Road to Segovia/Carreta de Comenar?
 

Hi Fodorites:

I found an older post recommending Carreta de Comenar route to Segovia from Madrid as more scenic & saying it is pretty much the same as far as travel timetime.

Can anyone confirm or comment?

Tnanks!

Ana Maria

Don't recall the name, but I took a less traveled road over the mountains from Madrid and it very nice.

One scenic route would be to exit the Autovia at exit 47 (El Escorial/Guadarrama) and follow the M-614 north to San Ildefonso and then to Segovia on the CL601.

You got the wrong spelling, as is believe is Carretera de Colmenar: From Madrid north to TresCantos-->Colmenar Viejo-->Cerceda-->>Navacerrada-->La Granja de San Ildefonso-->Segovia.

Can anyone comment on taking the new (and long) tunnel to Segovia from Madrid vs. the scenic routes????

Thanks Robert & Josele.
If this is the case we might consider to seeing La Granja first then on to Segovia.

I'd also be interested in the info Traviata asked about. Especially since our return to Barajas from Pedraza later in the week will be very early in the morning. A little worried about the timing.

Thanks again.

i would go for the tunnel and save the scenic route for those who don´t want to pay the toll for the tunnel.

plenty of scenery everywhere.. and time is of the essence usually. get behind a slow delivery truck on the scenic route and you will pull your hair out if you are on a schedule.

just my personal opinion

lin,

Is the tunnel very long, as I have heard it is?? Do you lose nearly all scenic views???

The tunnel is 3Km long, and the scenary is great in that part of the motorway, but it is not unbeatible. The road from Cerceda, Navacerrada, heading to La Granja is really amusing. Now the question is, are you going to drive to Segovia in a weekend? If so, traffic can be horrible.

Then, another question comes to my mind. How much time are you going to stay in Segovia, and how much time are you planning your trip is going to last?

If you're going on a daily trip, then forget a drive through Carretera de Colmenar. Otherwise, you can find some places which are worth a visit such as Monasterio de El Paular (Rascafría), La Granja (11 Kms from Segovia), even El Escorial (it's not on the route but near).

By the way..the tunnel is not anything new..I've known it all my life...

If Alzheimer's not come to my mind, the tunnel was openned around 1970.

Thank you all for clearing up what I think was my confusion. The article I read about the tunnel was in Spanish...now I think it referred to a new train tunnel, not a car tunnel.

oh, well, it's almost all my life, jose...I was born in 1968 ;)

1968! You are in your prime!

I am going during the week monday to Segovia in that area 5 days. (May) Traviata when is your trip?

I do leave for the USA from Barajas on Saturday morning @ 9:30 am.
We plan on leaving Pedraza very early like 5 am. I hope the traffic is not a problem at that hour!

Hey, I was born in 1969, so I'm still a child as u are :-)

The new train tunnel is not openned but a third motorway tunnel was openned a week ago (toll road).

Going to Segovia on Monday won't be a traffic issue (I hope), and do not forget that on Monday many museums and sites are closed in Spain, so you can sitesee some other places on your way (as driving through the "sierra").


Don't worry about the traffic on Saturday from Pedraza, it will be fine, and the road is pretty good (A1 motorway). Average driving time from Pedraza to Barajas is about an hour and a half, so I think you're allowing enoughy time.

Enjoy the trip, Ana Maria

Hi amsdon,
We are looking at adding Spain to our fall trip and would do Madrid, Segovia before heading south...

Ana Maria...so there IS a new road tunnel?

Thanks every one for the tips. Traviata, I am re reading Maribel's guides which refer to the Guadarrama tunnel off the A6 (which Robert mentions in his reply.) But it sounds from Jose's post that there is another new tunnel. I guess I'll do some more reading ....!

Traviata: We just went to Sapin for Spring Break 2007 and on a Saturday drove from Madrid to Segovia on the toll road (through a tunnel). It took about an hour and we still enjoyed the snow capped mountains. Traffic was light except when we returned to Madrid at 6:00 p.m. there was a little backup as we got back into the city.

Hi everybody. You're right Ana Maria, there's a new tunnel, but in the same motorway, with 3 lines instead of two. So there is no difference between the old two ones and the new third. Tonight we've some snow storms and even the toll road has been covered in white ;) (I live right next to the A6 motorway)

Thanks everyone....I'll continue to research the two routes and will likely make the choice once I'm there.