We will be flying into Madrid in May and using public transport. I am looking at using the Tourist Travel Pass, but I want to make sure the Travel Pass can be used for the Metro and Regional Trains. Can someone verify that the Tourist Travel Pass is good for both? We will be traveling in the central region of Madrid.
Posted by
Tresana, Highlands Ranch, CO, USA
23240 posts
Can you give a better reference for the pass? I am not familiar with that pass but it could be new since we have not been in Madrid in the past three years.
Posted by
Hudson Valley
2267 posts
I've done the math on that pass a few times. It could depend on where you're staying, but most tourists are not likely to get value out of it. Central Madrid is compact and very walkable. In a week's visit, you might only need to ride the metro a hand full of times, and the 10 ride metro card would probably suffice for a couple traveling together. The cheaper tourist pass only covers the inner two zones for commuter trains. There are limited tourist sights on that commuter network at all, and they're mostly in the outer zones.
Trains to day-trip destinations like Toledo or Avila aren't covered by the pass at all.
Posted by
Washington DC
27057 posts
I haven't used that pass myself. The city's tourism website indicates the pass comes in two flavors, the relatively limited Zone A and Zone T. I assume you're considering the Zone T pass. As I read it, the passes cover Cercanias trains within the zones matching the pass you choose. Those are "suburban" lines; they're not the same as regular Renfe regional trains, which run all over the country. In particular, note that the pass doesn't cover the (fast) trains to Toledo or Guadalajara, though it covers buses to those cities. Otherwise, the places I recognize as potentially popular with tourists on the list of Cercanias destinations are Alcala de Henares and El Escorial.
If you attempted to use the pass for all your transportation needs, you'd spend extra time getting to Toledo (and to Guadalajara if you go there) by bus, and you'd have to pay separately for train tickets to Segovia and Salamanca (if you wanted to see those cities).
I think you need to consider exactly what day trips you plan to take outside the city and over how many days, to see whether the pass makes sense for you. I'm a big walker, so city transportation passes do not usually pay off for me; I prefer to sightsee with my feet on the ground. The Madrid Metro is very useful, but I didn't use it enough to make the pass worthwhile.