Hello all,
I will be traveling to Spain during Holy week with 3 friends and because I think it will be crowded would like to arrange our train and bus travel before hand. We are flying into Spain but then need to get to Grenada - is this a train or a bus? I looked on raileurope.com and could not find a train- if its a bus, does anyone know how to book ahead of time? Then we are going from Grenada to Sevilla - which I think is a bus also, then back to Madrid. Any help would be greatly appreciated!..Thanks:)
Posted by
Ottawa, Canada
4555 posts
"We are flying into Spain..." Into which city?
Posted by
Tresana, Highlands Ranch, CO, USA
23343 posts
We just made that run in Dec/Jan. I guessing you are flying into Madrid. Consider an open jaw ticket with a return from Malaga. That is what we did over New Years. Train to Cordoba, Sevilla, and Granada, and bus to Malaga. RailEurope is nearly worthless for planning. It is not a train company but a travel agency to sell inflated tickets to North Americans. Use dahn.de for schedules.
Posted by
OP
west islip, new york, us
2 posts
Sorry -yes we are flying into madrid - okay so there is a train from madrid to grenada and grenada to sevilla?
Posted by
Ottawa, Canada
4555 posts
Frankly, I would take the bus on both those routes....I've done it, and found the service to be excellent. The train Madrid-Granada 4:35 hours long (only 2 trains/day), bus 5-5:15...rail cost 65 Euro, bus cost, 18 Euro. Granada-Sevilla is only about 15 minutes longer by bus, but the price differential is a lot narrower...23 Euro on the train versus 19 Euro by bus (yes, more than Madrid-Granada!) Sevilla-Madrid is more problematic. The bus takes 6:15 and costs 19 Euro. The AVE high speed train takes 2:45, but costs 70 Euro.
Posted by
Tresana, Highlands Ranch, CO, USA
23343 posts
Yes -- Madrid, Cordoba,Sevilla are all on the direct AVE line. Granada is off to the side on a regional network. Look at your map. I am sure that there is a regional train from Madrid to Granada but you may have to change along the way. The Granada to Sevilla is a three hour run and someone else has report that the bus between the two is only another 30 minutes longer but much, much cheaper. Spain has an excellent bus system with great equipment and very low cost. The time back to Madrid from Sevilla would be about 2.5 hours on the AVE. I would encourage an open jaw ticket as it probably would be cheaper unless you have already purchased your tickets.
Posted by
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
172 posts
We were in Spain last year during Semana Santa and for the week or so before. It is a VERY busy time of the year for travelling inside the country. To get to Sevilla from Barcelona we had to go to Valencia (great as we experienced Las Fallas Festival), then Madrid and finally a very expensive fast train to Sevilla. Try and book train or bus tickets from home, maybe try using a travel agent. We had booked a hotel in Sevilla weeks in advance, and would not have got the room if our hotel in Madrid (same chain) hadn't phoned the Sevilla hotel for us to confirm. We were told many times that hotel reservations don't mean much in Spain, especially during busy times. Also, remember that you need to book Nazaries (sp?) Palace entry tickets well in advance, as they sell out quickly.