Transport to and from Granada

Sorry ... one more question:

On Loco2 I just looked up the train from Ronda to Granada on 4 January. At 13:36, it shows a “standard, flexible”fare for 20.10 euros. The same fare type — “standard,flexible”is listed for Granada to Jerez and so on.

As I am 60, would it make sense for me to buy a Tarjeta Dorado Card when I arrive in Madrid? Am I reading this correctly: for the 6 euro card fee, I would get a 25-40% discount on the “standard,flexible” ticket?

(Spain is a last minute “wing it” trip and I simply haven’t had time to research thoroughly. Sorry, and thanks for the help.)

The railway around Granada has been undergoing renovations since April 2014 and there appears to be no end in sight.
Having said this, one can still travel to/ from Granada but it will entail a train and bus combination depending on where you’re traveling from/to.

In your case it looks like you’ll be traveling from Ronda to Granada, is this correct?

This basically means that you’ll board the train in Ronda and travel to Antequera Santa Ana’s train station where you will then have to transfer to a bus that will then take you the rest of the journey (about an hour) to Granada.
The bus is provided by Renfe, Spain’s Railway Company, and you will be arriving at Granada’s train station.

When you depart Granada, you’ll do this in reverse; board a bus at Granada’s train station, travel to Antequera Santa Ana’s train station and transfer to a train to your desired destination.

Yes, I’d definitely recommend buying your, “Tarjeta Dorada”, when you arrive to Madrid and that way you’ll take advantage of the discount. Keep in mind that you’ll receive 25% discount on full fare priced tickets during the weekend and 40% discount during the weekdays.

Enjoy your time in Spain!

Thanks for clarifying the Granada rail issue! All good.

Usually I would research a trip more thoroughly, and have found answers to “duh”questions like this. But the impromptu addition of a couple of weeks in Spain at the end of my Italy trip was something I could not pass up!

Buon Natale from Rome!

Read this article on the Spanish train system, for everything you need to know. You can easily compare fares on the Renfe site. When you enter your query info, check the "tarjeta dorada" box. Then when you see the train you want, click the plus box and then you'll have a drop-down "tarifa" menu. You can see all the available fares. BTW the first price that comes up on the query will be the cheapest, whether it's promo or TD.

3 full days in Granada is a lot, IMO. That's what I did, arriving in the evening and leaving in the morning. I would have been satisfied with 2 full days (3nights). Have you considered renting a car in Cordoba and driving to Granada? It's pretty easy, and then you'll be able to explore the hill towns along the way.