My son and his gf will be joining us mid trip in Granada. Any suggestions on the best way to get them there?
Is it feasible going straight from the States to Granada, or do we fly them into Madrid or Barcelona then 'train' them in?
We as a group are flying home out of Madrid.
Really not sure what the most efficient way really is. I feel a little concerned about making them fly from US and then immediately putting them on a 4-5 train ride.
Any suggestions?
Fly into Madrid then hop on a plane (1 hour-ish) or a train to Granada (4 hrs-ish). Barcelona is too far by train but you could also fly from US to Barcelona and change planes to Granada.
We fly through Madrid and onto our final destination in Spain. By booking one ticket the transfer is easy within the Madrid airport (learn how to navigate the terminal to stay within the correct zones). Using the same mode of transport saves time (vs going to the train station) and is less stressful. If you are checking luggage you will find it (hopefully, recommend AirTags) at your final arrival destination. We have flown through Madrid on Iberia and arrived in Granada and enjoyed the experience (Granada is a small airport and easy to work with folks). Long ago we flew into Madrid and then trained to Granada, great experience but found flying to be a better use of our time. We have found using an "open jaw" ticket to be a far better use of our time even if there is a bit more expense. Example: We fly into Barcelona then traveled through Spain where we departed from Seville with a connecting flight through Madrid on our way home.
Spanish high-speed rail is great and I would recommend it for anyone traveling from Madrid to Granada who is already in the city, but this is one of the cases in which I think it makes sense to stick to air the whole way, so I'd echo connecting in Madrid to a Granada flight as well. Note this will probably require that you travel on an Iberia or Iberia-American Airlines combination, which may be more or less convenient from where you are starting.
When is your son's trip? Fyi, Vueling Airlines is currently canceling certain flights due to a strike.
IF you decide to have them take the train, book a first class ticket. Not much more € and worth it. They could always catch up on their sleep.
I'd probably fly an open-jaw ticket into Granada via a connection in Madrid. It would be worth a premium over going into the city to get the train, just for ease.
United will be launching flights from Newark to Malaga in the spring, but that would probably mean a bus to Granada.
Hmm...... Newark to Malaga sounds attractive and the bus to Granada is a tad over an hour and a pleasant experience.
Newark to Malaga sounds attractive
United has been playing with 'thin' transatlantic routes, for Spain last year adding Tenerife and Palma, and now Malaga. They've got some extra capacity as their Asian business is still limited by travel restrictions, and I imagine they're exploring where to deploy the 321XLRs when they come onboard.
Thanks for the input!
Would a private driver from Malaga to Granada be feasible?
It's about 75 miles each way, and you'd be paying for the round trip. Maybe not unreasonable with four of you sharing. Spanish inter-city buses are ver comfortable, though, so I wouldn't feel the need to avoid taking the bus.
