For a trip this April, we are planning to start in Madrid, spend one night in Toledo, and then train or bus to either Cordoba or Granada first. After spending one night in both cities, we will make our way to Sevilla. What is the best and most efficient method of transport (train, bus, rental car?), and in what order should we do Cordoba and Granada, keeping in mind ease of transport to the next location? Any suggestions are greatly appreciated!
Posted by
Seattle, WA, USA ☔️
6790 posts
Erin, getting between some of the cities in southern Spain can be a little tricky -- there are some combinations where the rail connections don't make much sense, and bus is a better way to go. Personally, I greatly prefer trains over the bus, so on a recent trip through there, I took a route using only trains that worked out fairly well.
Toledo is the one one in your list -- if you want to go by train, you would probably need to double back through Madrid before heading on. Toledo - Madrid is a quick ride, though, so it wouldn't cost you much time (the money might make the bus more attractive, though).
Making the connections through the rest of the cities, the trick is to zig-zag a bit using the rail lines that have high speed routes. We went from Granada to Sevilla to Cordoba to Madrid (same cities as you, I think, but in the opposite direction; it shold work either way). Looking at a map, this might not appear to be the most efficient route, but with the high-speed trains, we found it quite handy. (Note that I'm sure others would suggest taking the bus instead; that's fine, I just prefer the trains.)
So in your case, the route would be Madrid -> Toledo, then (backtracking through Madrid) -> Cordoba -> Sevilla -> Granada. This works fine if you want to stick to the trains. If you're OK with the bus, there are more options that might require less zig-zagging. But this route via trains worked out great for us. All wonderful cities to visit, BTW - you'll have agreat time.
Posted by
Ottawa, Canada
4555 posts
David's routing makes perfect sense....a "triangle," if you will, through Andalucia. Yes, you will have to double back to Madrid from Toledo. But otherwise it's a pretty straight run thru the rest of the cities. I would suggest the high speed AVE trains to Cordoba and Sevilla, then the bus to Granada and back to Madrid (I assume you're heading back to the capital.) Buses are far cheaper than the trains and the journey is almost as fast on those legs. For AVE tickets, you can get great discounts as far as 62 days in advance at the Spanish national rail website, www.renfe.es
Posted by
Boston
4132 posts
Are you choosing between Cordoba vs. Granada? If that is the question, Cordoba is certainly more logistically efficient, as it is on the AVE line from Madrid to Seville. However, Granada is singular and wonderful and I think worth the trouble to get to.
You don't say what you are doing after Seville. Do you have a flight home from there? If you are returning to Madrid you could even visit Cordoba as a day trip--leave Seville early, spend the day in Cordoba, resume travel to Madrid in the evening.
Spanish buses are comfortable and excellent, and probably the way to go through hilly Andalusia (unless you want to see small towns enroute, then rent a car). If comfort is not a top priority there is a night train between Madrid and Granada.
I agree with those who say that the trip back to Madrid from Toledo is trivial, but you can finesse it by spending your first night in Toledo and your second in Madrid. I think Toledo is a nicer place to de-jetlag anyway.
Have a great trip!