Hubby and I are visiting Madrid next year in May for 6 days but would like to do day trips to Avila, Cordoba, Toledo and Guadalupe. I would like to find out if I can combine any of these trips for e.g. half a day in Avila and half a day in Cordoba. Any suggestions welcome since I am in the planning phase. Thank you.

It really depends on what you want to see and experience! I wanted 2 full days for Cordoba and 2 full days for Toledo. With only 6 days, I would think you need to be extremely selective -- and I would think that a good guidebook or two would help you focus your efforts. Good luck!

Personally, I think a day trip from Madrid to Cordoba would be awful and maybe not even possible. Last September we took the train from Madrid to Cordoba, where we stayed for 2 nights, and the train ride was about 1 hour and 45 minutes one way. We loved Cordoba; it was one of our favorite cities. You won't do it justice with just half a day there.

Many people do visit Toledo as a day trip from Madrid. It's about a 30 minute train ride one-way, so it is doable. However, we stayed one night in Toledo and am so happy we did. It is a gorgeous city but very very crowded with tour buses during the day. At night it is less crowded and so much quieter. If we went for the day, I would have been disappointed because of the crowds.

As kja recommends, if you don't have a guidebook already, I highly recommend getting one. That way you have all of your information in one place. Even though I get a lot of help from this forum, I always use several guidebooks. What do you want to see and do in Madrid? Do you like museums, parks, palaces, just wandering around? Madrid has some outstanding museums. We spent 4 nights there, and didn't see and do everything we wanted to do.

I would recommend at least 4 nights in Madrid, perhaps a night in Toledo and a night in Cordoba. I am not familiar with Avila or Guadalupe.

You also need to check out train schedules.

That seems like an awful lot to try and accomplish in six days. Any chance you can increase your time in the area? That being said, I have not visited Avila or Guadalupe so don't know how much time you would want in those locations. What do you plan to see there? Are you planning on renting a car?

Avila and Toledo are both fairly easy and common day trips from Madrid; though not grouped into the same day. Toledo itself can keep one busy for a couple of days. Córdoba is a looooooong day trip and a shame to just go see the mezquita catedral. You could plug into google maps these destinations so that you can get an idea of their distances from Madrid. You also need to make allowances for the limiting time factors of public transportation.

Guadalupe is not a place you often see talked about around here! We went as part of road trip around Extremadura and absolutely loved it. The setting is lovely and the sanctuary is (IMO) a very special place. Only guided visits allowed in the monastery. However, I'm not sure how accessible it is from Madrid and the windy mountain roads might bother some people. On the day we went to Guadalupe we were traveling between Mérida and Trujillo. Both cities worth an overnight but certainly not on the 'usual' or 'first time' visit to Spain.

I just spent a week in Madrid and loved it. If you need ideas you can look up my very long and rambling trip report.

none of those day trips can feasibly be combined - all on different train lines from Madrid.

Thank you all. I have decided to spend 8 days in Madrid and visit Cordoba some other time.

Much better!

Visit Segovia - a reasonably short train ride from Madrid, and plenty to see and do.

Cordoba is but 1.5 hours from Madrid - Segovia is about the same. I would not discard a daytrip to Cordoba - book long-distance trains well in advance at Renfe and get discounted fares but trains to cities like Toledo and Avila near Madrid are regional trains that you can buy about at same price at stations. I'd even consider cutting Madrid back to say 5 days and spending 3 nights in say Cordoba (lots more to see and do than the famous cathedral) and Seville - just 2 hours from Madrid by AVE high-speed trains. For info on trains and what to expect and booking long-distance trains check www.seat61.com; BETS-European Rail Experts and www.ricksteves.com.