From Cordoba to Madrid Airport

You don't have enough time to transfer from Cordoba in the morning, since the first train doesn't get into Madrid city center until 9:00 a.m. Do make the trip the night before.

Thanks, Much appreciated. I suspected it would be too close a fit. Do you have any suggestions for a hotel near the airport?

If you are going to have to overnight consider a hotel in town and a decent dinner. We did an overnight at Hotel Europa on the Plaza Del Sol. It's a spartan but clean and efficient hotel. The area can be loud so get a room off the street. We dined at D'Fabula a 15 minute walk to a very quiet plaza. The food was terrific. The hotel had a taxi arranged the next morning and it was about 30 minutes to the airport.

I'd suggest spending your night before your flight in Madrid.

On our last trip to Spain we stayed at theNH Barajas Hotel near the airport & took the courtesy shuttle twice, to & from the hotel!

Depending on what time you arrive to Madrid, you can take the C-1 Cercanias train from the Atocha station directly to the airport (Terminal 4), take the shuttle to the hotel, check-in, drop off your luggage, then take the Metro back to the city & return to the hotel whenever you choose to.

BTW, you need to be at the airport 3 hours before your flight's departure time.

Enjoy Spain!

Edit to add... I forgot to mention, if you decide to stay at the NH hotel, make sure you sign up for their rewards program & you'll receive a 5% discount on your booking. We also enjoyed our stay at the NH Córdoba Hotel right across the Roman Bridge in Córdoba. NH hotels offer delicious & hearty buffet breakfasts which are definitely worth the extra charge.

Thanks to Priscilla and Alan. This is my first time around the block in Spain - and this is the kind of info that is not found in Guidebooks. Kudos!

If you want to take a taxi to the airport, it's a fixed rate of €30 from the center (defined as a relatively large area), and no tipping is required beyond this. So, if you're taking a taxi to the airport, you can stay anywhere in the center with no hassle.

Another way to make things easy is to stay near the Atocha Station. This is where trains from Cordoba arrive, and there are trains to the airport from there as well. So, you wouldn't have to go far, either the night you get into Madrid or the next morning when you leave for the airport. I don't know hotels near Atocha, but another post recently discussed this.

I'd choose either of these options before staying at the airport, but if you do stay at the airport, you will be able to sleep later, so I understand the appeal of this option. If you're going to do this, you'll probably want to eat dinner in Madrid, then take a late taxi or train to the airport for the hotel.

Thanks for taking the time to respond so extensively, Harold!

Savings tip. If you end up in Madrid, not the airport, and choose the Europa (I was happy with it enough to return), you can use the Cercanias to get there from Atocha and then to the airport. It's on the Plaza del Sol and the Cercanias has an elevator to/from street level. It's fast, cheap and easy to get to the airport and about a 3-minute walk from the hotel lobby.