We would like to travel to Segovia, Toledo, Salamanca, and Ávila, Spain on a 10-day trip.
We would arrive in Madrid, but we do not want to stay in Madrid, as we have stayed in Madrid on previous trips.
We are thinking of staying in either Segovia or Toledo and doing day trips to Salamanca and Ávila.
We appreciate any suggestions as to whether this is doable.
Thank you!
Are you planning to drive or to use public transportation? A car would be more convenient. I have visited all four of these cities and enjoyed all of them. If driving, I'd stop in Avila enroute between either Segovia and Salamanca, or between Salamanca and Toledo. I'd plan on staying in Segovia, Salamanca and Toledo.
As already mentioned, driving would be most convenient. If going by train you’d need to waste time going into Madrid, then changing trains and/or stations to get to the places you mentioned.
To reduce driving time for day trips, consider using Toledo, Salamanca, and Segovia as bases. I say that because Salamanca is 2 hours 45 minutes from Toledo and 2 hours from Segovia. The long drive would cut down on the amount of time you’d have for the actual visit. Both Segovia and Toledo are an hour from Madrid’s airport and two hours from each other. Ávila is between the three other cities so at some some you’ll drive right past it.
By only using one place as a base you’ll spend a lot of time just getting to/from places. That time could be better spent.
If you’re into castles, there are a number of them between Salamanca and Segovia. If you’re a Teresa of Ávila fan, she in entombed in Alba de Tormes outside of Salamanca.
Hi JaimeT
I had a similar trip in Nov 2021, except that I stayed in each city, including Madrid, and my total trip was 13 nights. I'll describe what I did and you can check to see that public transit still makes it possible. I only had to go back into Madrid for the Segovia to Toledo transfer.
Mon Nov 1: arrived Madrid in AM, train from Madrid Principe Pio station to Avila (90 min). Slept Avila 3 nights.
Thu Nov 4: Avanza bus from Avila to Salamanca (90 min). Slept Salamanca 2 nights.
Sat Nov 6: train from Salamanca to Segovia Guiomar station (75 min). Slept Segovia 2 nights.
Mon Nov 8: train from Segovia Guiomar to Madrid Atocha, then train from Madrid Atocha to Toledo (about 2 hours total time). Slept Toledo 3 nights.
Thu Nov 11: train from Toledo to Madrid Atocha. Slept Madrid 3 nights.
Sun Nov 14: departed for USA.
Just to let you know how to get from Madrid to Segovia ... because it was not super convenient ... from the main station Atocha you see 20+ tracks. Well you don't take any of them. You go through the station and there is kind of another station off to the side. From there you take a 20 minute train to another station in Madrid, and from there, I think it's a high speed train to Segovia. You arrive in the middle of nowhere, and take a bus ride about 15 minutes into town. Once you do it, it's not too hard, but we had a heck of time in the main station.
Chiming back in to say that I think it’s a great idea to sleep in Toledo as you are planning, so that you can enjoy the city in the early mornings and later evenings when the day trippers aren’t there.
Also to echo to comment about Alba de Tormes if you have an interest in St Teresa of Jesus (St Teresa of Avila). I hired a taxi to bring me there from Salamanca, wait for me for 2 hours, and bring me back to Salamanca. The nuns there sell delicias to help support themselves (like many commmnities of nuns in Spain) and I bought my very nice driver a small box of their cookies as a token of thanks. He was really pleased!
Many thanks to everyone for your suggestions! The experiences and information you provided will definitely help us to plan a successful trip to these four places!
