- Madrid to Granada is six hours regardless of whether you take the bus or train. The bus is a lot cheaper.
- Toledo is a great day trip from Madrid, but it is very difficult to travel south from Toledo.
- The Madrid-Cordoba-Seville train route is super-fast but super-expensive, too. The bus takes more than twice as long (six hours rather than two-and-a-half) but it is a quarter of the price.
- There are no direct trains from Granada to Cordoba or from Seville to Salamanca.
- If you plan on traveling along the south coast, note that train coverage in the area is poor, the most notable city not to have a train station is Marbella. See this Train Map of Andalusia for help with this route.
- The train from Bilbao to Barcelona takes two hours longer than the bus.
- The train from Salamanca to Bilbao is only 30 minutes quicker than the bus.
- The Madrid-Cordoba-Seville train route is super-fast but super-expensive, too. The bus takes more than twice as long (six hours rather than two-and-a-half) but it is a quarter of the price.
- There are no direct trains from Granada to Cordoba or from Seville to Salamanca.
- If you plan on traveling along the south coast, note that train coverage in the area is poor, the most notable city not to have a train station is Marbella. See this Train Map of Andalusia for help with this route.
- The train from Bilbao to Barcelona takes two hours longer than the bus.
- Madrid to Granada is six hours regardless of whether you take the bus or train. The bus is a lot cheaper.
- The train from Salamanca to Bilbao is only 30 minutes quicker than the bus.
- A simple solution to the Seville-back-to-Barcelona conundrum is to fly. As is usually the case, booking well in advance will save you a lot, but it is worth looking at flights even a few days in advance. At the time of writing (August 2006), despite it being high season, I was able to book a flight from Seville to Barcelona for 80€ including taxes with Spanair. Spanair's website is really handy as it gives you the whole month ahead with the price for each day, so if you are flexible you can always find the cheapest flight.
Planning Your Own ItineraryPoints to Remember When Planning Your Trip Around Spain
By Damian Corrigan, About.com
Some points to consider when planning your trip from Madrid.
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