What do you recommend? Flights with Iberia seem to be reasonable but I'm concerned about excess baggage fees. Anyone have experience with this? Thanks!
Posted by
California 🦋
5293 posts
It's an easy train ride from Madrid to Barcelona & you will arrive in about 2hrs, 35 minutes via the Ave train.
Check train schedules & fares here: http://www.renfe.com
& compare prices.
Edit: you can buy discounted train tickets (up to 3 months) in advance and save $.
Posted by
Tresana, Highlands Ranch, CO, USA
23626 posts
Remember with flying you need to get to and from the airports. Trains are nearly always city center to city center. Our bench mark for air travel is a train ride of about five to six hours. Longer than that we look at air.
Posted by
FL USA
1560 posts
ATV HIGH SPEED train with second class tickets is equal to business class air travel. Madrid train station is a great place to visit. The overall experience is far better than air travel.
Posted by
OP
2 posts
Thank you everyone!
Posted by
Oak Park, Illinois
4535 posts
The only time I'd recommend flying between the two is if you are already at the airport (ie, flying into Madrid and immediately continuing on to Barcelona).
You get the advanced purchase discounts directly from the RENFE website. It can be difficult to navigate but it helps to register and it helps to use Paypal to make your payment (direct credit card payments often just don't work from the US).