Andalucia train travel
 

Hi.I am trying to figure out the best route either train and/or bus to get around between Granada, Ronda, Seville and Cordoba for my trip in Sept. I will have to start from Madrid and end in Seville(have a flight to Marrakech from there). I was planning on doing only a day trip to Ronda and Cordoba.
So, should I take the train from Madrid to Cordoba and then continue onto to Granada the same day? or is a day trip from seville to cordoba a better option? I can go to Ronda from either Granada or Seville whatever is easier and less time consuming. I cant use the Renfe website for sept yet so cant figure out my options. Also is it worth it for me to buy a rail pass. thanks for all the help always.

I would suggest doing the longest haul without any stops - Madrid to Granada. Then stop at Cordoba on the way from Granada to Seville. That will give you the most time in Cordoba. You can check, but I don't think it will help to buy a rail pass.

Are you starting in Madrid after a long-haul flight and then heading straight to Andalucia? Or will you be in Madrid for a while before heading south?

Cathy, I will be in madrid for a few days. i just dont want to lug baggages around everywhere since i dont have much time. hence the day trips to Ronda and Cordoba.
Jgg-i did not even consider squeezing in cordoba on my way to seville. will have to look into it.
its just that i have only 1 day in granada, and all i really want to see is the Alhambra. but if i do the long haul and get into granada directly from madrid, it only gives me a half day in granada. maybe i should skip cordoba. is it easier/quicker to go to Ronda from seville or granada

When making day trips do not forget to add time onto the timetabled trains to allow getting to and from the station as these cities. Stations are usually outside the old centre. There will be of course added cost of a bus or a taxi.
Also in Spain sightseeing locations can close from around 1.30ish for the famous siesta time.
The word you use squeezing has more of a meaning that you realise with this sort of itinerary. It is far to fast. please slow down and see more!

You´d be wasting time and doubling back on yourself if you did anything other than Madrid to Granada. To save moving too much you could stay in a town like Carmona to visit Cordoba and Ronda and maybe the last night in Seville.

Check out Rail passes with other companies too, not just RENFE. The Alhambra does night visits too, which is better than the daytime I think. It would depend on your dates, I´m not sure when they change to winter hours.

Have a fabulous trip.

Can you clarify how many days on the ground in total you have for Madrid + Granada + Ronda + Seville + Cordoba??

Two weeks? Three weeks?

. Also is it worth it for me to buy a rail pass. thanks for all the help always.>

Not with that relatively limited train travel and you may find buses better and cheaper to some of those locations - and with a railpass you still need to pay supplements of about $15 or so high-speed trains.

For lots of great stuff on Spanish trains check out these IMO superb sites - www.seat61.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.ricksteves.com.

'I cant use the Renfe website for sept yet' - then use an imminent date, little (or more likely) nothing will change schedule wise.

Thank you all for the advice. I will have to reconsider moving some of the stuff around. Its just that I initially had more time in Spain but had to shorten it(HUSBAND!) so now i stuck trying to rework this without trying to give up too much. I did not know that the sites close for siesta. thanks again for the help

If you want to see the architecturla marvel of the Mezquita do a daytrip to cordoba from Sevilla. If you'd like to see the natural beauty of Ronda and the gorge go there. If you have less than 3 days for Seville I would just stay there and enjoy it without worrying about seeing anything else.

Exactly how long do you have for Madrid and Andalucia? This will help determine where to overnight and the sequence of Daytrips - and if all of it is feasible.

thank you all. i have 3 days in Madrid, 2 days in granada and 3 days in seville. i was thinking of going to Cordoba from Madrid and continue to Granada, overnight there. this maybe a little longer but i think it makes more use of my time. i dont want to waste 5 hrs just trying to get to Granada. At least thats my logic behind it. The next day i will have a full day to explore granada. ronda will have to be a day trip from Seville. i read theres a bus that goes there directly in 2 hrs. in 5 days i would hate to lug bags around.

Ok - you simply don't have time for Daytrips to Ronda or cordoba. Train or bus from Madrid to Granada. Stay for 2 night then train or bus to Sevilla for 3 nights. You simply don't have time for anything else.

Cordoba is much much more than the famous old mosque now a cathedral - it has an ungodly number of other ancient abbeys, monasteries and churches - do it as a day trip from Seville, as I did, and spend a full day there.

With 3 days in Seville and two all day trips to Cordoba and Ronda (both of which really deserve two full days each), you're left with just one scant day in Seville.

If you accept that you'll miss of most what Seville has to offer this time during your one day there and return to Seville in the future for a proper 5-7 day visit, then it sort of works, though it is still far from ideal.

I would just do the big three Madrid /Granada/Seville. Really no need for day tips as the sites of each city will take up your time.

To me the best thing I've done in Madrid that I find boringly modern and loud for the most part - lacking old-world raomance as a whole - the best thing I have done in Madrid is to take a day trip to Toledo, one of the most fantastically old-world dreamy cities in all of Europe and less than an hour from Madrid by train. Better than anything in Madrid, to me at least!