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Trains and car rentals for the South of Spain

I have finally finished our itenirary and wanted your opinions on how to get from place to place
This is what we have so far

Sept 30th we arrive in Madrid at 1200 PM and we will take the train to Cordoba (4.00PM) Tickets bought
Sept 30th to Oct 4th we will be in Cordoba
Oct 4th to the 10th we will be in Seville (not sure if we should rent a car or take the train there)
Oct 10th to the 13th We will be in Cadiz (I will need a car here bc we plan to go to Jerez and then drive to our next destination which is Granada.
Oct 13th to Oct 17th We will be in Granada (we would keep the car that we either got in Seville or in Cadiz to use in Granada and return Oct 16th.
Oct 17th we will take the train back to Madrid to catch our flight on the 18th. We are staying close to the airport and tickets for the train have been bought.

On the places I am unsure of car or train, what are your thoughts. What would you change. All airbnbs have been booked and trains from Madrid to Cordoba and from Granada to Madrid have been bought.

I travel with a husband with bad knees and a son with ASD therefore I really need to plan things out for everything to run smooth. As always thank you so much for your suggestions and wonderful ideas.

Sincerely
Martha

Posted by
7159 posts

If you planned on taking any day trips from Sevilla to places not serviced by train or bus, then a rental would be needed. There’s no reason to pay $60 +/- a day for a rental car so it can sit in a parking garage that you’ll be paying a daily 16€-20€ just to park it. You wouldn’t need a rental car in Granada for the same reason. At the Alhambra, the parking lot is down the hill from the complex so some walking is involved.

Posted by
2267 posts

I think I’d pick up the rental somewhere mid/late stay in Sevilla, to cover any day trips there and on to Cadiz. Then I’d get rid of it as soon at I got to Granada. Taxis in Granada are plentiful and cheap, surely cheaper than keeping the car and paying for parking. And surely easier to hail a cab than deal with driving there, too.

Posted by
6975 posts

Cordoba to Seville: Train, there is a high speed line linking the two cities.
Also, you don't need a car to get to Jerez from Cadiz, it's 30 minutes by train.
And no, you'll neither need nor want a car in Granada.

Posted by
1700 posts

As others have said, you don't want a car in Seville or Granada. Absolutely not necessary. And it will be very stressful trying to drive in those cities. If you need a car for a daytrip, just rent a car for that day. We have done that several times while traveling in Europe.

The ALSA bus is another option, too, for traveling to Seville or to Granada. The buses are clean, modern, comfortable and air conditioned.

Posted by
197 posts

On those instances where you are "unsure or car or train," I would recommend the train. Among several visits to Spain, I have never rented a car, and probably would not do except by "default": that is, only if I felt I really felt I needed to visit a place that could not be reached by train or by a short bus ride. (I might consider a car over a long bus ride.)

Posted by
168 posts

Is there a cab service like UBER that I can download to use for taxis?

BTW I did book the rest of our train tickets and did a private transfer from Cadiz to Granada bc the trains for some reason were showing 4 to 5 hrs (with connecting ones) So we are all set.. Just thinking ahead on how to get around bc we wont have a cab!

TY