Car versus train
 

I am planning a two week trip to Spain come September. Am planning to start in Barcelona and travel to the South-Andalucia part of Spain; i.e. Seville, Granada, Jerez de la Frontera, and Cordoba (not necessarily in that order) Need help in deciding whether trains are the way to go or car rental. Of course cost does figure in the decision. But I will be in a group of 5, so will probably split the cost.

My husband, brother-in-law and I are doing a similar trip this next week, and we are getting around by plane and car.

We initially are flying into Barcelona; however, Barcelona is so far from Madrid that we didn't want to spend a day in transit from one to the other. We found relatively inexpensive tickets from Air Iberia about a month or two ago. Since you are travelling in September, perhaps this is an option for you as well.

After Madrid, we are renting a car and driving the rest of our trip: to Sevilla and onto Granada, the coast, etc.

I know your itinerary doesn't include Madrid, but perhaps there is a flight Barcelona to Sevilla instead.

About car rental v. train, we have found that, after 4 people, the cost of splitting a car rental is less than a train ticket. (We are renting even though we have three instead of four because we like the freedom and because the train tickets were so expensive between Madrid and Sevilla.)

Hope this helps! --MP

The train is a great way to travel, going from one city to another and is a lot more interesting than flying, but you actually need a car if you are going to explore Andalucia. With 5 people, and luggage, I would suggest renting two compact cars versus a larger people mover or a full-size, or intermediate sedan. You'll find that most of the interesting places, smaller villages, etc., have narrow streets and parking is at a premium.

We spent nearly 3 weeks in Spain and did 2 weeks of that solely by car. Never once got on a train and we absolutely loved it! As for cost, we were only 2 and discovered that we had over-budgeted everything for the car, so we came out ahead. Driving isn't for everyone, granted, but it was the best decision for us.

As to car size? I would disagree slightly with Robert. We had an Opel Zafira, which would probably seat 4 average sized adults comfortably. We had plenty of space for our 2 medium suitcases, 2 totes, all the water we bought, backpack, purse, varied assortments of maps, and munchies. And we still had no problems breezing through narrow streets in Ronda, Cuenca, Cazorla, or even the back streets of Madrid! And we were comfy. Parking was tedious at times, but no more so than at home.

Enjoy your trip!

We just drove and Opel Zafira with six adults and a car topper for luggage--exceptionally squished since we had too much luggage, but the car itself was a decent size (and the largest Budget offered to rent). Two additional seats pop up in the back storage area (hence the car topper for luggage), so the car is marketed for seven (quite the squeeze).

Just thought I'd throw that in. --MP

It will be even a bigger squeeze if you try driving through some of the white villages in Andalucia in a Zafira. It's a nice size for the road, but it has it's limits.

We have just completed a 19 day trip from Madrid to Andalucia. We used trains and buses as we traveled from Madrid to Cordoba to Sevilla and finally to Granada. We would not have wanted a car in any of the cities before we left Granada. The streets are narrow, not well marked and just scary to drive. Often even our cabs were not able to get directly to our hotel, leaving us up the block and we had to walk in. Parking is also a problem. Once you are in any of the cities walking and local transportation is the easiest way to get around. We picked up our car in Granada and it was a great way to get to the White Villages of Andalucia.
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For 5 people and luggage you're going to have trouble with a sedan - unless you put luggage on top - which means that you can never leave the car while on the road. That leaves you with a mini-van sort of thing as the only realistic possibility.

We have done a couple of road trips in Spain with full-size sedan (european version - would be mid size in the US) and had no trouble - but we;re used to driving in NYC (passing with 3" to spare and parking in spaces barely bigger than the car. Make sure you know how to fold in the mirrors if the roads are tight in the center of the smaller towns.

If this becomes an issue you can usually park a little out of the center and walk in - but we never found a road we couldn;t fit through - although some were close (driving up on the sidewalks and the first step of house stoops.) And the latter was Ubeda - not a tiny town.