Hi - will be visiting Spain for 9 days (April 13th - April 22nd, arriving and leaving from Madrid) and I have a 'plan' for where to go but was wondering if anyone could offer any comments/suggestions? We are planning to stay in Madrid for 3 nights (2days), then take the AVE to Seville and stay there for 3 nights, perhaps 1 night in Granada, then back to Madrid for either one last day in Madrid or a daytrip to Toledo. How does this sound?

Any comments would be appreciated!

- James

Sounds good to me James. I would possibly switch Granada for Cordoba though, as from a transport point of view it is a lot easier to go Sevilla - Cordoba - Madrid.

I agree with Anchovy Front: Granada would be out of the way. Sevilla will be between Semana Santa and Feria de abril - not much happening. I would consider shortening my stay in Sevilla and adding whatever's left to Madrid. You'll be arriving in Madrid on Good Friday (viernes de Semana Santa). It's a holiday but most retail businesses will be open. That gives you Saturday & Sunday in Madrid: Museums, etc. should all be open on Saturday. Easter Sunday AM is nice to visit and stroll in Retiro Park.

If Friday is a 'jet lag' washout, you can see some really impressive Processions from all over Spain on TVE Friday evening.

[This message has been edited by Eddie (edited 03-20-2001).]

I agree w/ Eddie-- try to spend more time in Madrid up front. It's easier to get around/see Sevilla in a concentrated period of time, and Madrid is worth your att. when you first arrive.

Wow - thank you all for your replies! Hmm... your comment on Granada makes sense - I didn't realize it was a good 4 hours train away from Seville. I've actually been to Madrid before, but one of our party members has not, and to be honest, I absolutely loved Madrid and would be happy to spend more time in Madrid if the other party members also wanted to.

Although we have those first 2 days / 3 nights in Madrid, we're thinking of adding any extra days in Madrid to the end of the trip - just because staying in Madrid that first weekend of the Semana is really expensive, and besides if we add more Madrid on our way back, we'd hit Madrid on Fri/Sat (great for clubbing / shopping) and the hostal availability and rates that next weekend are much better. Any thoughts?

So I'm thinking if we try the Madrid 3nights, then to Seville by AVE for 3 nights, then Cordoba as one of you suggested for a night or so, then back to Madrid - is that a more acceptable trip? I've never been to Seville or Cordoba so I don't know how long I 'need' to feel like I've seen it but not rushed through it. Is one day / one night enough for Cordoba? and 3 days enough for Seville? I found that 4 days in Madrid on my last trip was just right for what we wanted to do...

- James

The AVE has some odd conditions attached to using it. For example to get a cheaper fare its necessary to book there and back ticket and if you are making breaks to Cordoba that doesn’t fit in with the booking principle. I’m travelling to Sevilla on the AVE but intend to visit Cordoba for the day whilst still based in Sevilla. I don’t know what the booking demand will be when you are there but certainly a few days before that would require pre-booking.

One day/night in Cordoba is fine. If you're pressed for time, you could even do it in a day. The Mezquita is really the main attraction and if time permits, you can stroll through the Jewish quarters and the Alcázar de los Reyes Cristianos. The gardens at the Alcázar should be nice in April. Those three things can all be done in a day. The train station has luggage storage if you want to leave your things.

Are you sure it is cheaper to return to Sevilla, Steveaqui? The fare is 10.100 Pts (peak) from Madrid to Sevilla and if you make the return journey within 60 days you get a 20% discount on the return leg, so you would save 2.020 Pts, making the Sevilla - Madrid journey 8.080 Pts. Even off peak, it would still cost 6.880 Pts.

However, you have to take into account the fare to go back to Sevilla from Cordoba, which, depending on the train, is either 2.300 Pts or 2.800 Pts, with 25% off if you do it in a day. Plus, you can get the Talgo 200 from Cordoba to Madrid, which is cheaper (5.400 Pts off peak / 6.400 Pts peak) than the AVE and as good a train.

If it was me, I would stay overnight in Cordoba with what I save on the train fare and enjoy the restaurants / tapas / night life there. Or am I calculating something wrong here....?

Looks like it’s in fact a close call, I make it:

(9900 ida y vuelta x 2 less 20%) Madrid to Sevilla and return NORMAL + a day trip from Sevilla @ 2800 X 2 X 0.8 =20320 total.

Or alternatively 9900 +2800 + 7200 making it 19900 total. This involves Madrid to Sevilla. Sevilla to Cordoba, break and return to Madrid all on the AVE.

The 25% discount as far as I can make out is for a return fare.

Like you say the slower train is an option to make it cheaper.

The 25% discount applies to a return journey that is completed the same day, so your total should be a bit cheaper at 20.040 Pts.

However, you could sacrifice 50 minutes going to Cordoba on the 09.15 Andalucia Express, which takes an hour and a half instead of 40 minutes on the AVE and then take about 20 minutes more than the AVE going on the Talgo 200 from Cordoba, on either the 08.54, 14.10 or 21.56, your journey will be 9.900 Ptas (Madrid - Sevilla) plus 1.105 Ptas (Sevilla - Cordoba)and 5.400 Ptas (Cordoba - Madrid), which is a total of 16.405 Ptas. Phew!!

This saves 3.635 Ptas per person, or a night in a hostal. Over to you, steveaqui! I think I'm turning into a trainspotter!!

Wow - thanks for all of the info. A couple more questions though:

1. Is it necessary to book room on the AVE days in advance? or can I just show up at the station the same day and buy the ticket?

2. Although Cordoba from the sounds of it is more convenient to visit from Seville, I was wondering, if time/distance wasn't a concern, whether Cordoba OR Granada would be more worthy to see? Our party likely has time only to see one of the 2 places, and would likely only spend 1 day in either place.

- James

It's not neccesary, but it makes sense. It doesn't cost extra and you can do it from any travel agent or RENFE station.

Toss a coin, regarding which city, James! Granada is more difficult to travel to, but the view from the Alcazaba and Alhambra will be stunning at this time of year with the snow on the Sierra Nevada. Counter that with Cordoba being a great city, small enough to see everything in a day and you don't have to book to get in the Mezquita, as you do the Alhambra. For me, I'd choose Cordoba and stay the night.

Personally I wouldn’t risk leaving it till the day. I booked my trip on the AVE 60 days in advance but that’s largely due to the fact that I need a particular time slot.

I’ve had enough of train spotting!!!!!!!!! Cheers!

Thanks for your replies again... hmm, speaking with my colleagues, looks like the preference right now is probably Granada despite the extra time needed to go there because of the Alcazaba and Alhambra just as you mentioned. I guess I have 2 more questions then:

1. Granada to Madrid - is it probably going to be cheaper/faster return back to Seville and then make a return trip to Madrid? (you folks mentioned the pricings/routes from Cordoba, but not Granada)...

2. Here's what our tentative schedule looks like right now.... any comments?

- Fri Apr13: arrive in Madrid

- Stay 3 nights (Fri, Sat, Sun nights) in Madrid (so 2 full days in Madrid; will also give us a chance to check out Semana festivities)

- Mon Apr16 AM: take AVE to Seville

- Stay ?3 nights (Mon, Tues, Wed nights) in Seville (so 2 1/2 full days in Seville; will give us a chance to check out the Feria de abril); if we get really bored (unlikely), it sounds like we could even take in a daytrip to Cordoba

- Thurs Apr19 AM: take train to Granada

- Stay ?1 night (Thurs night) in Granada (so 1 day in Granada)

- Fri Apr20 midday: start the long trek back to Madrid, possibly by having to return back to Seville first if that's cheaper/faster, but just continue the transportation up to Madrid - aim to spend as much time in Granada early that day as possible and aim to somehow arrive back in Madrid late Fri night like around 10pm/11pm? or so to maximize that time.

- Stay Fri Apr20th night in Madrid +/- clubbing/late-nightcafe!

- Sat Apr21st - we have the flexibility to do whatever we want - ie. go to Toledo, or if we're too tired OR if we enjoyed Madrid enough the previous weekend and want to do more ie. shopping/sightseeing/eating we can also choose to stay around Madrid that day - it'd leave enough flexibility for us to wait until then to decide)

- Stay Sat Apr21st night in Madrid (last night of partying! - prepare for the flight next morning)

- Sun Apr 22nd - leave Madrid

Thanks again to all of you for your help... your advice has been really useful!


- James

James, are you sure you're not a friend of mine, trying to wind me up?? Hang on....it's really CaliBasco, isn't it!! Nice one ... you had me going there for a minute!!

If it's not, then, I'm with steveaqui on this one. Any more timetables and I will have to wear an anorak and fix my glasses with band aids. (Apologies to any real trainspotters - I'm only joking!)

Have a look at www.renfe.es and then click on "horarios y precios" and work it out from there. You may have to put in Bobadilla as a destination station if it doesn't show the connections between Granada and Madrid, as this is where you would have to change trains. However, before you do, I would consider catching a bus from Granada, as you are half way to Madrid anyway and it will certainly be the quicker option.

Your schedule looks great to me. No need to tell you to enjoy it - you will!! Just one more thing...... have you considered going to Tangier or Cadiz instead of Cordoba or Granada.....? JOKE!!!!!

Just returned from Spain last week... If I had it do over, I probably would have spent the whole week in Madrid. Sevilla was wonderful (3 nights) but we could have used the extra time in Madrid (4 nights)taking day trips... 5 extra hours of travelling even on the AVE seemed too much... Even with a couple extra days I would only do 2 cities. If you do go to Sevilla eat at the Bar El Refugio near the Plaza Alfalfa. (It's down an alley, ask directions, reeaally friendly, amazingly yummy and cheap!!!) If you want a great tour guide contact Dan O'Beirne at MagicalSpain.com The Chairman from The Wellington Society (search this site for info on the Chairman)referred us (tours in Madrid, also great). Worth every penny! These are not the canned tours your hotel will recommend... If you have any interest in Roman history visit Italica 15 minutes from Sevilla!

Thanks for the tip... we'll definitely have to visit that restaurant!

And thanks to everyone for the schedule info... the www.renfe.es site was great - I figured out all the prices etc. and for our trip (Madrid->Seville->Granada->Madrid) it looks like it'll be cheaper and time-saving to go directly from one city to the next rather than making return trainrides. We'll be staying a total of 5 nights in Madrid (but only really 3 full days)... 3 nights in Seville, and 1 night in Granada. Will let you all know how the trip goes and how the Hostals check out!

- James
PS - here's a quick question for those of you in the know: does the 2 prong (power) plug of the typical ie. British colony countries (ie. HK, some of Europe) fit into the likewise round but I think slightly smaller pair of holes in Spanish wallplugs? I'm just in the process of buying adaptors for my DCamera for Spain and London...

Anchovy- I assure you that although much of my information is of questionable origin, I only operate under one pseudonym on this site. (The thought has crossed my mind ...but if I remember right, there was a Moose character on this site that tried that...with mixed results)...thanks for the endorsement, though...I see what I've become!

I also think Sevilla can easily be done in a day but to miss Granada is unthinkable! It is well worth the extra travel time to see the ALhambra. It is so beautiful and you can buy tickets in advance at BBV bank (I'm pretty sure that is the correct bank) to save the hassel of the ticket line. Cordoba is beautiful and the Mezquita was very interesting but the Alhambra is a must see!