Originally Posted by
spainlover
If you’re just going to Madrid and Sevilla, and possibly Toledo, I would say take the train. The high speed train is 2 1/2 hours to Sevilla from Madrid, much faster than driving. The train Madrid to Toledo is just half an hour. Toledo is definitely worth seeing. If you want to do a day trip from either city, you could easily go to Segovia or Cuenca or El Escorial from Madrid; and Ronda or Cadiz from Sevilla.
Originally Posted by
pbiflyer
I would opt for the 5/3, as there are several easy day trip options out of Madrid. But it depends on what you like to do.
From Toledo is not an easy commute to the Madrid airport.
Unless you plan on going exploring off the beaten path, I would opt for train over car rental. Parking in Sevilla will be a pain. And the train is easy and convenient. The train track to Toledo is a bit hidden, but people will direct you.
Edited to add: Depending on which terminal and when you are leaving, you could always take the train to the Madrid airport. Arrives at T4, but shuttle buses to the other terminals.
https://www.aeropuertomadrid-barajas...rt-bytrain.htm
Originally Posted by
schrodingerdog
Last week RENFE (the national train operator) started to operate the high-speed service from Seville to Granada (2h30min) so you can go and come back in the day or do Madrid-Granada-Seville-Madrid. You can buy the ticket in the RENFE website and the service is named "AVANT".
I will only consider renting a car to go from Madrid to Seville if you are a family of 4-5, as the train can get expensive. Otherwise train is so convenient that there is no point in looking for other options.
All good advice. Then we probably take the train since we do not have many places to visit.
We'll fly out of terminal 4S at noon time. The thinking is that it may be better to stay close to MAD for the night before flight. This is why we plan to stay at Toledo the night before. I can change the plan to stay at Madrid one day longer, have a day trip. Then go to MAD airport directly from Seville. So it is like this:
1. 4-5 nights at Madrid, 1 night at Toledo or another place, 3-4 nights at Seville. Then take train to MAD airport
2. 4-5 nights at Madrid, 3-4 nights at Seville and 1 night at Toledo. Then go to MAD airport.
We could do a day trip to Toledo. But the hotel there is cheaper and we prefer more local atmosphere. Hope it is easy to go from Toledo from Seville.
I just like the simple logistics. Travel time really cut into the time we could spend visiting places.