Looks like there is now a direct AVE train from Barcelona to Granada; leaving Barcelona at 6:50am and getting Granada at 1:15pm. Will this be a permanent schedule ? we are vising in this fall and want to know if they will continue to have this line in the fall.
The schedule may change by the start of fall but not the direct line of service.
Hi speed rail to Granada from Madrid has been in construction for a while but now it looks like it is finished.
We just returned from Spain. We flew from Granada to Barcelona--1 hr. flight. Price was also very reasonable on Vueling Airlines.
But how long did it really take to get from Granada to Barcelona. You have to add in getting to and from airports, security checks, etc. Hotel to hotel is the critical time.
Truer travel words were never spoken: As Frank says, how much time from hotel to hotel.
How many figure out the answer first, instead of just plunging into another hotel change. This is the true cost of changing hotels, versus home-basing and doing day trips.
As the man once said: ya pays your money and takes your consequences, in time and money.
Your choice.
Thank you. I do not want to fly with Vueling Air as I have read so many negative reviews. Besides, I would like to enjoy scenery. I have been on a long train ride before and it was not that bad.
Train trips like that are a great way to go if you have the time and interest, which it seems you do.
To answer the comparison question, flying is A LOT faster on that route. An hour flight, an hour at the airport, and hour to get to the airport and a generous hour to get from airport to new hotel is only 4 hours - far less than just the train trip itself. Basically, any train trip over 5 hours will be faster to fly.
I enjoy travelling by railway and dislike all the faff involved in flying. Nevertheless, for this route I'd definitely fly.
Remember, for a lot of the journey the train will be going too fast for you to enjoy the scenery. And a fair chunk of the route is through rather boring landscape anyway.
If you catch the morning flight from Barcelona you won't have to get up much earlier then you would to take the train. And you'll be at your Granada hotel by 10am or earlier, giving you more time in the city than if you travel by rail.
Vueling is fine, by the way.