How to get from Ronda to Granada?
 

Working on my trip to Spain, after visiting Seville,Cordoba, Area of Pueblos Blancos with last day in Ronda, I am looking for a way to go to Granada to spend there 2 days and move after Granada to Almeria,which will be my last place in Spain.
I have found trains from Granada to Ronda but nothing from Ronda to Granada.
I would be happy to have as alternative guided bus tour from Ronda to Granada. Anything to cross that area.
Please, help with sugestions.

I don't think it's possible to have a train stop at a town going only in one direction and not stop going in the reverse direction.

I just checked trains on the bahn.de site and see several a day going from Ronda to Granada. There's one at 8:48, 13:32, and 17:36.

You can take the train. There are 2-3 trains a day. I just did end of March. It is not the fast trains (AVE or Avant) but still very nice and comfortable. We took morning train at around 8:45 am, which got us in Granada at 11:15 am. Scenery was nice along the way too. There are buses too, probably, but I preferred train. We took the bus from Seville to Ronda, and though it was ok, it was not nearly as comfortable.

What a wonderful thing these Forum is.
You have helped me.
Can you tell me about how you organised you tour?
Did you have to buy air tickits, book hotels, order tickits inside the country by yourself or used help of agencies?
My last tour to Costa Rica I planed by myself, but local agency helped me to do the rest.I do not believe I am capable to do it myself.
Reading messages from Forum I have such impression, that all of you are so good, experienced travellers.
How did you spend your time in Ronda?
Thank you for all your advices.

You are right, the forum is indeed very helpful. I was helped by some myself, particularly Lincasanova, when I was fretting the strike on March 29, the day I took the bus from Seville to Ronda. In the end it was fine.

I didn't take any organized tour, but rather planned everything myself. We did one of those fast paced, see everythiing in a short duration type of trip, the kind which is not recommended on these forums, but it worked for us. We devided out trip as follows -

Flew into Madrid - two days, with a day trip to Toledo
Train to Cordoba - one night
Train to Seville - two nights
Bus to Ronda - one night
Train to Granada - one night
fly to Barcelona - two nights
flew home from Barcelona

Got a lot of ideas from the forum, trip reports etc. Its totally possible to do it without organized tours. We had it all planned in advance, except for Ronda. All we did there is enjoy the scenery, walk on the side streets, enjoy coffee and do nothing. Only place during the trip where we didn't do any cathedrals or museums, except the bullring It was perfect.

kumarst,

I counted 10 nights, 6 cities in your itinerary. It is useful to read about what can be done instead reading about fixed formula based recommendations; so many days must be less than so many sites.

wow! i think kumartst's pace can work for some people, but i am struggling with the notion of "seeeing everything" in madrid (or sevilla for that matter) in 1-2 days...

Well, that's why I said in my response that this kind of fast paced trip isn't recommended on these boards, but it worked for us. I wasn't writing to invite a critique of my trip, but simply responding to worldisbeautiful's query, nor I am trying to convince anyone to do what we did. There appears to be a general tendency on these boards that if you attempt to "see everything" in less than a month, you must be doing something wrong. Some people may have all the time and resources to be going for 3-4 weeks, but as far as we are concerned, we may never be back to Spain again...

i get what you're saying and wasn't critiquing your trip. if you enjoyed your vacation, and it worked for you, then good. i do however stand by my statement. sorry to hijack world!

yes - peace! And if I could go for a longer time and take it easy, I absolutely would. That said, we enjoyed the trip very much. Thorough planning and efficient transportation made things smooth. Best moment of the trip came when I watched with my 11 year old son, the FC Barcelona play at their home turf. That was towards the very end of our trip, was tired like dead man walking, bust the festive atmosphere near the ticket window and pre and post game hustle and bustle did the trick.

Hi!

Bumping this post again. So I'm arranging a trip through the south of Spain during Holy Week, and currently Renfe doesn't have train trips from Ronda to Granada on March 22, which is when we need to travel.

I saw that Bahn has trips, but it was confusing. From your experience, how did you find a train? Worst comes to worst, how do you find out train timetables the day of?

RenneeP

You are simply too early for the schedules to be uploaded. An imminent date will give you the schedules which will almost certainly be likely. Patience.

I do not understand your second paragraph. The RENFE website will have the detail, if uploaded, and certainly on the day of travel.

There are typically three MD trains/day from Ronda to Granada. They take from 2-1/2 to 3 hours. But since the train is not currently running between Antequera-Santa Ana and Granada (the new high-speed line is being worked on), it's much quicker just to take the bus from Ronda.

Besides, if you do buy a Renfe ticket and get bussed from Antequera, you'll find that there are no taxis waiting at the train station. They are all at the bus station.

Robert - What bus is this which takes less time from Ronda to Granada?

<<, but i am struggling with the notion of "seeeing everything" in madrid (or sevilla for that matter) in 1-2 days...>>

You should be struggling with it because nobody said it but you. Nobody needs to see "everything" in any city on any one trip, or ever for that matter. I haven't even seen "everything" in the city I live in, nor do I care to. I lot of stuff isn't worth seeing, and isn't what you would prioritize on a vacation, you have a few things of most interest to you.

AS for the bus, I didn't think the bus went from Ronda to Granada (you can go to Malaga), but with the train problems, perhaps they have started that route -- I don't think you can find them online, though. Maybe robert can explain. Here is some info on the bus station location in Ronda http://www.rondatoday.com/ronda-bus-timetables/

this is the bus schedule link that give as of December, but it doesn't list any to Granada http://www.turismoderonda.es/informa...oautobuses.pdf

@WomBatt Thank you! Sorry about the confusion, we're just trying to book as early as possible to save money. But your reply gives us some peace of mind. From your experience, about how long has it taken before schedules are posted?

@Robert2533 So you recommend bus over train? Would we just buy the bus ticket the day of?

I'm no expert but I don't believe there is any direct bus between Ronda and Granada. The routing, using busses only, looks like it could take 5 or more hours!

You are probably best off booking the train on Renfe or one of the sites that sell Renfe tickets when they come available. It is unpredictable when the tickets are released. I remember reading it was supposed to be 3 months prior to the date of travel, but I believe I bought tickets around 2 months out. I would keep a close watch, though, as you will be traveling at a busy time. And, be aware that you will probably be transferred to a bus in Antequera as the line appears to still be under construction.

We normally drive, but since you ask, there is currently no direct bus service between Ronda and Granada. If you are in Ronda, you would have to go back to Sevilla to take the bus to Granada, or you can take the Samar bus (Los Amarillos S.L.) from Ronda to Malaga and take another bus from Ronda to Granada.

'From your experience, about how long has it taken before schedules are posted?'
The RENFE website administration is eccentric - as you can see your journey is 'up' for early March. I suggest you check a couple of times a week or whatever suits you.

..... and there will be no saving on this journey whenever you purchase.

@progol Yes, since this is a busy time, we're hoping that the tickets didn't sell out... Just several days ago there was a train service, and now there isn't, which is what concerns us.

@Robert2533 You have traveled to Granada lately and this was your experience? Would it be so bad to travel via train?

@WomBatt How do you mean?

ReneeP - do you mean that you checked the Spanish site (Renfe) and there was service and now there isn't any? I just checked Petrabax -- it is the American portal for Renfe (more expensive but user-friendly), and, as of today, the last tickets that I see available are for March 5. I would check for a few days to see if train schedules become available for later dates to determine whether the tickets are sold out or just not yet available.

I think Robert meant that he has rented a car while traveling the area and that's how he's traveled between these 2 cities, not just that he's rented a car between the 2. We were there this past Spring and rented a car leaving Granada on our way to Ronda. The region is beautiful, with a lot to see, so it's helpful to have a car to explore for a few days.

How do I mean what?

@progol How difficult and expensive is it to obtain an international driver's permit and rent a car? I'm thinking this could be our back-up. I'm starting to wonder if the train station is under construction and might be closed.

I was also thinking the bus station might be closed, but from checking on GoEuro, there are bus tickets available from Granada to Madrid. Bus routes from Ronda to Granada still aren't posted for around that time, so the bus station must be open... Do you guys think snagging a bus ticket is still possible from Ronda to Granada? (And this is still very early, odds are time tables will still be posted the day of.)

The rail line into Granad is still under construction. Although the elevated parts of the new highspeed route appear to be complete, they still have to set the ties and lay the rail. From my experience, that could take some time, at least several months.

We normally rent a car to explore the area, but this trip we are depending on the train and bus: Madrid, Granada, Sevilla, Malaga and back to Madrid. You have to take the bus (Renfe) if traveling Madrid-Granada, or Ronda-Granada, from Antequera into Granada, so you might as well travel by bus to begin with, there's no difference in time when comming from Madrid and you don't have to move your luggage from the train to the bus. Also, there are no taxis waiting at the train station in Granada. There are sitting at the bus station awaiting your arrival.

If you arrive at the train station, you'll have to call for a taxi. There is a sign with the number.

As for getting an IDP, it's pretty easy in North America. Just go to your local AAA/CAA office (no need to be a member). In a few minutes, they'll take your photo and give you your IDP, all for about $25.

Again, from what I understand, there are no direct lines between Ronda and Granada, so (I believe) you would have to book 2 separate trips, as Robert suggested, such as Ronda-Seville and then Seville-Ronda (or Ronda-Malaga, Malaga-Granada).

I still think that purchasing a train ticket, if available, makes the most sense. You will be taking the train to Antequera and then a bus will be provided to complete the journey -- you do not have to purchase an additional bus ticket. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong, but that still seems the most effective way of doing the journey with public transport.

Re: the international drivers license: my husband went to the AAA Office and got it for, I believe, $15. Very easy to get. You need to bring 2 passport-sized photos. Or you can apply on line:
http://www.dmv.org/international-driver-permits.php

However, it is difficult to rent a car in Ronda that needs to be dropped off elsewhere. There are no large rental agencies in that city. I'd suggest that you rent a car from a place such as Auto Europe in a larger city prior to arrival in Ronda. I had looked into a car rental originating in Ronda during my trip last year and there were a few agencies, but they are very local, and dropping off a car in another city was a problem.

I looked up Ronda-Antequera, and the only route is via bus, and the earliest bus is at approx. 16:00, which might be too late for us. That's the only snag. Seems like a car might be our best option...

There are bus routes from Malaga-Granada, but no bus options for Ronda-Malaga, which is annoying.

@progol From your experience, where do you recommend renting cars from? We are also hitting Cordoba before this, do you think that would be a good place?

Just checked with Renfe. There are still three trains/day from Ronda to Granada, the MD departs at 07h53, 13h36 and 17h13 (the fastest train at 2h 32min). They run 7 days/wk and are inexpensive.

Your best bet is to take the train. But there are busses from Ronda to Malaga:

http://www.turismoderonda.es/informa...oautobuses.pdf

http://www.gomarbella.com/ronda/ronda-bus-station.htm

http://rondainfinita.info/como-llega...los-amarillos/

Thank you so much everyone! This has been such a great help!!

@Robert2533 When you "checked" with Renfe, did you call them? I can't seem to find time tables anywhere!

The schedule is online at Renfe.com.

Hola! So for those traveling to Granada, confirmed that train station is under construction and must take bus to and out of Granada.

From Ronda to Granada, we bought train tickets, and took the train to Antequera-Santa Ana, got off the train, and were efficiently guided to buses to take us the rest of the way. Buses dropped us off at train station. A little confusing at first but the train personnel guided us through the entire way.

So, possible to buy train or bus tickets to Granada. Train station is much closer to the center of everything though, if that matters.