best means of public transportation for my Spain itinerary
 

We have almost 3 weeks for our Spain trip in October. Its almost 60 days out, so I will begin looking for train tickets soon...but wanted to check to see which of these trips would be best via train, and which better by bus. And if by bus, which bus and should I make reservations in advance? I've read so many guidebooks and they have different advice - now that I'm getting to the point of buying train tickets I'm just not sure which travel segments really need reservations.

We will be flying to Madrid and plan 3 day trips during our first week from Madrid: to
El Escorial
Toledo
Segovia.

then over the next couple of weeks:
Madrid to Granada
Granada to Cordoba
Cordoba to Seville
Seville to Madrid

Thanks for your help!
kath

Toledo and Segovia by train. Not sure about el Escorial logistics. It would seem to do that on the Segovia day would be a full day, but doable. There are tours that do them together, giving you the commentary in English. Might be something to consider.

Granada by train from Madrid. Then bus/ train to Córdoba. You need not take the AVE from Córdoba to Sevilla if you don't get a cheap rate. There are plenty of other slower but not snail pace trains that are fine.

Then of course the AVE to Madrid from Sevilla.

Bus to Granada might be cheaper, quicker and run more often.

We did El Escorial on a day trip by bus in April, and it was a breeze. Buses run very frequently from La Moncloa to San Lorenzo del Escorial. I do not remember the exact fare but it was very inexpensive - maybe 3 or 4 euros (?) each way, and the drive up is fairly scenic due to the Guadarrama mountain range.

The bus terminal at San Lorenzo is within walking distance of El Escorial (5 min.) Keep in mind that, due to higher altitude, it is considerably cooler than Madrid (or at least that was the case during the spring). Bus reservations are not required nor necessary, in fact I'm not even sure they take accept them as it seemed to be more of a commuter line.

Maribel's guide to Madrid has the transportation details (Bus no. , etc.)

kanadajin

I just checked and the bus company is Autocares Herranz, and you will need to take no. 661 or 664. It is very easy to transfer from Madrid's Moncloa metro station to the bus platforms as they are linked by underground passages. You just show up at the appropriate bus "gate" (identified on the signs) and pay the fare to the driver directly upon boarding - change is provided, no need for exact fare.

'Its almost 60 days out, so I will begin looking for train tickets soon'

- I cannot be sure. Are you aware of the discounts available on line for promptness and monitoring?

Kathcoll:

We will be using public transportation also for our trip to Spain in late October. My research shows that it is probably better to use the bus to travel between Madrid and Granada because there are more of them and the trip takes less time by bus. Also, the bus is more convenient for the day trip to Segovia. I have found that the Frommers Guidebooks generally give the best information about public transportation in Europe.

Pat