Flying from Bilbao to Madrid?

Like always, consider the time taken to get to the airport, getting there two hours early, security, will you need to check a bag, the flight, and then getting to central Madrid from the airport. Flying is really no time savings, and maybe more hassle, and definitely more cost.

You are however overlooking the best option, the bus. There are like 20 departures to Madrid a day from Bilbao, takes about 4+ hours, and you can choose the time that works for you. Do not be turned off by buses, they are modern, comfortable, and an easy ride. Alsa is probably the best known company https://www.alsa.com/en/web/bus/home there may be others, probably Flixbus makes that run.

Another big push for our great bus transport system, so frequently overlooked by visitors -for no good reason at all-. You can even choose the Supra Premium Class for even more comfort. And much more frequencies than trains. A modern, comfortable, cleanest, safest, cheap way of traveling in Spain

The Bilbao airport is great. Not too big, near the center of city, and you wouldn’t need to get there two hours ahead. But that time savings would be spent getting out of Barajas and into Madrid. The flight is fine but if you can deal with the bus, that sounds like a good way to split the difference between airport and train timing.

The flight is fine but if you can deal with the bus

I think that is the crux of the issue, Americans tend to avoid the bus. Probably some vision of a seedy Greyhound terminal in the worst part of the city hangs in their head. But buses are in many cases quicker, cleaner, and more comfortable than train in many places, and honestly, if you travel around Spain, you really do not want to avoid them.

I guess I would phrase it, "the bus is great, but if you can deal with the flight..."

Paul- I didn’t mean to sound critical of buses. I’ve used them plenty in Mexico and they’re great. But some peoples stomachs would disagree, even if they’re ok on planes. I’d personal rather take a Dramamine than have to go through Barajas.

I really appreciate all the input on this question. All the responses have given me time to think about what's best for us.

I have decided to stay the night in Bilbao, so we can enjoy that city one more day and just bite the bullet and get up early and on the 7 am train the next morning. I think we are even staying very near the train station. Sitting in a premium seat for 4 hours and ordering a breakfast on the train should be a nice ride. We did 6 hours from Nice to Paris a couple years ago, and while the train food was not all that great, the scenery was. We will be in Madrid early enough to take our time getting to the Hotel in Madrid and maybe even have time to go to any museums near our Hotel.

Haven't decided on a Hotel for Madrid yet.

We flew from Bilbao to Madrid after our Basque Country tour and it was easy to do. As others have pointed out the worst part of that is getting from Barajas to downtown Madrid. If you’re going to be staying in Madrid the train or bus will take you to the city center.

I Will be in Spain on April. I Will take a fly from Bilbao to Madrid. Air Europa has a great prices, I recomend you to do a reservation. Good Vacations!