Looking for some advise. We will be in Madrid for a few days and then we want to take the train to Granada and then back again. Since we are not going until October we can't know yet the train schedule which means planning hotels and timing on length of stay is difficult. Hotels are filling up however. When traveling on Saturday, to Granada I'm thinking train schedules may not be as frequent as during the week? Any advise or insight? I'm thinking if we can get a morning train on Saturday and come back to Madrid later on Monday will work. or should we consider flying on Iberian air?
Posted by
Tresana, Highlands Ranch, CO, USA
23626 posts
..... Since we are not going until October we can't know yet the train schedule which means planning hotels and timing on length of stay is difficult. ...... Since train schedule change very little from one schedule period to another simply look at the day of the week about six weeks, two months from now and you will be OK for planning purposes. Train probably will be more convenient than flying.
Posted by
Folsom, California
542 posts
We flew from Barcelona to Granada on Vueling, and it was much faster than train. I would see if they have flights to Granada also.
Posted by
Washington DC
28085 posts
Trains from Madrid to Granada take only 3 to 4 hours. I wouldn't even consider flying. Barcelona is much farther from Granada than Madrid is, so the Barcelona-Granada trip by train takes quite a bit longer, making flying a good option.
Posted by
Vermont, USA
729 posts
Definitely take the train. It's only a little more than 3 hours, and you'll travel from city center to city center, versus airport to airport (and then you still need to travel in to town).
Posted by
Uppsala, Sweden
6977 posts
Yes, take the train. The only reason I can see for flying such a short distance is if you have a connecting flight at one end. There will be trains, check the schedule for a saturday in January and you can probably assume that the schedule in October will be pretty similar.
Posted by
Bend, Oregon
2545 posts
We took the train from Madrid to Granada in late November. It took about 3.5 hours. In November, the departure times were about 7-8 am, 2:30 pm and 7:30 pm. We took the 2:30 and arrived at the station about 1:30, with plenty of time. Boarding started about 2:00.
We flew from Granada to Paris on Iberia, with a layover in Madrid. Our flight left about 5:30 pm. We left Granada at 3:00 and arrived at the airport by 3:30 - way too early. It took all of 10 minutes to check in and get through security. Granted, this was a Monday in late November. There are 4 gates. It’s a very small airport. Flight time was less than an hour, even after being delayed because a fox was seen on the runway!
The train was about the same price as flying. I think I would take the train from Madrid, but fly from Granada. The Madrid airport is huge, but picking up luggage is fast (if checking bags). Also consider what time you would arrive at the Madrid airport. We arrived at 5:15 pm, picked up bags and were in a taxi (30€) by 5:45. Took almost an hour with traffic to get to Puerta del Sol. A taxi from del Sol to the train station was 10 minutes with traffic (7€).