What's best/cheapest for you entirely depends on what day trips you intend to make.
You can check on e.g. www.raileurope.com what the typical price for your day trips would be and compare it with the costs of an extra 5 travel days plus reservation costs.
Tipically those from USA without much exp here in EUR say its short when we think its quite long. That does not help in getting adequate answers.
IF you really mean from MAD and DO realize that the 3-4 last summers it was getting really EXTRemely hot there-so I would suggest to reconsider that whole week (1 day is just lost on arr etc. And frankly-having been there a dozen or so times since it was al still very cheap with peseta and an overnite tren to Lisboa-both long gone-this town does not really has that much to offer in sights-mostly 3 or 4 pretty good museums. The nrs of towns around for an easy daytrip-short dist is also perhaps 2: Segovia (better by bus anyway) and Toledo(also a lot cheaper and more frequent by bus).
IF you mean cities like Cordoba, Sevilla, Burgos-those are some 2,5 hr on tren-AV=hispeed=not cheap away, so also half the day is spent sitting in trenes. AND with a pass in ESpana you always face the pesky task of getting the RES and this can be problematic in main summer too.
Think again, then come back. For general Qs: use a forum like tripadvisor.
Thank you so much! Just to clarify what you are saying: If I buy a local train ticket, that comes with its own reservation. If I use the Pass, I pay the reservation fee?
Thank you so much! Just to clarify what you are saying: If I buy a local train ticket, that comes with its own reservation. If I use the Pass, I pay the reservation fee?
Yes 
In Spain it´s normal when you buy a ticket that it include the Reservation (IRT = Included Reservation Ticketing)
A Passuser need to get a reservation for the Highspeedservices in Spain and have to pay for it What is finally cheaper depends on the trains you wanna catch and how flexible you wanna be during your visit :)
Got it. Sometimes, we can be super flexible and other times not. Hmmm….
THANKS!
We will be starting in Spain and heading north. We plan to stay in Madrid for 8 days, and I would like to take day trips to some of the nearby smaller towns.
Could you be a bit more specific? I've been to Spain quite a bit (my family is from the North of Spain, Asturias), so depending on where you want to go I can probably advise better.
Some general remarks:
Regional trains are pretty cheap (now actually de facto capped at €20 per ride with the "free" subscription).
On the high speed lines to the south and Northeast (Zaragoza & Barcelona), competition has reduced prices significantly, with tickets often at around €20-25 when booking well ahead. Besides Renfe, Iryo offers quite some trains (Madrid-Barcelona/Valencia/Alicante/Málaga/Seville) and Ouigo a few (Madrid-Barcelona and Madrid-Valencia) - but these are indeed less flexible.
Passholder reservations are pretty hard to get and cost between €4 (MD/Avant) and €12 (AVE), but as long as there are spaces available you can get one. In peak summer and other festive dates, trains do sell out some time ahead, so that might also be something you'll need to consider. The afternoon train from Granada to Madrid we wanted mid August was full by the time we reached a Spanish ticket office (a week before), so we had to take the 7 AM one.
Given the extra cost for an adult equates to about 16 euro per day the day trips would need to be fairly short to cost less than 8 euro each way.
Given the extra cost for an adult equates to about 16 euro per day the day trips would need to be fairly short to cost less than 8 euro each way.
Don't forget the reservations often needed with a pass.
Given the extra cost for an adult equates to about 16 euro per day the day trips would need to be fairly short to cost less than 8 euro each way.
Don't forget the reservations often needed with a pass.
I hadn’t forgotten, but I was thinking mainly of the cost of regional trains for short day trips. Anything requiring reservations in Spain would surely cost more than 8 euros plus reservation fee. (Basing on an equivalent flexible fare).
Even advance tickets for something like Mad - Cordoba (Just under 2 hours) would be 50 euro each way. Madrid to Salamanca from 20 euro each way and so on.
The real point is that adding extra days to passes is relatively cheap for a much more inclusive experience on long holidays,
Given the extra cost for an adult equates to about 16 euro per day the day trips would need to be fairly short to cost less than 8 euro each way.
Don't forget the reservations often needed with a pass.
I hadn’t forgotten, but I was thinking mainly of the cost of regional trains for short day trips. Anything requiring reservations in Spain would surely cost more than 8 euros plus reservation fee. (Basing on an equivalent flexible fare).
Even advance tickets for something like Mad - Cordoba (Just under 2 hours) would be 50 euro each way. Madrid to Salamanca from 20 euro each way and so on.
The real point is that adding extra days to passes is relatively cheap for a much more inclusive experience on long holidays,
With the temporarily “free” rail pass, unlimited travel between Madrid and Salamanca only costs €20, on that route exceptionally including AVANT services. Unlimited travel in Cercanías only costs €10, so Aranjuez, Alcalá de Henares or Guadalajara by Cercanías costs just €10 for the lot. To Segovia using the Cercanías until Cercedilla (pretty slow)? Add €6.10 for a return.
These passes are intended for repetitive use: You pay a deposit (€10 for Cercanías, €20 for MD and the which you would get back if you do over 16 trips - but I think that is unlikely. The prices I mention are the deposit which you then won’t get back.
To places reachable by AVE/AVANT: Probably worth an extra travel day, unless you score a cheap ticket from Iryo/Ouigo/Renfe or if it’s not a day return.
Given the extra cost for an adult equates to about 16 euro per day the day trips would need to be fairly short to cost less than 8 euro each way.
Don't forget the reservations often needed with a pass.
I hadn’t forgotten, but I was thinking mainly of the cost of regional trains for short day trips. Anything requiring reservations in Spain would surely cost more than 8 euros plus reservation fee. (Basing on an equivalent flexible fare).
It depends. Madrid - Toledo is perfect for a day trip. This Saturday it's only €22.20 for a return but with a pass you'll need €8 for reservations. For Segovia it depends. There are a few cheap regional trains to the city centre and fast trains to the high speed line outside the centre, with varying (reservation) prices. So basically, you'll have to do the math before you can say anything.
It depends. Madrid - Toledo is perfect for a day trip. This Saturday it's only €22.20 for a return but with a pass you'll need €8 for reservations. For Segovia it depends. There are a few cheap regional trains to the city centre and fast trains to the high speed line outside the centre, with varying (reservation) prices. So basically, you'll have to do the math before you can say anything.
Indeed, but a small note: Madrid-Toledo is an AVANT service (PSO), so fares are fixed: it’s always €22.20 for a return ticket (or €13.90 if only booking one way). Indeed, considering the €8 reservation fee, I don’t expect an extra travel day is worth it for that trip (it would have to be less than €14.20 difference).
The Madrid-Segovia AVANT journeys are in fact exactly the same price, though on that route there are also some more expensive commercial fare only services.
