We're flying to Madrid in late September and taking a train directly to Seville. We hope to book our Madrid to Seville train tickets in advance. How much time is getting our luggage and through the entry process likely to take? If our flight arrives on time at 9:15 am, should we be able to make a 12:30 pm train from Madrid Atocha?
Posted by
Mid-Atlantic area
7160 posts
I generally assume and hour to get through passport control and get your luggage. It will take about 35 minutes to get to Atocha station from the airport. Then of course are the variables, did the plane arrive on time, how quickly did you get off the plane, how many other overseas flights arrived at about the same time, time to walk from the luggage pickup to your ground transportation, and how long you have to wait for that transportation to leave the airport. Should you have enough time, my opinion is yes, as long as there are no major obstacles or delays.
Posted by
Guernsey
741 posts
Think you mean imigration not customs😀
Posted by
Twin Cities of MN
6485 posts
I plan to do the same in November. (arrive Madrid and take a train to Sevilla) I haven't decided if I want to risk purchasing train tickets in advance. If the plane is delayed you'll lose a fair bit of money. I went to New Orleans at the end of May. You wouldn't think that weather would be a factor at that time of year. We ended up delayed 8 hours due to a thunderstorm! So you never really know how logistics will work out. It would help me if you submit a report after your trip on how this all works out. I do know that you save a lot of money purchasing train tickets in advance.
Posted by
Washington DC
28085 posts
I'm not a fan of buying train tickets in advance for arrival day, but in looking up schedules and fares I have fairly often seen trains on the Madrid-Seville route marked as sold out by the time the travel day rolls around, so there is some risk that you might not be able to purchase a last-minute ticket on the next departure when you hit the station.
I'd definitely buy the ticket at the airport station, because lines can be long at Atocha (though there are also vending machines). Also keep in mind that there's a brief security check before you board the AVE, and Atocha is large and potentially confusing even if you aren't sleep-deprived and jetlagged. Do be sure you allow adequate time for the transfer between the local train and the AVE.
Posted by
Twin Cities of MN
6485 posts
@acraven, regarding the sold out train tickets. Do you see those at any particular time of year? For OP its late September and for me it will be Thursday, November 1. When I've done this before I've stayed a day in the arrival city and then had advance tickets for the train the next day. This time I am arriving so early in the morning (7am) and I really just wanted to get to Sevilla since I only have 12 days. Also, I can't recall the country, but I feel like I once saw an option for purchasing refundable tickets?