Madrid bus to Segovia
 

Hi,
We are considering taking the bus, La Sepulveda, to Segovia on a Saturday or Sunday in early October. I see that we can make reservations on the web site, but I really want to make our day trip with a flexible return. Is it advisable to go with no reservations?

No!

I suggest you take the train instead. It only takes half hour!

We originally were going to go to Segovia by train from Madrid. Due to having been giving wrong information, it turns out on that day there were no trains until late in the day. So we ended up taking the bus. It was a wonderful experience. Yes, it took longer than the train (I think it was an hour and 10 min instead of half an hour) but it was easy, comfortable and not crowded. We were there in April and we had no problem taking the bus back to Madrid in the late afternoon without making a reservation beforehand. Segovia is wonderful. Enjoy.

Thanks.
Flame, the bus station seems to be in walking distance to most everything. True? How long did you spend in Segovia and what were you able to see in that period?

Here is what I wrote from my trip report regarding Segovia :

Day Four - SEGOVIA

We set the alarm for 6:20 today because we wanted to make the 8:30 fast train to Segovia, for which one of the hotel clerks had found and printed the schedule for me 2 days earlier. When I went down to them before leaving just to make sure I understood where the station was, when the train left, etc. etc. it turned out that because it is Saturday the 8:30 train does NOT run and the first one is only at 10:30. The clerk said we could take the bus that runs every half an hour. Yes it is about 1:15 to 1:30 hours instead of just 30 minute for the train but my husband did not mind and he said "why not see some scenery also along the way"?

So we got a taxi and it was 4.60 Euros to the bus station, not bad. We got there and had a bit of a time trying to figure out exactly where and how to buy tickets, the ticket station was not yet open, people were talking to us in rapido Spanish, etc. It was certainly the experience. But we managed to buy tickets (13.50 for both of us one way) and the bus left promptly at 8:30. It was very comfortable, and it took 1:15 because there was no traffic. Nothing really nice in terms of scenery, but just an experience to see the Madrid industrial area and then some countryside and in the distance snow-capped mountains.

When we got to Segovia, even though it was 10 AM and felt like midday to us early risers, most of the place seemed fast asleep. We had a coffee and something called fritas which I have NO idea what they were, very weird. My husband enjoyed half of the second sandwich that I prepared this morning, I saved mine and had it later.

And we got some information from a very nice woman at the station who gave us a map, walked out with us to show us exactly where to start the walk (seems to be a pattern – Spaniards are very very accommodating, caring, willing and wating to go the extra mile for us – really nice). So off we went down a pedestrian street which took us straight to the old 1st century Roman aqueduct which was amazingly built at the time with NO cement or anything to hold together the stones. And it is standing very well thank you to this day!!

Right by the aqueduct was a major tourist office and finally people who spoke English well so we got all the other info we needed. The weather was still a bit nippy but soon after got warmer and it was just perfect, as it HAS been the whole time so far. Knock wood.

We got to Plaza Mayor, yes it seems there must be a Plaza Mayor in every small Spanish city. And right off that was the large cathedral which was truly impressive. We went in and sat for a while and then took lots of pictures and walked around the entire large church and gardens.

From there we walked to the Alcazar which was interesting, if not as beautiful inside or out, as I had read and thought. But we spent some time there and again I took lots of pictures. By then it was after noon and we decided to walk back down another way so that we actually made a circle around the historic center and the most important sights to see. We walked through the area Juderia which used to be the old Jewish center, it is under renovation so lots of construction there now.

We looked at some restaurant menus along the way but they were all terribly expensive and when we got back to one of the main plazas, I saw a restaurant that I had read about but here it was also very expensive (between 25 and 37 Euros per person for the menu del dia) and so we decided we were not that hungry. On the way we stopped at a bakery and picked up some supposedly typical Segovian cookies, packed nicely as a gift and bought two of those to bring home.

I wanted to sit at one of the local pubs/restaurants since it was nice and sunny now but either there was no room or they did not have what I wanted so we were going to just take the bus back but towards the end of the pedestrian street we found a place that advertised a meat, fries, eggs, drink, desert and bread for 10 Euros. I did not have high hopes and the meal was just OK and that was all.

At 3:30 we took the bus back to Madrid, arriving at 4:45 and by 5 PM we were back at the hotel via taxi again (great invention!!) and went for a nap before the evening plans.

In Segovia, everything is within walking distance. We spent a weekend there about 5 yrs. ago and if I remember the Aquauct were at 1 end of the town, the square in the middle and the Disney look castle at the opposite end. We walked 1 street down and then the next 1 back. Seems like down by the Aquaduct there were side streets with shops, but not much rrom to wander or you'll fall off the town.

We were just there a few weeks ago and the entire city is all withing walking distance. Like the PP said, the aqueduct and tourism office is at one end (where the #11 bus from the train station arrives), the cathedral and plaza are in the middle, and the castle is at the opposite end. But I'm guessing you can easily walk from one end to the other in 20 minutes, maybe less.

We took the 11:15 train from Madrid and arrived at 11:46. The bus was at the train station waiting so it was probably another 10-15 minute ride into town until we were literally standing under the aqueduct. From there we walked up to the Plaza, where they had a farmers market, and then toured the cathedral. We then walked to the Alcazar and did a self-guided tour. Afterwards, we headed back to the aqueduct area and had a leisurely, wonderful lunch of conchinilla (suckling pig - a Segovian delicacy) at the famous Meson Candido. Afterwards, we climbed the stairs next to the aqueduct to take in the views, did a little shopping, and caught the 5:30 bus back to the station for our 6:10 (??) train back to Madrid. I originally had our return train tickets for 8:15 that evening and I'm glad I changed them for earlier tickets. While I could have easliy spent more time in Segovia than Toledo, we'd also seen most what we wanted to in the shorter time frame and were happy to return to Madrid a little early.

Thanks very much for your helpful replies.

Most of the sites: aquaduct, main square, castle - are within walking distance of each other and of the bus station. The train station is not that far away, but at least a half hour walk through a boring "newer" part of town. If you don't want to spend the time and energy walking from the train you have to catch a bus or taxi. So all in all it makes as much sense to just take the bus - total time will be about the same. I spent three days there and loved it but you could certainly see just the highlights in a nice day trip.

Train does take 1/2 hour, but getting to and from train stations takes 20-30 minutes each way.
The bus may not be such a bad idea.
We spent an afternoon in Segovia last month and found it enough time.
A lovely place!

I took the bus last week and I did not have or need reservations. The hardest part for me was finding the Sepulveda counter in the station!

When you buy your ticket or when you arrive in Segovia you can ask about booking the return time, based on what they think crowds are like around that time. I bought my RT ticket in Madrid just minutes before our bus was leaving in the morning. When I arrived in Segovia and asked about booking the return time the agent said it wasn't necessary.

I opted for bus over train (to Toledo too) because it seemed like the total time it would take from point to point was about the same. Also, thought that if I was awake I might enjoy or be otherwise interested in views from the road. And finally, it was estimated the ride was about an hour and I thought it would be good to nap during the ride, especially after hours of walking and sightseeing, and then arrive more energized for the night back in Madrid. I think napping an hour on the bus works better for me than 30 min on a train.