MPMc

Looking for advice on the best way to get to Ronda from Madrid. Was hoping to take the train. We have 5 days to spend in Andalusia region and have a hotel booked in Ronda.

Trying to navigate the train website and to figure out the most expedient route. We will be staying at Hotel MedioDia in Madrid which says it is right by the train station -- our hotel in Ronda is also near the train station.

Any help you can provide would be appreciated.

Looking for routes
Cost
Ticket purchase
Travel time


Thank you~

CathyM

Are your entire 5 days in Andalucia in Ronda? Is there a reason why with only 5 days in Andalucia you'd choose Ronda?

There are 2 Altaria trains per day from Madrid to Ronda and it takes 3 hrs and 45 minutes.

MPMc

Yes we have 5 days in Ronda. We are flying into Madrid--taking the train to visit my daughter in Segovia for 3 days --then back to Madrid to go to Andalusia.


Picked Ronda after reading about the white cities and talking with friends who have traveled the area. Wanted to have one base to stay in instead of packing and moving again. What other towns would you recommend? Do you suggest renting a car? Or can we find enough to do with public transportation?

Where do we find Altaria trains? I have been on the RENFE site and am only finding trains to Sevilla -- AVE and Avila.

Many thanks for your help!

kimhe

For a five days first trip to Andalucía, I would have stayed in one of the fabulous cities Sevilla, Córdoba, Granada or Málaga, Sevilla beeing the undisputed queen among the cities in the South if not all of Spain. http://www.andalucia.com/cities/sevilla.htm

I would have done Ronda (or some of the really small white villages in the area) as a day-trip or one-nighter from Sevilla or Málaga. http://www.andalucia.com/cities/sevilla.htm

But of course, you could have a wonderful stay and get a real taste of Andalucía staying in Ronda as well.

isabel

With a total of five nights and wanting to do it by train I would not spend all five nights in Rhonda. It is a lovely town but you are missing out on the other cities in that region. There is a reason the majority of people go to Seville, Cordoba and Granada. I am not suggesting you do all of these in your time frame but I would probably pick one (Seville) and split the time between that and Rhonda. If you do want to stick with all five nights in Rhonda then I'd rent a car for at least a few days and see some of the white towns, and those cannot be easily done by train.

MPMc

Ok~ thank you for your advice BUT my question still remains.

How to get to Ronda by train from Sevilla.

I do not see the Altaria trains listed on the Renfe website.
I only see the Ave and the other fast train...

MPMc

Plan was to rent a car once in Ronda but maybe we would be better off renting a car in Sevilla and driving?

We will be coming from Segovia on Monday on the fast train back to Madrid and need to get to Ronda for Tues night hotel. If that is too tight, then we can stay overnight in Sevilla and then either take the train or rent a car to get to Ronda...Just don't want to be schlepping out of suitcases everynight. Have a lovely hotel booked on the gorge at Ronda and want to have one location to drive out from and explore.

CathyM

The Altaria train is listed in the renfe website. When you select timetable and prices you then need to choose "select all stations" to find Ronda.

I agree with everyone else. While Ronda is a nice place to visit there are much nicer places to visit in Andalucia for a first trip. You're missing out on Sevilla and Granada for a city with a nice gorge. Personally with only 5 nights I'd either stay all 5 in Sevilla and visit Ronda and Cordoba as daytrips - no need for a car and easy public transportation. This skips Granada though. The other option I'd consider is 3 nights in Sevilla and 2 nights in Granada. This may be too much moving around for you though. 5 nights in Ronda is a little long for me and I'm generally a slow traveler. If you do spend 5 nights I'd definately rent a car for exploring as exploring via the bus can be challenging. I'd also consider a hotel in a more atmospheric area then near the train station.

MPMc

Have heard the train to Ronda is a pain. Have you driven from Sevilla? Is car rental a hassle? What about the bus?

yorkshire

If the train from Madrid is not working out for some reason, then I would either take the bus from Sevilla to Ronda or rent a car. Cars are only a hassle in cities.
You will definitely want a rental car while in Ronda, but there are a few things you can do with public transport, so you would not need it all five days. If you like to hike, I suggest this, which is easily reachable by bus/train from Ronda:
http://www.andalucia.com/rural/walking/railway.htm
I would personally love 5 days in Ronda. I really like the city itself, but there is so much to see in the surrounding area that with a car you will hardly regret the decision.
http://www.turismoderonda.es/indexeng.htm
I understand what everyone is saying, but not everyone travels to sight see. I was actually underwhelmed by Sevilla, whereas I fell in love with Ronda and returned on my second visit to Andalucia. I do think the area is more suited to outdoors lovers though, with areas such as Grazalema offering more hiking opportunities that I missed out on by only staying in Ronda a few days and not renting a car.

MPMc

Yorkshire~ Thank you. I don't travel to sight see as much as to experience the day to day culture. Really have found smaller cities/towns more enjoyable and personal. And my husband and I would rather use a central base for day trips than go from one city to the next trying to jam it all in. This worked well in Paris with the Marais as a base. But my travel companion this time around is my 17-year old daughter and I don't want her to be bored. But she like me would rather nose around the neighborhoods and shops than take in every old church or museum...We will have 2 days in Madrid and do the Prado and/or Reina Sofia and Marketplace and we will have 3 days in Segovia to see the aqueduct and church and castle with my daughter who is spending her semester abroad going to school there. So we will do some sightseeing, just find it more relaxing to have a home base but don't want to be stuck somewhere that isn't very accessible either...

MPMc

yorkshire~many thanks for the great websites!

josele

The problem with the train from Seville to Ronda is that there isn't any, Ronda is on the line Antequera to Algeciras, so you'd have to take a train to Bobadilla and change there to the one to Ronda, Check Andalusia map here: http://www.renfe.com/viajeros/mediad...Andalucia.html
So you either take the bus or rent a car in Seville. Check your Ronda hotel for parking space, I guess it is Don Miguel, and it has limited spaces you have to book.
Once in Ronda, obvious daytrips are listed in my post here in the forum: Pueblos Blancos Trip.
Other trips are: The loop Alpandeire-Faraján-Júzcar-Cartajima, with restaurant www.hotelbandolero.com;
Drive the road to Gaucín, chestnuts groves, interesting castle at Benarrabá, restaurant La Molienda in Genalguacil. If you want to drive a bit further, you can continue to Castellar (the old town inside the castle) and La Almoraima, a must. In this case, let me know for more info.
Another interesting place is Setenil.
Other daytrips such as Osuna (doable via Cañete la Real)need extra driving.

Aduchamp1

Ronda is not a good location as a base. And I know, I am in the minority, but searching for many los pueblos blancos, becomes a bit tedious, especially if you want to amuse a 17 year old. If she is bored in Sevilla, Cordoba, and Granada, the onus will be her, because those places fill the senses and are recommended like the others above.

yorkshire

That is an important factor: with a 17-year-old not interested in rural/outdoors, then you'll be taking long day trips.

nytraveler

Ronda is a cute, typical white village.

Seville, Granada and Cordoba are cities with world-class sights that exist nowhere else due to their long Moorish heritage. I would rate each of them an 8 or 9 in terms of things to see - and Ronds about a 3. Cute - but not a lot going on.

Have toured the area twice by car - once for 10 day sand once for 12 and have a lot we still want to see - but we did Ronda perectly well in one day.