wylie

after leaving Madrid we are heading by car to toledo this July. Is it a scenic drive to Seville or Cordoba with worthwile stops on the way( can you list the great towns) or should we head back( kinda silly?) to Madrid to catch the train to Seville. Thanks in advance.

Molloy95

Hi Wylie. We are heading south from Madrid too on our trip on May. I'm getting ready to post a question that will help me decide how we are going to get there, so you might want to look for responses to my question about the train station in Cordoba above.

My question for you would be this: have you already made arrangements to rent the car in Madrid for your trip to Toledo? How long will you have your car? Is there any reason you want to drive to Toledo instead of taking the train or a bus?

Toledo is a fantastic day trip from Madrid, but it does seem silly to me to drive there and then drive back to Madrid to take the train. You could certainly make it a stop over on your way south by car. If you did that, you should spend the night in Toledo as there is far too much to see to stop in for a few hours and then drive to Sevilla (IMHO)

If you have a few days in Madrid you could take the train or a bus to Toledo, spend the bulk of the day there, then return to Madrid.

As far as driving from Madrid to Sevilla in general, instead of taking the train, we are trying to make that decision ourselves. Having driven it once, I remember very little of interest that would make having the flexiblity to stop off really worth the drive (you will see the scenery anyway on the train.)

That 2.5 hour AVE ride sounds pretty great to me compared to my memories of driving. And I typically love road trips -- if you have the luxury of time you might want to do it, but if I recall you are on a shortish trip.

Don't forget to factor in the cost of gas if you compare train prices v. car rental. You can always rent a car in Sevilla once you are there.

Molloy95

Just FYI: Here's something I copied from Maribel's wonderful guides about getting from Madrid to Toledo.
(You can get a copy of her guides to Madrid and Sevilla at www.maribelsguides.com)


Maribel's Guide:

TOLEDO:

From ATOCHA rail station, take the Regional Express, which takes 1 hr. 15-30 min (some returns take just 1 hr) Check www.renfe.es Schedule may be reduced or disrupted due to construction of the high speed line to Toledo. Currently the final leg of the trip is by bus from an outlying train station, but that may change as work on the AVE high speed line progresses. From Toledo's pseudo Mudéjar style train station, which is truly a work of art, the city bus #6 (or taxi) will take you up through the Puerta de Bisagra gate to start your tour. But again, they are building a new station for the AVE, so it may be quicker and easier for you to take the bus. At any rate, don’t walk either from the bus or train statioon. It’s a steep, uphill climb!

Also see schedule here: http://direl.com/hortren.html

Or…

"Continental Galiano" bus from Estación del Sur bus station (metro: Méndez Alvaro, right underneath bus station, circurlar grey line #6), departs every 30 min. Try to catch an "expreso". Drops you off outside medieval walls, then catch city bus #5 or 6 (very steep, uphill 3/4 mile walk) to the center of town, the Plaza del Zocodover where you'll want to start touring. See bus schedule here: http://direl.com/horbus.html

in Spanish only. Or www.continental-auto.es Then click on “horario y venta de billetes”, then select “Zona Centro”, then in “seleccione origen” box choose Madrid (Malvaro) , then in “seleccione destino” box, choose Toledo, then schedule should pop up.

From Mon.-Sat. busses TO Toledo leave starting at 6:30 a.m., and there are departures every 30 min. Fare is 3,89 euros. On Sun./holidays busses start running at 8:30 a.m., every 30 min.

The return back to Madrid from Toledo:

Mon-Sat. every 30 min. until 10 p.m. and Sun./holidays, every 30 min. til 11:30 p.m.


Note: I believe the Alcázar military museum is still closed for renovations. The Synagogue of the Tránsito and its Sephardic Museum have now reopened for visits.

lincasanova

i would NOT backtrack to madrid to go anywhere south.

also, unless you really are into driving, it would be very easy to get to toledo, where, BTW, you do NOT need a car.

however, from there, you could easily have a wonderful off the beaten track drive down to cordoba.. as there are MANY places to stop and visit.
the normal roads are in goo dshape, and take you to many reknown villages.. windmills.. plazas.. castels.

check out la mancha, andalucia, tembleque, consuegra, just to name a few regions and towns.

one of my favorite paradors is OROPESA, but that is westerly from madrid. worth a stop or overnight.

you do not necessarily need to go to places in a straight line on highway.
add a few hours to trip but see more of rural spain.

www.toprural.com for accomodations in the country.