lrice

Hi all,

I am planning a trip to Spain and think we will need to fly in and out of Madrid. We want to see the Prado and Palace in Madrid, and go to Granada, Sevilla and Toledo all via public transportation. I'd love suggestions on how this trip might work logistically.

Ideally, we would start in Madrid and end in Sevilla but the flight costs are much more expensive.

Thank you!

KarenWoo

Where are you flying from in the U.S.? In 2017 we flew open-jaw into Marseille and out of Seville on TAP Airlines, and our tickets were very, very inexpensive. We fly out of Boston so that might be the difference.

We took trains or the ALSA bus everywhere and it was wonderful and very convenient. That was when there wasn't train service in and out of Granada so that's why we took the ALSA bus to Granada and out of Granada. I understand there is now train service to/from Granada so you could take the trains everywhere or the bus if their schedule is better. The bus is clean, efficient, comfortable and air conditioned.

Eight nights is not a lot of time, and I notice you don't have Cordoba on your itinerary. The Mezquita is awesome and Cordoba is a very pretty city that merits 1 or 2 nights IMO. Our route was the following (after we left France): Madrid, Toledo, Cordoba, Granada, Malaga, and Seville. Are you planning on staying overnight in Toledo or visiting as a day trip from Madrid? Your routing could be Madrid, Toledo, Granada, Seville, then stop in Cordoba en route back to Madrid if you do fly in and out of Madrid. Even though I always recommend staying overnight in Cordoba for 1 or 2 nights, I think seeing Cordoba and the Mezquita as a day trip is better than not seeing it at all. Ditto for Toledo.

Sassafrass

Possible itinerary
Day 1. Arrive in Madrid, go straight away to Cordoba. Rest a bit. Spend the evening walking.
Night in Cordoba
Day 2. See the Mezquita in the morning. Afternoon Train on to Seville (about an hour). Walking tour of Seville in afternoon.
Night in Seville
Day 3. Tour sights in Seville.
Night in Seville
Day 4. Morning in Seville, Travel (allow 1/2 day) to Granada, night tour the Alhambra. Book ahead.
Night in Granada
Day 5. Morning tour of the Alhambra, afternoon Travel to Madrid (1/2 day), evening walking tour of Madrid.
Night in Madrid
Day 6. Prado and Palace
Night in Madrid
Day 7. More Madrid or day trip to Segovia (pretty easy and nice to tour)
Night in Madrid
Day 8. Short train ride (30 minutes) to Toledo, tour Toledo, including cathedral.
Night in Toledo
depart from Toledo to airport.

lrice

Thank you both! Good ideas! I originally had Córdoba on my itinerary but figured something has to give. My husband and I are going to stay another week so perhaps we skip Toledo or Segovia with the kids (they have to go back to work) and we then spend a second leisurely week in one of those towns.

Karen, you helped me decide on Aix for a month last fall and we LOVED it. Plenty of buzz, cafes, shops, markets, art, churches. Would love to find “Aix-en-Provence” in Spain 😊😊😊

Sassafrass would we line up a taxi to go from Toledo to the airport?

Sassafrass

When are you going?

KarenWoo

lrice, I am so happy to hear that you loved Aix! When giving advice, I always worry a bit that someone might not like what I like. We've always enjoyed our visits to Aix, and I think it's so beautiful with all the squares, fountains, markets, lovely architecture, etc.

Christina

I would have no desire to stay overnight in Toledo my last night, I presume you are flying out of Madrid. Sounds dangerous to me but also hectic as it is easy to do as a day trip and go back to Madrid. Looks like you like short overnight stays, though. I wouldn't want to spend so many hours touring one particular old building ruin like the Alhambra, either, but maybe you like that kind of thing. I spent one day touring it and that was enough for me. YOuy are cutting Seville awfully short.

You are planning on taking a taxi from Toledo to the Madrid airport? that's 100 km! What if no Toledo taxi will take you that far, I would be surprised if they would. But maybe they do that all the time and you know that.
Here is one car service where you can book something, I don't know if you have to prepay, but wouldn't surprise me of course
https://taxi2spain.com/

It's about 120 euro.

I may over overlooked it, but sounds like you aren't spending much time in Madrid at all, but if you've been there enough before, that makes sense.

I have never seen an airfare where it would be a lot more expensive to do open jaw within a country, presuming an airline flies to both cities, of course. Often it can be you'd fly into Madrid, then transfer to Seville, but I've flown there direct from Belgium, I think, and London. You have to stop somewhere from the US, so I got better fares that way than whatever airline went through Madrid. I forget where I flew home from, though. So be sure you are pricing via the multicity option or whatever it's called on the website you are using, rather than two one-ways.

If it were me and only planning a week, I'd drop the Granada thing as it takes up too much time and you are not spending much at all in Seville or Madrid. I guess if that's your life dream, though. I just enjoyed both Madrid and Seville more than Granada and one particular old building. You are seeing older Islamic buildings elsewhere, such as in Seville and Cordoba. It depends if you've ever been in these other places or not.

If you really have two weeks, it gets confusing as to where you are when your kids are leaving, they need to be in Madrid? I don't know. I could see Granada if you have two weeks.

I've flown into Malaga, also, that airport has a lot of connections, you could go from Granada to Malaga to end maybe.

Sassafrass

It is about 80k (50miles) from Toledo to MAD. There is a shuttle and taxis are easily available. It takes about 65 minutes.

It may seem a lot, but balance that against the 1/2 hour return time to Madrid the night before, plus the time to get from the train station to your hotel (likely another 15 minutes at least or a taxi), the time getting from Madrid to the air
Port the next morning (40 minutes by taxi or 25-30 minutes by train plus once again, time getting to the train), and you can see that the time getting from Toledo to the airport is actually less than the time returning to Madrid for the night and going to the airport from there. It is more relaxing too. You are already in Toledo and can have dinner in an interesting place and get some early sleep if you wish.

Sometimes there are terrific alternatives to things or better options then standard plans.

This is a fast trip, which is why a relaxing first night is in Cordoba. You could not keep the pace up for a long trip, but if you are fit, you can do a lot in a few days and enjoy it.

I would not do a day trip to Toledo because things are closed in the afternoon and you completely miss the ambience of the city. OTOH, a week would be too much, IMHO, in either Toledo or Segovia. A day or two in either is plenty.

I have been to both Cordoba and Granada. They are both interesting and people have favorites. The Mezquita is amazing, but the history, innovations and beauty of the Alhambra is really without parallel. An “old building” is a hilarious description, though it is, of course, old. Granada also has music performances in cave venues, beautiful olive groves to walk, great views, wonderful food. Time of year counts too though. The famous gardens are at their peak in May.

Another idea: you have young adults joining you for a week? Fly into Barcelona for three or four nights. Take the fast train to Madrid for Madrid and day trips. After they depart, you head to Seville, Cordoba and Granada. Depart from Malaga. Or, fly into Barcelona, then fly to Granada or Seville. They depart from Malaga. You go on to Cordoba, Madrid, etc. Many, many possibilities here. Take time to make sure you see what you most want to see, then make logistics work.

shelemm

I am an Aix lover, I talk it up as much as I can.... Cordoba is even better, one of my favorite places in Europe. Just so you know, Cordoba and Seville in summer can be like walking on the sun. Don't know if that's the season you are planning. I didn't let that discourage me, but realize that everything closes mid-afternoon (it's too hot) and opens back up.

Sassafrass

KarenWoo, Shelemm and Lrice, count me as another who loves Aix. The first time there, I cried because we had not gone earlier in life and because we had scheduled only a day. We made another trip, starting and ending in Aix. I love everything, especially flowers and food. It is one place I could live and be very happy.
Seville in July was just about the hottest place I have been. Life happens in morning and evenings. Sleeping twice a day worked for me.

Maribel

Lrice,
I think the devil is in the details regarding a night in Toledo before a next morning departure from Madrid airport (for just your adult children?)

I know of no regular, hourly shuttle service from the city of Toledo to Barajas airport.
You would best arrange ahead of time a very reliable car or taxi transfer, from Toledo hotel door to T4 (used by One World) or T1 (Delta, United), which can be done. And if there are more than 3 persons traveling with luggage, it would be best to pre-book a larger limo/taxi. I estimate the cost for a larger vehicle to be around 120 euros.

I would also allow plenty of cushion, not just 65 minutes but instead 90+ minutes to move from Toledo to Barajas (depending the hour of day), as the very heavy morning commuter traffic on the notorious M-40 ring road can be bumper to bumper (learned from painful experience).
Google estimates that a 6 am Toledo drive to Barajas on a weekday could take 65 minutes, at its best, or at its worst, 1 hr. 50 minutes.

What time does your US bound flight leave from Barajas?
During these covid days, it's imperative to arrive at Barajas 3 hours before an international departure.
Check-in counter lines can be frustratingly long these days with the extra screening of covid testing documents (using Verifly helps), dealing with passengers who don't have their documents in order and often with ticket agents having to re-arrange cancelled flights. (We had 3 last minute flight changes on our September trip.)
We experienced this on our departure on 9/30/21 and most recently on 1/11/22.
We're fortunate to be able to use the priority check-in lines, "fast track" through security and with any remaining time prior to boarding we can use the Sala Velázquez lounge in T4S.
The transfer from check-in to T4S for international flights, via the underground remote-controlled train. can take a minimum of 20 minutes.

If you choose a Monday in Toledo, please note that the El Greco Museum, the Alcázar Military Museum and the Synagogue of the Transit/Sephardic Museum are closed on Mondays.
Monuments are not closed in the afternoons in Toledo, except some early closures (3 pm) on Sundays. On Sundays the cathedral doesn't open for tourist visits until 2 pm but closes at 6:30 pm.
Monuments remain open in the winter season until 5:45-6 pm and in spring/summer/fall until 6:00- 7:30 pm. depending on the site.

Just some thoughts for your consideration...

lrice

Thanks all! Yes, too fast of a trip. Trying to show the kids everything but we actually do not like to hop place to place.

Perhaps we concentrate on Madrid and Sevilla with a day trip to Toledo. And my husband and I stay our second week in Córdoba to settle in a bit like we did in Aix.We were originally going to go to Lisbon and Porto for week 2 but I think we should do that another trip.

I now have to wait another month to book flights as one daughter is possibly starting her first job out of college immediately after graduation.

I will keep an eye out for open jaw tickets. Edited to say we are planning mid June.