We loved our stay in Granada, but it is not the most convenient destination in Spain. Fortunately we flew in directly from Barcelona. On our departure, however, we needed to use a combination of bus and train to reach Seville. You can also take the bus the entire way, but I find them claustrophobic, the bust station is on the edge of town, and its no faster.
Trip Report Index:
- Two Weeks in Spain
- Is the British Airways Travel Together Ticket a Good Deal?
- British Airways Concorde Room – New York
- British Airways First Class – JFK to LHR
- Transferring at London Heathrow
- Le Meridien Barcelona
- Places You Need to Visit in Barcelona
- Restaurants in Barcelona
- Vueling Airlines – Barcelona to Granada
- AC Palacio de Santa Paula, Granada
- Visiting the Alhambra
- Traveling by Train and Bus from Granada to Seville
- Hotel Alfonso XIII Seville
- AVE Preferente Class Seville to Madrid
- Day trip to Cordoba
- Westin Palace Hotel Madrid
- British Airways Concorde Room – London
Instead, we booked with with Renfe, the national train service. Construction in the area meant we would have to take a bus from the train station (much closer) and travel half-way before connecting in Antequera to complete the journey by train. My understanding is that this construction will be completed in the next few months.
We grabbed a quick breakfast at the train station before boarding. The bus itself was only half full and waited a few minutes for connecting passengers from another train. After that, we set off on a 1.5-hour drive through the hills to Antequera.
I don’t have much to say about the journey itself except that it was an interesting look at the Andalucian countryside, reminding me of my frequent drives through the California Central Valley and Sierras.
The new bridges and viaducts looked impressive, and I can’t wait to return to Granada and take the train the entire way.
Connecting in Antequera was much easier than I had imagined. True, it was in the middle of nowhere, but we had about 10 minutes to grab our bags, use the restroom, and purchase a snack before boarding. Once on the train I was finally able to relax for another 1.5 hours.
The only real confusion happened once we reached Seville. I had booked our tickets to the main station, Santa Justa, but decided at the last minute we should exit at San Bernardo because it was closer to our hotel, the Hotel Alfonso XIII. What I didn’t anticipate was that our print-at-home tickets would not allow us to exit the turnstile (eventually resolved), nor was the weather very accommodating.
I’m always a fan of walking around unfamiliar cities to get my bearing. But if you try to do the same as I did, wait for a temperate climate or use the tram that runs between San Bernardo and Puerta de Jerez. There is no sensible reason to walk that far in the Spanish heat while lugging a suitcase. Megan got to see lots of cool buildings along the way; I’m just glad they had a room ready when we arrived so I could take a shower.
