Seville or Cadiz? Which one with only 3-4 hours?

[dleahy4444]

We dock in Cadiz from 8-5. Our ship offers a “Seville on your own” tour which basically takes two hours to get to Seville and then you have 3 1/2 hours to explore before the two hour bus ride back to the ship. Is it worth all the traveling or is exploring Cadiz a better option?  Thanks

[carlmm]

There was a similiar discussion here just recently. Maybe you can find it.

My recommendation is to stay in Cadiz. There is so much to see, churches, museums and more, right when you leave the ship.

[IWantToLiveOverTheSea]

We were in Cadiz for a pretty full day/evening, and took the train to Seville and the bus back.  It took a little planning, but felt it was worth it.  We only spent maybe 3 or 4 hours in Seville itself, but that was OK.  It took about 10 maybe 15 minutes to walk to the train station, and same back from bus station.  They're located very close to each other, or at least when we went, they were.  This was maybe 5-6 years ago, however.  I even had a little bit of time to go out into Cadiz in the evening after a kind of early dinner, and I really enjoyed it.  I walked around the beach area, and some of the city, which of course, was very active even at 9 PM.  But I don't think we left until 10 that evening, so I was able to see and do a lot in my one day/evening in Cadiz.  I believe I also took a bus around the outskirts of the city, which was fun -- nothing special, but just fun, and saw a little more than I would have seen by walking only. But while walking, I remember hearing music, walked toward it, and saw there was band practice going on ourdoors around 9 PM.  Ah, Spain!  In general, though, I think if you start early, and don't plan on seeing more than a few things in Seville, you can have a great time, even with limited time in Cadiz.  Or Cadiz itself if nice, though I liked Seville better. 

 

I notice that Oceania has some of their smaller ships going down the river to Seville and docking not too far from the main sights in Seville.  That sounds really nice, but I know most cruise ships are too big to be able to do that. 

 

I've never done the Seville on your own excursion in which you're dropped there, but it sounds like the timing may not be any better or worse than the train (RENFE, I believe) or bus.  However, if you're adventuresome, you could google the train and bus systems.  I'm thinking it took around the same time for both, but don't remember the amount of time for each.  The train was a little nicer and easier than the bus, but not substantially so.  I believe I just chose to take a train and bus combination due to timing rather than anything else.  Or perhaps I just wanted to go somewhere that was closer to one station or the other.  

[dleahy4444]

7 hours ago, IWantToLiveOverTheSea said:

We were in Cadiz for a pretty full day/evening, and took the train to Seville and the bus back.  It took a little planning, but felt it was worth it.  We only spent maybe 3 or 4 hours in Seville itself, but that was OK.  It took about 10 maybe 15 minutes to walk to the train station, and same back from bus station.  They're located very close to each other, or at least when we went, they were.  This was maybe 5-6 years ago, however.  I even had a little bit of time to go out into Cadiz in the evening after a kind of early dinner, and I really enjoyed it.  I walked around the beach area, and some of the city, which of course, was very active even at 9 PM.  But I don't think we left until 10 that evening, so I was able to see and do a lot in my one day/evening in Cadiz.  I believe I also took a bus around the outskirts of the city, which was fun -- nothing special, but just fun, and saw a little more than I would have seen by walking only. But while walking, I remember hearing music, walked toward it, and saw there was band practice going on ourdoors around 9 PM.  Ah, Spain!  In general, though, I think if you start early, and don't plan on seeing more than a few things in Seville, you can have a great time, even with limited time in Cadiz.  Or Cadiz itself if nice, though I liked Seville better. 

 

I notice that Oceania has some of their smaller ships going down the river to Seville and docking not too far from the main sights in Seville.  That sounds really nice, but I know most cruise ships are too big to be able to do that. 

 

I've never done the Seville on your own excursion in which you're dropped there, but it sounds like the timing may not be any better or worse than the train (RENFE, I believe) or bus.  However, if you're adventuresome, you could google the train and bus systems.  I'm thinking it took around the same time for both, but don't remember the amount of time for each.  The train was a little nicer and easier than the bus, but not substantially so.  I believe I just chose to take a train and bus combination due to timing rather than anything else.  Or perhaps I just wanted to go somewhere that was closer to one station or the other.  

Thank you for your comprehensive response. Lots of good info. 

[edinburgher]

A couple of recent threads you would probably find helpful to read:

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2872423-seville-cadiz-things-to-do-near-the-port-a-place-to-have-a-lunch-with-local-flavor/#comment-63888831

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2876117-seville-excursions-from-cadiz-to-seville/#comment-63888796

 

And there will be many many more if you use the SEARCH facility for both Cadiz and Seville.