Day trips from Seville: train, bus or tour, what each costs and how long it takes

💡 The Short Version: Córdoba is the easy trip: about 45 minutes by train from Santa Justa. Jerez is about an hour, Cádiz 1½ to 2 hours and Granada 2 hours 40 minutes by direct train, which makes the Alhambra a long day. Ronda has no direct train: it is a 9 to 10 hour tour from €47.40. Itálica and Carmona are half days by bus, and Doñana National Park is a 4x4 visit at €35 that starts at El Acebuche. Or book a tour: Córdoba and the Mosque-Cathedral at €79ad, Granada at €79ad and Ronda and Setenil at €49ad. A tour replaces the booking and the connections but costs 9 to 13 hours; the trains to Córdoba, Jerez and Cádiz are better on your own. Carry a passport or photo ID on every trip.

The day trips compared

Tour prices are GetYourGuide’s lowest “from” prices for one adult. Train and coach fares and times are on Renfe’s and the operators’ own sites.

When a tour is worth it

A tour earns its price where the road is long or the public transport is thin.

• Ronda and the white villages. No direct train, and no direct bus to Zahara de la Sierra. The tours cover Setenil, Ronda and, on some, Zahara and Grazalema, from €47.40ad. The Ronda guide compares the five main tours.
• Doñana. The park’s 4x4 visit leaves from El Acebuche, on the road between El Rocío and Matalascañas, and a tour of €94ad adds the transport from Seville.
• Granada. The tour handles the driving and the Albaicín walk, but the Alhambra entry is an option on the main listings. The Granada guide has the ticket rules.
• Jerez and Cádiz together. The tours from €95ad put a bodega and the Cathedral in one day with the coach between them.

Not worth a tour: Córdoba, where the train takes 45 minutes and leaves the whole day in the city, and Itálica, where the bus stops at the site.

The trips

Córdoba

Train about 45 minutes · Mezquita-Catedral €15 · tours 10 hours from €79

The Mezquita-Catedral and the Jewish Quarter. The Córdoba guide has the ticket prices, the free hour, the hours to 30 November and the tours.

Arches in the prayer hall of the Mezquita-Catedral in Córdoba. Photo: Benjamin Smith, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Granada and the Alhambra

Direct train about 2 hours 40 minutes · Alhambra €22.27 · tours 13 hours from €79

The Nasrid Palaces, the Alcazaba and the Generalife. The Granada guide says how to plan the day around the Nasrid slot.

The Fountain of the Lions in the Alhambra. Photo: Jebulon, Wikimedia Commons, CC0.

Cádiz and Jerez

Trains 1½ to 2 hours and about an hour · tours with both from €95

Cádiz has a Cathedral at €12 and a camera obscura at €8; Jerez has the Royal Andalusian School’s horse show and the sherry bodegas. The Cádiz guide and the Jerez guide have the prices.

Ronda and the white villages

Tours 9 to 10 hours from €47.40 · Damas coach from Prado de San Sebastián

Ronda’s Puente Nuevo, Setenil de las Bodegas and Zahara de la Sierra. See the Ronda guide.

The Puente Nuevo and the cliff edge at Ronda. Photo: Benjamin Smith, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Itálica

Damas bus M-170 · free for EU citizens, €1.50 for others · tours from €16

Roman streets, mosaic houses and an amphitheatre at Santiponce. The Itálica guide has the hours and the tours.

Other trips

Carmona

Casal bus M-124 from Prado de San Sebastián · necropolis free for EU citizens, €1.50 for others

Carmona has a Roman necropolis and an amphitheatre on its western edge, on Avenida de Jorge Bonsor. The Junta de Andalucía’s site describes a cemetery of the 1st and 2nd centuries AD with family tombs cut into the rock, among them the Tomb of the Elephant and the Tomb of Servilia, and a museum on site. Access is individual and needs no booking. The hours follow Itálica’s: Tuesday to Saturday 09:00 to 18:00 from 21 September to 31 December, 09:00 to 15:00 on Sundays and holidays, and closed on Mondays except holiday Mondays, and on 1 and 6 January, 1 May and 24, 25 and 31 December (museosdeandalucia.es). The Casal bus M-124 runs from the Prado de San Sebastián coach station; by car, take the A-4. The Córdoba and Carmona tourad stops in the town.

Doñana National Park

4x4 visit €35 · about 4 hours · from El Acebuche · tour from Seville €94

Doñana Visitas, run by the Cooperativa Andaluza Marismas del Rocío, runs a 4x4 visit that crosses the park’s dunes, marshes, forest and beach, stopping at the dunes and at the village of La Plancha, in about 4 hours (donanavisitas.es). It starts at the El Acebuche visitor centre, on the A-483 between El Rocío and Matalascañas, which has about 5 km of free walking trails. The adult price is €35 and children aged 4 to 8 pay €20. Departures are at 08:30 and in the afternoon, at 15:00 from 15 September to 30 April and 17:00 from 1 May to 14 September. The visit does not run on 25 December, 1 January, Mondays from 1 October to the end of February, Sundays from 1 June to the end of September or during the El Rocío pilgrimage; the cooperative takes bookings on +34 959 430 432. A car is the practical way to reach El Acebuche. The tour from Seville, Doñana National Park Day Tripad (€94, 10 hours, 434 reviews), goes by Coria del Río, El Rocío and the dunes with a guide and binoculars.

Málaga

Direct Renfe train about 2 hours · no tour from Seville

Málaga is about 2 hours from Seville Santa Justa by direct train, and Alsa runs coaches from Plaza de Armas. GetYourGuide lists no tour from Seville to Málaga. Four hours on the train is most of a day, so it suits a night or two in Málaga better than a return trip.

The longest days

Tours only · 10 to 15 hours

These cross a border or a mountain range, and all need ID. Gibraltarad is a 10-hour tour from €49 with 5 hours of free time in Gibraltar; Day Trip to Gibraltarad is 11 hours from €129 and includes the San Miguel caves. Tangierad is a 15-hour tour from €219 with a fast ferry from Tarifa and lunch. The Caminito del Reyad is a 10-hour hike from €99 with the walkway ticket included; it is not for children under 8 or visitors with vertigo. Check the entry rules for your nationality before booking Gibraltar or Tangier.

Before you choose a day

Seville Airport to the city and Seville public transport cover the first and last day, and the trains leave from Santa Justa. What to book before you go to Seville has the city tickets and the days they are closed. Where to stay in Seville compares the areas, with hotels near Seville Cathedral for the centre. The river cruises include the May to September boat to Sanlúcar de Barrameda at the edge of Doñana, and the Seville walking tours are the half-day alternative.