My information is old, so do check it carefully! I remember how frustrating it was to track down the bus companies.

1. My recollection is that there is an easy metro from the airport to Atocha, the train station for high speed trains. But it's been a while since I was there, so I hope others chime in!

3. For Sevilla to Ronda, try Los Amarillos. From Granada to Cordoba, try Continental Auto. I took a train from Granada to Ronda.

4. The bus I took from Ronda to Sevilla took me to Estacion Prado de San Sebastian. I don't remember if that's the only bus station possible for that particular bus or if it was a choice I made based on the location of my hotel.

Hope that helps!

1. Which train station do we need to go to (I am assuming there is more than one).

Atocha. Take the bus to Atoca http://www.emtmadrid.es/lineaAeropuerto/index.html

2. Which train station do we leave from in Cordoba to Madrid--when I go the site it seems that I am supposed to pick one. I thought there was only one station in Cordoba.

CORDOBA CENTRAL

3. Which bus company runs from Sevilla to Ronda? From Ronda to Granada? From Granada to Cordoba? I am trying the alsa site and feel like an idiot because I can't find Ronda--is it La Rondilla? (and I used to speak fairly decent Spanish in grad school!!)

Los Amarillos http://www.ronda.ws/info/horario/autobuses/los_amarillos/sevilla_ronda.htm

4. Which bus station in Sevilla? Are there 2 bus stations in Cordoba--which is closest to the train station?

SEVILLE (Plaza de Armas)

http://www.alsa.es for Sevilla/Cordoba

I am having trouble following the order of your itinerary. Can you spell out the cities in order of how they will be visited?

StantonHyde,

1. (I am not sure why you are favouring the EurRail site when the national carrier is RENFE - http://www.renfe.com/)

I note where you are from (and I presume long flight), so suggest taxi to Atocha RENFE, if 'we' are more than two and/or carrying luggage. The metro journey requires a change and takes more than an hour, taxi 30 minutes, hopefully. Metro if you want - http://www.metromadrid.es/en/index.html

2. There is only one train station in Cordoba. I must presume you are looking at something odd on the EurRail site.

3. Seville to Ronda as advised by kja - http://www.losamarillos.es/venta/busqueda.jsp
Ronda to Granada the same company - but would you not like the train ride at an hour and a half less, a little more comfort, better scenery?
Granada to Cordoba - Alsa bus which you have.
4. Bus station in Seville for Ronda is El Prado de San Sebastián.

I think that covers it - but I will give for trains and usage of the RENFE site and possible discounting this - http://tiny.cc/xgsxn

Come back, if you need more, help is at hand.

Best wishes.

I missed - the bus station and train station in Cordoba are opposite each other.

Granada is a simple, cheap train ride from Ronda. Took about 2.5 hours.

ok, sorry to confuse everyone with the itinerary. But it seems like you rose to the challenge and gave me the info I needed to find trains and buses--thank you!!

The itinerary is:
Saturday, land in Madrid at 9:30 am, AVE train to Seville
Sunday and Monday-tour Seville
Tuesday--day trip from Sevilla to Cordoba and back to Sevilla
Weds--bus from Sevilla to Ronda, see Ronda, stay night
Thurs--travel to Granada from Ronda (bus or train--whichever is faster)
Friday--leave Granada in the afternoon and bus or train to Cordoba (whichever is faster). Switch to AVE train (or from bus to train). AVE train to Madrid.
Sat--leave Madrid via plane

Great--I checked renfe--so much easier to use!! Looks like I can take the 8:27 train from Ronda and be in Granada by 11 am. The AVEs to/from Madrid--lots of times, easy.

The bus leaves from Sevilla to Ronda at 7 am. What time would we get to Ronda--around 10 am?

I am excited to see that I can bus from Granada to Cordoba 15:00-17:42 and then walk across the street in Cordoba and get on the AVE for an 18:02 and get into Madrid at 19:45. Or is that connection in Cordoba cutting it too close. Do buses run on time in that area?

I will make reservations for the trains and for the Alsa ride from Granada to Cordoba. Is it necessary to make reservations on Los Amarillos or can we just get a ticket when we are in Sevilla?

I wasn't able to make a reservation for Los Amarillos online last year, although that may have changed. I would definitely buy your ticket at least a day before -- that route is popular and the buses are full. Our bus took 2 hours to get to Ronda, others take 2.5, depending on stops. There were several faster buses per day.

Here's the link to all buses to/from Ronda: http://www.turismoderonda.es/informacion/pdf/horarioautobuses.pdf

StantonHyde,

I think the only query unanswered is about your Granada to Madrid journey. Twenty minutes between disembarking bus station and embarking train station in Cordoba is a little tight for me. The bus might not be on time (who can tell with traffic), the train will be.
Do you not want to train all the way Granada to Madrid - two journeys a day?

Best wishes.

WomBatt:

I know, it is a trade off. I decided to do the big train journey vs. going to Cordoba and staying the night there. I would rather do Cordoba as a day trip from Sevilla and not do as much hotel hopping.

Good luck. If you need anything more, ask. My weakest knowledge on your trip is Seville, only having been twice for a few days and Ronda once.

Bookmarking

StantonHyde -

How did this trip work out for you? I also have a similar itinerary for trip in 3 weeks. I have the same concern of Granada-Madrid with stopover in Cordoba. Would you suggest taking a train (which may have a more reliable schedule) or bus from Granada to Cordoba? Any other suggestions for Sevilla, Ronda, or even Madrid would be appreciated.

Thanks!

marking for later comment - I have taken trains between all those cities and service is excellent - I also took the bus from Seville to Ronda, passing thru the iconic White Villages - cannot remember which of several bus companies but left from bus station near the main S Justa train station.

For lots of great info on Spanish trains check out these IMO fab sites - www.seat61.com; www.ricksteves.com and www.budgeteuropetravel.com. There is a Spanish railpass that may be cost effective if you want to decide which train to take once there and not do the discounted advance online bookings that I believe are train-specific and non-changeable nor refundable. IME you will never have a problem getting on any train as you go along.

Margo20- I'd probably take the bus between Granada and Cordoba for 2 reasons: 1) there are many more buses than train each day and they take the same amount of travel time as train 2) the bus is significantly less expensive. I don't know your specific itinerary but you may consider doing a daytrip to Cordoba between a Granada and Madrid. There are luggage lockers in the bus station.

Thanks PalenQ and CathyM. Right now our itinerary is as follows:

-Train Madrid - Sevilla, 3 nights in Sevilla
-Bus Sevilla - Ronda, 1 night in Ronda
-Train Ronda - Granada, 2 nights in Granada
-Bus Granada - Cordoba, 1/2 day sightsee in Cordoba then Train Cordoba - Madrid, then Train Madrid - Toledo, 1 night in Toledo
-Train Toledo - Madrid, 1 night in Madrid

I'm hoping to hit all the major highlights of Andalusia but hopefully not exhaust myself traveling. Aside from the Granada-Toledo day I think it should be feasible unless anyone suggests otherwise.

Thanks!

Margo20 -

Do you think you might ever return to Madrid and surrounds? The reason I ask is that if you think you might, then it might make sense to add a day to Cordoba and skip Toledo this time around. I found plenty to see in Cordoba to keep me busy for 2 full days. I'm not saying it "beats" Toledo, which I also loved. I'm just thinking that if you want to "cover" Andalusia on this trip, then it might make most sense to cover your bases there.

Good suggestion. Likely I will not return to Madrid for at least 5 years. Since Toledo was so highly recommended I figured I should make time for it now vs later.

I'd also consider skipping Toledo for this trip as you'll end up with 2 1-nighters in a row at the end. It would also make for a long day first with the bus ride from Granada to Cordoba, then visiting Cordoba for the day, then train to Madrid and then another train to Toledo. I'd consider adding the night to Sevilla so you have more time to recover from jetlag. Alternatively you could consider moving the Toledo night to Cordoba. The only issue is you'll have 3 1-nighters out of 8 nights. That's alot of hotel hopping.

What time is your flight departing from Madrid? You may be able to spend your final night in Cordoba and take an early train into Madrid.

If you want flexibility to take any AVE train anytime and any other train anytime then investigate the Spain Railpass as you have several journeys and then no hassles trying to button down discounted and I think non-changeable non-refundable fares. Passes are not valid on buses however. Pass info - www.seat61.com - click on his commercial link to RailEurope for pass prices or www.ricksteves.com and http://www.budgeteuropetravel.com/id30.html

Honestly I'd forego buying a rail pass for Spain. In most cases you're better off purchasing point to point tickets and often bus is more frequent, significantly less expensive, and takes the same amount of time on several routes (ie. Granada to Cordoba). If you want to purchase train tickets in advance (albeit non-refundable) you can get discounts of up to 65% on webfares, a great savings.

Click on my user name and it should bring up my trip report from our Spain trip. We had a great time!!

Here is the link to my after-trip report:


http://www.fodors.com/community/europe/seville-cordoba-ronda-granada-trip-report.cfm