My 3 daughters and are going to be in Spain arriving in Madrid and going to Andalucia. My itinerary is as follows:
March 15 arrive in Madrid
March 16-19 Granada
March 19-21 Sevilla
March 21 return to Madrid stopping in Cordoba on the way
March 23rd fly home
Is the train the best mode to go to Granada from Madrid? Train or bus to Sevilla from Granada? Is renting a car on any part of the trip a better option than the train or bus? Thanks in advance!
At some point next year Granada might be connected to a high-speed railway. But until that happens, at present I think it's a toss-up choosing between coach ("bus"), and train between Madrid and Granada. The former is direct, fairly comfortable and, usually, faster/cheaper. The latter is a bit more comfortable, but always (I think) involves a change if using faster services. You can walk about on the train, which you can't really do on the coach. Granada's coach station is a little further from the city centre than the railway station - though both are far enough out to justify a taxi (in my view anyway). If you choose the coach, then I think the operator is Alsa and there may be a "premium" service as well as the standard one.
I would only hire a car if you were planning to make a "road trip" of it - at least spending the day en route and stopping along the way, perhaps overnight. You do drive near some great stops if that were of interest. But if, as I presume, your interest is just moving from city centre to city centre then I don't see any advantage in driving (perhaps price?).
Pretty much the same comments for the Granada-Sevilla leg. As its a fairly short journey, I'd use the coach to avoid the current need to swap transport on this route if you go by railway (again, until the new line opens).
For Sevilla back to the capital, I'd definitely use the high-speed AVE train, at least for the stretch after visiting Cordoba.
I vote for making it a road trip and driving from Madrid to Granada (but I always get a rental car in Spain). On the way south stop in Consuegra and Campo de Criptana to see the castle and windmills. Those stops can be done in a couple hours as they are close together. Then you could visit Ubeda and Baeza. If you don’t want to make any stops, then use public transportation. The highlights in Granada can be seen in 2 full days.
Thank you for both of your insights! I guess I shall have to give it some more thought. I think I was kind of hoping to do the whole trip without having to drive though.
The way you've displayed your itinerary is potentially misleading to casual readers. You have much less time in each city than you are showing.
March 15: Arrive in Madrid (1 night -- some jetlagged hours)
March 16: To Granada (3 nights -- 2 full days)
March 19: To Seville (2 nights -- 1 full day)
March 21: To Madrid (2 nights -- 1 full day; stopping in Cordoba)
You basically have 2 days in Granada, 1 day in Seville, a few hours in Cordoba and 1 day in Madrid. I don't see any time for seeing the countryside unless you want to make a stop on the way to Granada, but you might prefer to see a bit of Madrid on the morning of March 16 before heading to Granada; otherwise, you'll have only one useful day in Madrid. Traveling from Seville to Cordoba and Madrid will definitely be much faster by train than by car.
Thanks everyone for the suggestions! It has certainly given me a lot more to think about:
