train to and from Granada--yes or no?

The bus would be the best option. ALSA buses have toilets, so if that is your only issue, you should be fine. ALSA buses are like standard long-haul tour buses and are fairly comfortable, though not as roomy as trains. The train construction does require a long bus ride before transferring to the train (it is seamless and the wait time is minimal). The ALSA bus also gives you far more options than the limited train schedules. But if the bus toilet/seating doesn't work for you - I'm not sure you have any other option other than renting a car. You could rent at car in Cordoba, drive to Granada, drive to Sevilla and return it there. Maybe even squeeze in some hill towns along the way between Granada and Sevilla.

If at all possible, I would not skip Granada. The Alhambra is one of the most impressive sites in Spain and tickets sell out for good reasons (be sure to pre-purchase your tickets).

douglas--we actually already purchased our alhambra tickets, because...i guess i'm insane and take care of that kind of thing before transport? i suppose i always assume transport can be purchased.

i've thought about a rental car, but there's nowhere to park at our hotel in granada. basically--i don't want this trip to be stressful in any way. so i'm thinking we will cut granada. it's not like this is a once in a lifetime trip. we can go to granada next time, once the train line is complete. the layover between the bus and train is hours long, so it would be two hours on a bus--which i can not do--and then two hours in the train station and then another hour on the train. both ways. that's nearing as long as our flight from NYC to Madrid. and i've looked into the toilet situation on the bus you are referencing, and the answer seems to be: nope. and no stops either.

i suppose i'm glad i know now so that i can cancel.

Douglas tried to explain that the transfer between the bus and the train is seamless and the time is minimal. You don't seem to have read that, since you wrote back the layover between the bus and train is hours long, so it would be two hours on a bus--which i can not do--and then two hours in the train station and then another hour on the train. both ways.

You obviously have misinformation. And I can't figure out what bothers you. The train/bus journey time is almost identical to the train time before they started working on the tracks.

On the other hand, there's plenty to see and do in Spain without going anywhere near Granada.

Tracy,

My mom (age 88 at the time) and I traveled the same route, as you intend to, in October 2015.

We took the ALSA bus from Córdoba to Granada, and then from Granada to Sevilla.

All the ALSA buses have toilets. You can see this information on the ALSA website.
Once you've chosen your departure, destination, and date of travel on the ALSA website. You can see what services are included in each of the different bus types by clicking on the words; 'Normal' or 'Supra Economy', (below the arrival time), next to the small grey dog and bicycle icons.
As you can see, all buses have footrests, seat belts, WC, and WiFi among other services.

The buses are comfortable and we didn't have any issues.
Travel time is less than 3 hours on both of these routes (Córdoba to Granada, and Granada to Sevilla)

The Alhambra is absolutely magnificent and the highlight of Granada.

I do hope you reconsider and decide to visit Granada ;-)

Enjoy your trip!

FLY madrid-granada
TRAIN granada-seville
TRAIN seville-cordoba
TRAIN cordoba-madrid/toledo

TRN13943
Dep 11:24 GRANADA
Arr 14:43 SEVILLA-SANTA JUSTA

Just in case it is the way you are researching, you book 'train' on RENFE from Cordoba to Granada and Granada to Seville....one booking, not booking bus and then booking train. Yes, it involves bus and train, but as all organized by the train company, they have organized it to be as simple as possible.
That being said, I was also going to suggest a flight into the itinerary. I get the feeling, however, that you have organized a number of other things that would be impacted by an itinerary change, so rather than stress it any longer, skip Granada if you plan to return to Spain. For future consideration, I am flying to Granada from Canada. No, it isn't a direct flight, but as a codeshare, it is cheaper and faster than an internal flight later in the schedule, so there might be a similar option when you are planning for next time.

Chani--

i did read what douglas explained, and in his situation perhaps it was seamless. for the date and time i was searching, for the granada-seville leg, there was a 2.5 hour 'layover' between the bus and the train. there was an option for us to take the 7:40am bus and only have a 24 minute layover, but we are trying to make this a laid back trip, and getting up at 5am to make a bus does not fit in that plan. so the thing that bothered me was spending 3 hours in transit from cordoba to granada and then 5.5 hours in transit from granada to seville. honestly, i just want this to be an easy trip. last year we did: fly direct to madrid, 4 days madrid, fast train to barcelona, 4 days in barcelona, fly direct home out of barcelona. it was the best trip because we were able to relax and have fun and didn't spend all of our time traveling (i travel for a living so this is important to me). i thought that's what i planned for this trip. just you know...longer. except maybe i didn't.

Priscilla--

please excuse me while i quote you and then use all caps because i'm so happy. ahem...

"Once you've chosen your departure, destination, and date of travel on the ALSA website. You can see what services are included in each of the different bus types by clicking on the words; 'Normal' or 'Supra Economy', (below the arrival time), next to the small grey dog and bicycle icons. "

THAT IS THE INFORMATION I NEEDED!!! I SEE IT NOW! THANK YOU THANK YOU! i feel kind of stupid having not been able to find it myself, though i did check the website. and googled A LOT (and got lots of 'yeah busses in spain don't have WCs' and 'there was totally a toilet on our bus' conflicting comments.) so yes. there are toilets. great.* thank you i feel better about the bus now.

so new question--did you book the bus in advance or at the station? thanks!

*it should be noted that many would think i'm being weird about this, but i assure you, i have a very real medical condition that requires me to not be on a bus for three hours without a toilet at least available in the case of emergencies. i had a very rare form of cancer last year, and resulting major surgery that has forever changed how i process food. i often go 40+ hours without eating to avoid this issue, but even then i can get sick having a sip of water. so yeah. i need to be near-ish a toilet i've found ways to still travel and for that i am proud.

Maria--

yes, that was my thought--that we'd just fly directly to granada some day in the future. we love spain, so we will certainly return, and i've seen some good deals out of PHL to granada on american. but it looks like we may be able to keep it for this trip, so yay!

Hope it all works, Tracy! I think I may have loved Granada more than Sevilla. As a note, we took a "normal" bus Seville - Granada and I meant to confirm a toilet. It is probably in the downstairs part of the bus about midway back, not in the back of the bus like many U.S. busses. I did look in that back area and it wasn't there. I forgot to go look in the other area.....Also I do recommend taking a Supra bus. The Normal bus was fine but felt closer to an airline seat than a train seat. :)

Tracy,

I'm so glad my reply was helpful to you.

Believe me, I did tons of research when planning my trip, especially since I had to consider the needs of my 88 year old mom! ;-)

Now to answer your question...

so new question--did you book the bus in advance or at the station? thanks!

I purchased all our bus tickets (Córdoba to Granada and Granada to Sevilla) at the bus station in Córdoba, a few days prior to traveling, but you can certainly book your tickets in advance on the ALSA website.

Just plan to arrive to the bus station at least 20 minutes before the time of departure as people start lining up by the bus platform.
You will need to place your luggage in the hold (below bus) prior to boarding the bus.
The driver will check your tickets as you board the bus.

We did not need to use the toilet in the bus but I did find out where it was, just in case...

And travelmom explained it best...

It is in the downstairs part of the bus about midway back not in the back of the
bus like many U.S. buses.

Enjoy your trip!

Priscilla

Edit to add...

Tracy I just sent you a PM.

We went the opposite direction (Seville to Granada) but I made a special trip to the bus station the day before this leg to buy tickets and he looked at me like I was a little lost and told me to come back tomorrow (the day of our trip) and that it would be fine. So we got there about 45 min early and it was fine. That being said, it made me nervous so I would not want to do it like that again when time is not flexible. Or when it's a busier time of year.

I still don't know where you're gettng your information. On another post, you indicated planning to travel in mid-May. I just looked at the Renfe site for May 15-21. It shows the same schedule for each day. Departures at 8.43, 11.24, 17.32 and 20.57. The total journey time (bus and train, including transfer time) is between 3 hours 11 minutes and 3 hours 24 minutes.