Thinking about going to Madrid mid November, first time in Spain. Arrive Sat. morning. Rough itinerary:

Sat Madrid
Sun Segovia (day trip)
Mon Toledo (day trip)
Tues Madrid
Wed Madrid
Thurs Seville (via AVE?)
Fri Seville (Granada via ??? later in day)
Sat Granada (back to Madrid via ???)
Sun Morning plane back to US

Wondering if this is too rushed? If so, what should be cut out? Or, better itinerary? Do not know if what best to do on Sunday and Monday given some venues closed.

Also, if Granada stays in plan, best way to get there from Seville and return to Madrid?

Any other input on hotels, sights, restaurants greatly appreciated!!

Have you considered renting a car. My husband and I drove around Spain for 3 weeks and found it easy. Otherwise it looks like you'll be spending lots of your limited time travelling to your destinations by train/bus(?).

Travel333
Your Seville-Granada-Madrid part of the trip looks tight, Seville Granada by train or bus will take 4 to 4.5 hours.
hotel to hotel. You can check train in www.renfe.es and bus in www.continental-auto.es and then Granada-Madrid will take you 6 hours. You can also check flights to madrid in www.iberia.es
As you already have in mind you could concentrate in Madrid and Seville.
Another possibility you have is taking the fast train from Seville to Cordoba renting a car at the station driving into Granada then Back to Cordoba and fast train to Madrid.

That's a pretty tall order for an 8-day trip.

Most Tour operators don't go on Mondays so your Monday daytrip to Toledo may have to be on your own - no problem. I don't think you're allowing enough time for Sevilla. If it were me I would drop Granada and maybe add a half-day stop in Cordoba.

travel333,
I agree with NED that 8 days is very, very tight for all you plan to accomplish, a tall order as he rightly says. For me it would be too rushed. With only 8 days, I'd concentrate on Madrid, your day trips and Seville.

For Madrid plus a day trip, Seville and Granada then back to Madrid for your flight home, I always advise 10 days.

If you just can't add 2 more days to your itinerary, I'd take 1 day away from Madrid, leave Wed, on the AVE and add Wed. night to Seville and I also would choose between Segovia and Toledo for just one day trip, so you don't spend your entire trip on busses and trains!

From Seville to Granada takes 3 1/2 hrs. on the TRD train or 3 1/2 hrs. on the Alsina Graells bus, but as car has said, factor in hotel to hotel.

I wouldn't rent a car to get to Granada given your very tight time limitations, primarily because it would be exp. for such a brief period, the pick up and return eats up time and you don't know your way around these labyrinthine cities, and a car in downtown Granada is an absolute handicap. You'll eat up precious time trying to find your way to your hotel in the maze that is downtown Granada. And since this is your first Spain visit, finding your way by car will take you longer than anticipated.

If you only plan to stay in Granada only 1 overnight, I'd get advanced tickets to the Alhambra for the very FIRST Sat. morning time slot, at 8:30 a.m., (www.alhambratickets.com)
then FLY back to Madrid on the later Iberia 5:55 p.m. flight. on Sat. (but fares can fluctuate wildly), but that's a whirlwind, short visit to Granada that I'm really, really reluctant to even suggest, let alone recommend!
I think Granda deserves more time.
Just some more food for thought.


(BTW, the3 tour bus companies, Juliá, Trapsatur/Gray Line and Pullman offer bus tours to Toledo daily.
It's only the Toledo-Avila-El Escorial all day trip and the El Escorial-Valle de los Caídos tour that don't run on Mon. since Monastery of El Escorial is closed Mon.)

But you can certainly do Toledo on your own via Regional Express train from Atocha or Galiano Continental bus from Estación Sur de Autobuses in southern Madrid, atop the Méndez Alvaro metro station.