Madrid to Pamplona by rail or bus?

You take the train Aeropuerto Madrid Barajas T4. Cercanías → Madrid Atocha Station. Every 15 minutes.
You take the train from Madrid Atocha → Pamplona/Iruña. 3 trains a day.
Simple.

I´d no doubt take the bus, with more frequencies and very efficient, clean and modern. Any specific reason to get to Iruña-Pamplona, or is it part of a longer itinerary?

Hi Em,

I agree with Mikel, the bus is the best. The simplest route would be with PLM (Pamplona, Logroño, Madrid) buses, but they leave at 12:15.

Not sure why you can't find anything with Alsa, but they run four buses a day out of the T4 terminal. There is one that leaves at 10:15 and arrives in Pamplona at 15:35 with a changes of buses in Soria. There is about a 45min layover. It is 22.60€, and for the 15th it is half full. There is a later bus 15:15.

The buses used to be right at the exit of the T4, now there is a small bus depot annexed on to the T4. You have to go outside, crossover to where the parking garage is and take the moving sidewalks to the depot. It is about 10mins.

Thank you for the replies.

I think some of the difficulties I am having with websites involves the antivirus software on my laptop and Firefox. I can get the Trainline website to function properly on my iPad with Safari.

Yes, the bus appears to be a very good option -- and perhaps more scenic! (assuming we don't fall asleep after an overnight flight ...)

We are going to Pamplona to spend a couple of nights before beginning a walk on the Camino Frances.

If the plane is on time, (lands 0845), and we have carry-on only and US passports, how much time should we allow before getting a bus or a train? Is a bus or train shortly after 10:00 realistic or should we look for a departure closer to noon? (I am also trying to figure ou which type of tickets are changeable if we miss a booked bus or train due to flight delays).

Is Omio a good (safe) booking platform for bus and train tickets, or should I try to book directly with Renfe / Alsa / PLM if I can get the websites functioning properly?

Thank you for your replies. I am very familiar with booking transport throughout Asia using 12Go.Asia, but Spain is a new travel adventure! I will probably post here again later today with more questions!

Is there enough time? Usually yes. Having only carry on helps a lot.

My daughter came in on the 31st of December, arriving at 8:50, and had plenty of time. She had a ticket for later bus. Just in case, and she paid an extra of like 1,50€ to be able to change buses. The thing is it didnt cover miss buses, so you can go earlier, but not later.

But Pamplona-Iruña is not about bullfighting...in fact, it´s a very minor thing there. The "encierro" or running of the bulls (that takes place in several other parts in Spain) is held in July, for 7 days, at 8am for three minutes more or less. There´s a bullfight every day during San Fermin festivals (7-14 July) at 6pm and that´s it.

Em,

so were you ever able to get a ticket? Bus or Train?

Hello all --

An update: after changing settings/ad blockers we were finally able to access the trainline, renfe, alsa and omio websites. I have also downloaded the apps.

No tickets have been purchased yet because AA has changed our flights and we now land on Saturday 16 Mar at 5:45am. This is "better" because it is earlier in the day so we have many more options, but perhaps fewer available seats bus or train because it is Saturday.

Alas, it does reduce the number of days we have to explore Pamplona before we start walking. (@Mikel: we never even thought about bullfights and Pamplona -- not our cup of tea! Architecture, food, history, strolling..... more our thing!)

We will continue to watch "availabile seats" and decide if we need to purchase beforehand. I like the idea/strategy of purchasing a bus ticket for midday, and paying the 1.5euro to have the flexibility to move it to an earlier bus.

Again, thanks to all for the help understanding our options!

Umm, I wouldn't worry about having fewer days to explore Pamplona. It really doesn't have that much to see in comparison to many other places in Spain. I probably only spent 4 to 6 hours on local sightseeing, and that included walking a bunch of streets in the historic area. I remember the cool running-of-the-bulls statue, and I think I went to a museum. It's not just me--I think you'll find guidebooks are really lukewarm about Pamplona. Honestly, I'm a big fan of secondary cities, but Pamplona's charms are very modest as far as I'm concerned, and Spain has so many wonderful destinations.

Two days in Pamplona is more than enough, IMO

Regarding Pamplona, we will have a few jet-lagged hours on one afternoon/evening, rather than that plus a full day.

We are not particularly fans of big cities.