As part of our trip to Spain we are going to be going from Madrid to Cordoba, Granada, and Seville. If travelling by train is there any advantage going to Cordoba first followed by Granada, or is the reverse better? In other words, which one is better: Madrid --> Cordoba --> Granada--> Seville or Madrid --> Granada --> Cordoba --> Seville Both routes require you backtrack a bit.
Posted by
Seattle, WA
17442 posts
Go Madrid--- Cordoba---Sevilla---Granada---Madrid ( or circle in the reverse direction) and you won't backtrack at all. But the Madrid to Granada trip is the longest. We avoided that long trip by going Madrid to Seviaal to Granada to Cordoba and backnto Madrid and were happy with that route.
Posted by
Tresana, Highlands Ranch, CO, USA
23626 posts
You could go either way if you need a round trip. Have you considered open jaw? In Madrid and home from Malaga. Then it could be Madrid, Cordoba, Seville, Granada, and Malaga. No need to back track and probably cheaper.
Posted by
Bloomington, IL, USA
9371 posts
We were going the opposite way on my recent trip, but we went
Sevilla --> Cordoba --> Granada --> Toledo --> Madrid
Posted by
OP
Charlotte, NC, USA
35 posts
Sorry I should have clarified. This is just part of a greater trip. From Seville we are going to be heading into Portugal, not back towards Madrid. From Portugal we are then flying to Barcelona where we head home from. I'm just interested if there is any benefit of hitting Cordoba first vs Granada.
Posted by
New York, NY, USA
11294 posts
I can't follow all the permutations (getting punchy after trying to figure out my own upcoming trip to Berlin), but if you find that a particular train route requires connections, these cities are also connected by direct buses. You get a reserved seat on the bus, and the ride from Cordoba to Granada (the one I took) was about 3 hours - faster than the train (in 2006 - haven't looked since).
Posted by
Bend, OR, United States
1167 posts
There are frequent Madrid-Granada buses.
https://www.movelia.es/en/buscar_comprar/nacionales/
Posted by
Myrtle Beach, USA
12315 posts
Since you're going to Portugal after, I'd probably do Madrid to Granada by bus, rather than train, first. then work back to Cordoba and finnish in Seville (where it will be easier to continue into Portugal).
Posted by
OP
Charlotte, NC, USA
35 posts
Honestly we prefer trains due to the confort, convenience, and most importantly the security (we can keep an eye on our bags at all times). I think I have found the answer to my question. Checking out train schedules from Madrid to Granada there only seems to be two trains a days - one early one and one late one. On the other hand there seems to be many trains to Cordoba. I think we are going to do Cordoba first followed by Granada. Thank you all for your input!