Barcelona to Madrid - train or plane?

[saymissj]

Our cruise disembarks Barcelona and we plan to go to Madrid. Anybody with info on the high speed train to Madrid and feasibility with a couple of bags? Is flying simpler? Thanks in advance!

[Essiesmom]

There are several people on my Celebrity Solstice roll call who are experts on Spanish and European rail service. If you don't find what you want on the Ports of Call boards for Europe, try the roll call for Celebrity Solstic(e) Transatlantic for May 1, 2011. EM

[maxamuus]

Flying is pretty cheap. 50 dollars and a hour 20 minute flight.

[robgvic]

Unless you are in a rush to get to Madrid, I would take the train. I took the train from Bilbao to Bacellona a couple of yeas ago and couldnt believe what a beautiful county Spain is. You would not see that from a plane

[janina]

Remember that if you fly most of the european airlines allow a lot less luggage weight.

[scmexico]

Take the train and experience the country. You will meet more residents than at the airport. We have had great experiences on the train.

[hmh60]

If you have time, I'd definitely do the train. Did a Ruby cruise out of Venice so we decided to fly to Milan and take the train to Verona and on to Venice. Delightful!!!!

[scottbee]

Our cruise disembarks Barcelona and we plan to go to Madrid. Anybody with info on the high speed train to Madrid and feasibility with a couple of bags? Is flying simpler? Thanks in advance!

 

Train; hands down. It's faster than flying (by the time you take into consideration check-in etc etc); more comfortable, quieter. need I say more. There's a largish luggage area at the end of each carriage, so no issue with bags. We even got from Sants to our hotel on the Barcelona subway, really not a big deal if you're not carrying your whole house w/ you.

 

We did it the other way (Madrid Atocha-Barcelona Sants) in November; and it's a fine example of how North America lags behind the rest of the world in transportation. Such a civilized way to go (at 300kmph)

[cruiseluv]

Our cruise disembarks Barcelona and we plan to go to Madrid. Anybody with info on the high speed train to Madrid and feasibility with a couple of bags? Is flying simpler? Thanks in advance!

 

The fast train between Barcelona and Madrid, the AVE can be more expensive than flying, unless you buy the discounted fare. Around 62 days before the travel date you can try to buy at the discounted web fare (60 % discount) or "Estrella" fare (40% disc). I say "try" because unfortunately the Spanish train website is very quirky and doesn't seem to like US issued credit cards. Website is http://www.renfe.es . I have read that a Spanish travel website through which you can buy the discounted train fares is http://www.rumbo.es

 

All things being equal , I would take the train. The taxi fare from Atocha train station to your hotel wil be less that from the airport.

[edunava]

Hi all from Barcelona.

 

I totally agree with that advise you to travel by train. The journey takes three hours, but the beauty of the landscape makes the time pass quickly. The stations are in the middle of the two cities, avoiding long journeys to airports.

In the previous message has been advised exactly what to do to get the tickets.

 

Greetings.

[Infi]

We had this same choice last summer after the end of our Ruby Grand Med cruise. We had both wanted to take the train to enjoy the countryside and not worry about flying and luggage weight. But when we researched, the train cost about 300 euros pp. The flight was $20pp - most of which was taxes. :eek:The choice was easy then. The flight was very fast and easy - the short commuter flights leave from a separate terminal in Barcelona's airport and we ended up having no issue with luggage weight. I would do this again, it was very simple.

[Hlitner]

Flying is pretty cheap. 50 dollars and a hour 20 minute flight.

 

Actually it may not be so cheap. Luggage can easily double that price (and getting tickets for $50 is not always so easy), you need to get a taxi from the pier to the airport which adds another $45, plus you need transportation from Madrid's airport to your hotel which can cost from about $30 to around $100 depending on your mode of transport. So in the end, that cheap plane can easily cost $150 per person. As to the train, a taxi from the port to the train station is pretty reasonable, the train does not charge for luggage, and when you arrive in Madrid it would again be a reasonable taxi cost to a hotel. The other issue with flying is you need to get to the airport about 1 1/2 hours before your flight, many European flights are delayed, etc etc. The train takes about 3 hours from downtown to downtown (this is actually faster then flying when you consider waiting time at the airports and transportation) but the down side is that you can pay about $170 per person for a ticket (there are discounts for seniors and other special fares that might reduce this cost).

 

There is another way which is to rent a car and drive (about 6 hours) which might actually be the least costly option and also allow you to enjoy some of Spain along the route.

 

Hank

[iancal]

We flew. But only because we were on a reward point ticket that permitted stopover and open jaw. We should have taken the train. It was the only part of the trip that we did not do by train or car. Fortunately we are going back and will not make the same mistake.