a bus the entire way? Bus to some city (Algeciras or Malaga) and then a train? Private transportation is too pricey. Rental car doesn't seem to be an option either because there is no parking at the hotel in Granada, and most websites say that parking and driving in that area is crazy. Plus...not sure our car insurance would cover us since it is in a different country.

I think I have most of our other routes mapped out, but these are the ones that I am struggling finding any info on whatsoever! Thank you in advance.

Posted by
28082 posts

There's a Europe-wide schedule change in early June; that's what's causing your problem, I think. But you can look at the schedule for the first week of June and assume that's very similar to what you'll see later in the month.

For example: From Madrid to Salamanca there are a couple of Alvias (at least on weekday; I didn't check Sat-Sun) that get to Salamanca in less than 2 hours (in addition to quite a few slower trains). You can compare that to bus travel times.

Posted by
7157 posts

I’m certain there are parking garages in Granada and would probably cost 20-25€ per day. Driving in Granada is a pain, so if you can avoid it, you’d be better off doing so. Your U.S. car insurance will not cover you overseas. You could use credit card CDW coverage if your card has it, get it from a 3rd party company like Allianz, or get it through the rental company itself.

I can’t speak to public transportation since I generally have a rental car. The last time I was in Granada we stayed at a hotel right at the Alhambra complex and parked in a specific area of the Alhambra lot.

Posted by
8058 posts

For Seville to Tarifa, yeah Bus is needed for at least part of the journey. Nearly all routes go through Cadiz, so you could take the train to Cadiz, then catch a bus there to Tarifa.

Similar going from Tarifa to Granada. You will wind up needing to change in Malaga, you could do the same, take bus from Tarifa to Malaga, then train from Malaga to Granada.

Obviously the train segments can be done by bus as well. Trains have a bit of an advantage over bus, in that sometimes there are more frequent departures, and they can be faster.

For buses, you can use Rome2Rio to find the names of bus companies, then go directly to those sites to look for times and tickets. It looks like for Seville to Tarifa, TG Comes runs the most routes https://www.tgcomes.es/ but Alsa https://www.alsa.com/en/web/bus/homehttps://www.alsa.com/en/web/bus/home also seems to have some routes.

Mostly TG Comes to Malaga, Then Alsa from Malaga to Granada.