Places around Cordoba

[olliejaeger]

Hello,

We'll be staying in Cordoba in August this year and are looking for places of natural beauty to visit that are accessible from there via public transport. We have been looking into Montoro but weren't sure how easily we could get there from Cordoba without a car. Any help or advice would be warmly appreciated!

[gavilan]

That city and surrounding area are usually very hot in August ... it is not easy at the best of times using public transport but in that heat ...!

[maureenscot]

Priego de Cordoba is said to be nice. Cannot help you with transport. However google the Cordoba bus station timetable and have a look

[maureenscot]

Also train timetables

[Gasman]

You might be able to find a coach tour you could join while you are there - day-trips out into the mountains south of Cordoba, eg Priego de Cordoba and the little town of Carcabuey nearby. The hills round there are covered with miles and miles of olive plantations, with sharp pointy mountains, and very winding roads. You should be able to get a local bus (they are air-conditioned) to Carmona - see the Parador hotel which is in the castle walls, but there is not much else to do there. Do some surfing on the internet and see what you come up with, eg a coach tour you might want to book in advance, but you will perhaps find plenty to do in the city itself ...
If you have plenty of time, you might want to take the train to Seville, consider an overnight stay there, then back again on train or bus. Bus is cheaper but takes longer and will probably go direct on the motorway, train wanders more across the countryside so gives views that you would not see from the road. Otherwise look on the maps, check out local bus timetables, and follow your noses.
PS it will be HOT ... you will need to expect to take it easy ... and what is natural beauty in the spring is dry, dusty, tired and drab in August !

[elusive]

Yeah preigo is really nice. Took a day trip there once. We went to lucena and zuheros a few weeks back aswell.

[olive]

Not at all sure how accessible places are via public transport.

Zuheros for example is a lovely place and has the Murcielago (Bat) cave nearby but in reality a fair trek uphill only for fit people.

If you like ruins and history , there is Medina Azahara near Cordoba but I dont know about public transport.

[Gasman]

The bat cave is good - yes a hike up the hill to get to the entrance, and THEN the steps inside the cave to go down, and to come back up the other side, are A enormous, B vertiginous and extremely steep, C some without handrails, My OH would not have gone had she realised that only Mountain Goats should attempt!! OP is perhaps fit and active, and will enjoy the challenge. Certainly spectacular cave system, but ....
PS the Gruta/Grotto of marvels at Aracena is a fair route marche but much more accessible, and in my opinion much more spectacular! Huelva Provincia Rules OK !!

[Mariacristina]

The bus station and the railway station are very close to each other in Cordoba and both have a very good service covering a wide area. Easy to check there for special excursions There are direct buses to Priego and Baena, both well worth visiting. There is, however, so much to see and do in Cordoba itself that you could use an entire holiday within the city limits. I see that you are being warned about the heat . . . but the weather is so unusual this year that you may need to pack your winter gear!