Train from Madrid to Granada in October

Jc,
If you go to the Renfe website & choose your date of travel or any date on this route ( Madrid >> Granada) or any other route.
You will see a purple "+" (plus) sign next to the the type of fare, under "options", on the far right (to the right of the price)
When you click on the plus sign, you will see the journey details; click on, "see route" & you'll see the information you're looking for.

Here is an example...

• I chose the train departing from Puerta de Atocha station at 9:35am,
  on October 5th.

• The AVE train will take 2Hrs, 20 minutes ( arriving at Antequera
  Santa Ana station at 11:55am)

• There will be a bus which will depart Antequera's station at 12:15 &
  you will arrive to Granada's train station at 13:30, so travel time
  on the bus is 1 Hr, 15 minutes.

I did not take this AVE - Bus combination when we visited Granada this past October. We did, however, take the ALSA bus from
Córdoba to Granada.

BTW, most buses traveling long distances (over 2 hours travel time), are equipped with a small WC.

I have gone to the Renfe site a number of times. When I enter my desired date of travel their computer kicks it out and goes back to a day that does not work. I would be very happy to use that site but I have not figured out how to make the travel day of choice stick. I assume I am doing something incorrectly. Any hints? Thanks...

Thanks Priscilla. ALSA does not provide information on that. I feel better for taking the bus now.

Jc,
What date will you be traveling to Granada?
Perhaps I can help you now.

Priscilla,

I will be leaving Madrid for Granada on Saturday, October 22, any time after 8 AM would be good. Thanks again for staying with me on this. I just cannot tell if there is any advantage that the train has over the bus at this point...This is one of those mysteries of life...

Jc,
I'm on the Renfe website now & chose October 22.
There are 3 trains on that date traveling from Puerta de Atocha station to Granada; 7:35, 9:35 & 17:35.
Make sure you choose the correct station in Madrid, other wise you will not see the information I see.

The advantage of taking the AVE-Bus combination is the travel time, it's shorter than taking the bus.
Another advantage of taking the AVE- Bus combination is that you will arrive at the train station (in Granada), rather than at the bus station which is on the outskirts of the city.

As I mentioned on my previous post, we took the bus directly from Córdoba to Granada & we took a taxi to our hotel.
I think we paid around €10 for the taxi last October.

JC,
I hope you were able to find your tickets on the Renfe website.

I was going to suggest a different website for booking your train tickets, however, that site seems to be having problems right now, as they are only showing trains traveling Madrid to Sevilla then transfering 6 hours later to a train heading for Granada!

Another advantage to taking the train is that it's usually easy to get to Atocha by metro/cercanias train and the Renfe bus takes you to the train station in Granada, which is a 15-20 minute walk to the old town center - not that I'm suggesting you walk, just that it is close.

Priscilla,

After I found out that the train from Granada was E67 and the bus E23 and each takes just about the same time I decided to take the bus. I did finally figure out that it was impossible to use the Renfe site with Chrome and I had to use Mozilla Firefox. Even then I had a difficulty completing the purchase of the train ticket. So, reluctantly I am going by bus. With some luck it will not be a too crowded bus. (10:30 AM). Thanks again for staying with me on this. I am very pleased with the quality of responses on this forum. Warm regards, Jay

Jay,

Sorry you had trouble with the Renfe website. For future reference, it's best to pay with PayPal when booking tickets via Renfe.

The bus should be nice. You should arrive to the bus station at least 20 minutes prior to departure time, to get acquainted with the station & to find the correct platform.
You will need to place your luggage in the hold, under the bus, before boarding.
There will be taxis lined up outside the bus station when you arrive to Granada.

Enjoy your trip!

I spent a lot of time on Spanish buses this summer, and they were all comfortable (and seat-belt-equipped). There will be a rest-stop/toilet break/smoke break about midway through the trip. You can usually depend on the toilets at the rest stops to be clean. The toilets on buses (they don't all have them) are not used much. Sometimes they are kept locked. I guess that means they're for urgent use only!

Long-distance buses often have Wi-Fi, though the service may cut in and out due to terrain, etc.

Be sure you know the exact Madrid departure point for your bus and, as already noted, allow plenty of time. There are multiple bus stations around Madrid. I think there's always a Metro station right there, but some are part of shopping-mall-like complexes. I had no trouble following the signs, but it can take a bit of time to wind your way from the Metro to the bus platforms. There should be some sort of electronic monitor showing the platform for each upcoming departure. If your bus doesn't terminate in Granada, you need to know where it does end up, because that's what will be listed on the monitor.