Has anyone had experience travelling by local buses from town to town in Andalusia? We would like to visit a number of paradores in Carmona, Jerez, Arcos and Ronda; and question the availability of local buses between these towns. I know we can take the AVE train to Sevilla, but wonder about the reliability of bus service between the small towns. Since we are "seniors," we hesitate to rent a car in this area. Thanks for your input!

I am not a senior yet, but the years keep piling up. I did a combination of car, train and bus. The car was handy to have between Ronda, Arcos and Jerez. We drove from Málaga to El Puerto de Santa María, visiting wonderful, little places along the way. We loved Ronda and a car is necessary if you want to see the nearby caves. Once we arrived in El Puerto, we parked the car and used trains to see Sevilla, Cadiz and Jerez. we used the car to find some good beaches and do little things. The combination worked well and gave us the freedom that we needed.

Pulaski writes: If they'll rent you a car: Car rental companies generally have 'age limits.' Unless you are on a fly/drive vacation package, many will not rent to anyone 75 or older.

There's hourly regional rail service Sevilla to Jerez, el Puerto de Santa Maria and Cadiz and there are buses that do that same route that run less frequently. If it were me, I think I would continue to Cadiz and base myself there for a few days. There's one or two daily thru trains (Triana, for ex.) that will take you all the way from Madrid to Cadiz.

Paradors may be away from the Center of town, so If you 'bus' to Arcos or Jerez you may have to take a taxi to the Parador.

Sevilla has 2-major Bus Stations: Plaza de Armas and el Prado de San Sebastian. Most southbound buses leave from the latter. Others, and most 'thru' buses generally leave from Plaza de Armas.

One of the disadvantages of relying on buses: Some cities and towns (Jerez & Cadiz) have Bus Stations; others, like el Puerto de Santa Maria have a poorly marked bus stop at the Renfe Station/stop. Buses adhere to schedule and their service is reliable enough, but you may have to find a Travel Agency that sells bus tickets and can tell you about schedules and where you have to go to catch the bus.
P.S.
I am a 'senior' (age-72) and I always rely on public transportation. But I speak Spanish.

Pardon me for jumping in on this thread, but:

Eddie-do you know the name of the bus company that goes from Sevilla-Cadiz and then the surrounding sherry towns? I'm staying 3 nights in Cadiz over Semana Santa and plan on visiting Jerez and perhaps Puerto de Santa Maria, Sanlucar, etc....

CathyM writes: I believe it's Comes (or something like that) that serves Jerez, el Puerto, Rota, Cadiz & Algeciras from Sevilla. I get it confused with Damas SA.
P.S.
I don't know about Sanlucar de Barrameda although I am sure you can catch a bus there from Sevilla. I love the Manzanilla that comes from Sanlucar.

The train is cheap and easy as well!!! The horse show in Jerez is excellent by the way.

If you are departing from Sevilla, you might take most of these buses from the Plaza de Armas like to San Lucss, Castilleja de Guzman, Camas, all the sorrounding small towns and also longer distances including Lisbon, Portugal, France, etc.

The other bus station is Prados de San Sebastian where I had to go to take the bus to Granada. You may take bus C-4 right outside the Station to move between the two stations.

Hope it helps