Car or train?
 

We're traveling to Central Spain next summer to visit Toledo, Segovia, Salamanca, Avila, and Madrid. Is a rental car preferable to the train for inter-city travel? We'll be staying in the center of each of these cities. Do the parking & traffic hassles outweigh the flexibility of auto travel?

Frank, <BR>My husband and I have friends in Madrid and have visited Spain many times over the past few years. My suggestions: <BR>Toledo - a pleasant local train ride from Madrid. The streets are very small so walking is advised in lieu of parking. <BR>Segovia - Ditto. When we arrived our friends finally found a parking place in the lower part of the city near the aquaduct and we walked. Ditto for the small streets. There is really no need to drive to see the beautiful sights. The hills can be a bit of a challenge but the leisure enjoyment of window shopping and stopping for "tappas" more than makes up for the effort. <BR>Madrid - In Madrid we have taken the underground as well as the buses during the day. We always use cabs in the evening. <BR>Overall, I reccomend not driving unless you want to see the countryside from one point to another. Once we were going to dinner near the Plaza Mayor and the parking situation was so horrible we went back to their building and took a cab! (The dinner and Spanish wine more than made up for the inconvenience) <BR>I would suggest traveling by train and even thinking about an overnight. We have traveled to Granada and San Sebastian on overnight "sleepers". The train to San Sebastian was much better since our room even had a shower! <BR>I hope this helps. Maybe someone else has information on Salamanca and Avila. <BR>PS I hope your trip is before August. Temperatures in central Spain in August can reach 100 degrees. The only place I found air condidioned was the department store Corte Ingles.

Frank, <BR>This really depends on whether you are a first-time visitor to the region or if this is a return trip and you are already familiar with the special art of finding that illusive parking spot/garage in the labrythine, very narrow streets of a typical Spanish town. <BR>My husband (a native well-versed in Spanish driving/parking mores, such as when all else fails, just park on the sidewalk...) and I spend a month each summer in Madrid and environs without a car and don't miss having one. A car in Madrid is an albatross, parking in underground garages expensive, the city is blessed with 10,000 inexpensive taxis and an easily negotiable metro system (buy a "bono transporte" for 10 trips for almost half-price off the metro and all busses), and the traffic is nightmarish, except perhaps on a Sunday in August. When we take business trips to the cities you plan to visit, we have learned to do this by bus or train. <BR>Toledo's tow trucks do a brisk business (we have been ticketed several times there over the course of many years), and the Moorish designed city core is difficult to negotiate by car. When we do drive to Toledo on our way to the south, we usually park in the Hostal del Cardenal lot right outside the medieval gates or head up to the Parador and take a taxi from there. <BR>Segovia is closed to vehicular traffic beyond the Aqueduct, and the walk to the Plaza Mayor, Cathedral and Alcazar is a must. Again, you will need to stash your car away before doing your sightseeing. <BR>Having a car within the medieval walls of Avila also is a hassle, as the treat is to be able to walk the city and climb the ramparts. <BR>Spain's equivalent to Oxford, Salamanca, is a walker's delight; begin and end your walks in the stunning pedestrians-only Plaza Mayor. The entire city is best savored on foot. <BR>Yes, the drive from Madrid to Segovia through the Guadarrama mountain range is a beauty, and a car would give you the freedom to explore the area, stopping in charming spots like Rascafria and Pedraza and to visit the castle at Manzanares el Real, but if you don't want to waste valuabe sightseeing (and tapas) time in your cities searching for a *legal* parking spot (and never really knowing whether you have found one!), please be assured that your trip is perfectly doable by public transportation. <BR>While I don't know the order of your itinerary, I'll assume you plan to travel to each city from Madrid, using the capital as your base. If so, the Regional train to Segovia takes two hrs., the Madrid-Toledo run on the Regional Express takes an hour, you will have a 1 hr. 20 min. ride to Avila on a Talgo or Intercity train, and I suggest that you do Salamanca from Avila-the train ride takes 2hrs. from there, and the Madrid-Salamanca train stops in Avila in any case. <BR>This summer we took a 2 hr. express bus from Madrid to Salamanca, but busses to each of your cities leave from different bus stations all over the city, making bus travel rather confusing for a visitor. (If you'd like info on this option, please e-mail me). <BR>If you do have a choice of dates for next summer's trip, please consider going as early as possible. Temperatures do soar in August to 100 F and above. The area can be stifflingly hot. Avila suffers from the worst extremes of temperature in the region. <BR>We always spend our month from the first week in June to the first week of July, then when the city begins to clears out in July, we grab a rental car and head straight to the cool mountain regions of the north. <BR>Hope this helps you to decide, and have a wonderful time. <BR> <BR>

Frank, <BR>This really depends on whether you are a first-time visitor to the region or if this is a return trip and you are already familiar with the special art of finding that illusive parking spot/garage in the labrythine, very narrow streets of a typical Spanish town. <BR>My husband (a native well-versed in Spanish driving/parking mores, such as when all else fails, just park on the sidewalk...) and I spend a month each summer in Madrid and environs without a car and don't miss having one. A car in Madrid is an albatross, parking in underground garages expensive, the city is blessed with 10,000 inexpensive taxis and an easily negotiable metro system (buy a "bono transporte" for 10 trips for almost half-price off the metro and all busses), and the traffic is nightmarish, except perhaps on a Sunday in August. When we take business trips to the cities you plan to visit, we have learned to do this by bus or train. <BR>Toledo's tow trucks do a brisk business (we have been ticketed several times there over the course of many years), and the Moorish designed city core is difficult to negotiate by car. When we do drive to Toledo on our way to the south, we usually park in the Hostal del Cardenal lot right outside the medieval gates or head up to the Parador and take a taxi from there. <BR>Segovia is closed to vehicular traffic beyond the Aqueduct, and the walk to the Plaza Mayor, Cathedral and Alcazar is a must. Again, you will need to stash your car away before doing your sightseeing. <BR>Having a car within the medieval walls of Avila also is a hassle, as the treat is to be able to walk the city and climb the ramparts. <BR>Spain's equivalent to Oxford, Salamanca, is a walker's delight; begin and end your walks in the stunning pedestrians-only Plaza Mayor. The entire city is best savored on foot. <BR>Yes, the drive from Madrid to Segovia through the Guadarrama mountain range is a beauty, and a car would give you the freedom to explore the area, stopping in charming spots like Rascafria and Pedraza and to visit the castle at Manzanares el Real, but if you don't want to waste valuabe sightseeing (and tapas) time in your cities searching for a *legal* parking spot (and never really knowing whether you have found one!), please be assured that your trip is perfectly doable by public transportation. <BR>While I don't know the order of your itinerary, I'll assume you plan to travel to each city from Madrid, using the capital as your base. If so, the Regional train to Segovia takes two hrs., the Madrid-Toledo run on the Regional Express takes an hour, you will have a 1 hr. 20 min. ride to Avila on a Talgo or Intercity train, and I suggest that you do Salamanca from Avila-the train ride takes 2hrs. from there, and the Madrid-Salamanca train stops in Avila in any case. <BR>This summer we took a 2 hr. express bus from Madrid to Salamanca, but busses to each of your cities leave from different bus stations all over the city, making bus travel rather confusing for a visitor. (If you'd like info on this option, please e-mail me). <BR>If you do have a choice of dates for next summer's trip, please consider going as early as possible. Temperatures do soar in August to 100 F and above. The area can be stifflingly hot. Avila suffers from the worst extremes of temperature in the region. <BR>We always spend our month from the first week in June to the first week of July, then when the city begins to clears out in July, we grab a rental car and head straight to the cool mountain regions of the north. <BR>Hope this helps you to decide, and have a wonderful time. <BR> <BR>

Oops! Inadvertent double post and I meant "elusive"!