We are in Spain for 3 weeks from March 29 until April 17. We arrive London on March 28 and spend the night, and then fly London to Seville on March 29; go Seville to Cordoba on April 1st in the morning; is bus or train better? On April 2 we go Cordoba to Granada in the afternoon, and bus looks best, correct? On April 5 we go Granada to Madrid; Is the Bus or train best for this trip? Otherwise we are set, flying Madrid to Barclona on April 12 and then Barcelona to London on April 17; back to US on April 18. Thanks for advise. Can I wait to buy tickets until I get to each city? Want as much flexibility as possible as to the time we travel; no flexibilty with dates since we have hotels and apartments reserved.

When I visited Spain in March of last year, I took the AVE train to Sevilla to Cordoba as a day trip. It was a fast and comfortable ride in 2nd class.

I also took the bus to from Granada to Madrid.

THAT WAS THE WORST BUS TRIP IN MY LIFE!

I took the early Sunday morning bus to Madrid. The bus was packed with people, there was hardly leg room, my seat was uncomfortable to sit in and the bus play Terminator III as the Sunday morning movie. The volume of the movie was louded and I could not fall asleep until it finished.

I been to Spain twice last year and that was ride was my worst experience from my last five years of traveling. I would not recommend the bus from Granada to Madrid.

If I have to do it again, I will take the train from Granada to Madrid. At least you can get out of your seat and even stretch your legs on a long train ride. Better yet, I can take a take a bus to Cordoba or Sevilla and the pickup the AVE to Madrid. At least on the AVE you can travel in comfort.

Bill

If you decide to take the trains during the week of Semana Santa, April 9-16, I'd strongly recommend making reservations far in advance particularly in Andalucia. I didn't last year and had to pay much more for 1st class service - and it wasn't worth it.

I think it depends on what you are after, price or comfort. Busses cannot compete with trains for the latter. The only advantage to taking busses over trains, aside from the cost, is the possibility of more flexible times as busses tend to be a bit more frequent than trains, particularly on the runs you have mentioned.

Ive taken the Granada-Madrid bus route multiple times on Alsina Graells, the last time being just last week. Ive never had a problem, and usually its been a pretty enjoyable ride, you can't beat the price. Then again, I'm a student traveller and not looking for luxury, but i always take buses over trains all throughout andalucia. Kelly :-)