Thanks to all for your willingness to share experiences and opinions. This forum has proven invaluable for our three previous trips to Europe. My wife and I will be in Spain late in April. We begin our adventure in Barcelona. It has been suggested to us that we fly to Granada, our next stop, rather than take the 5+ hour train trek. We love train travel. With the taxi to the airport from the city center, time to clear airport security and another taxi from the Granada airport, are we really saving that much time? How about a cost comparison? Have any of you looked into this?
Posted by
Ontario, Canada
4656 posts
I only know from research, but I had planned to fly (but Granada to Barcelona). Vueling is the airline that flies that route and costs vary depending how far out you book. When I looked it was under $100Cdn one way and one hour. 2 considerations that might keep you on the train plan is that the carry on allowance is small, so you have to add checked baggage fees (which I believe are also on a sliding scale), and that they are not always on time. I use Rome2rio website to compare travel options and costs.
Posted by
Chicago
8166 posts
The costs for both are about the same, except the shortest train ride takes 9 hours with one change and the plane is direct and takes 1:30. I've taken Vueling twice in the last year each time they left and arrived on time and I had a carry on bag 10 kilos
Posted by
Oak Park, Illinois
4535 posts
The train ride is more than 5 hours. Plus 45 minutes to the station and 30 minutes once in Granada. The flight is about an hour. Add up 45 minutes to get to the Barcelona airport, 1.5 hours at the airport and about 30 minutes once in Granada. That's under 4 hours door to door. Gives you about a half day extra to spend in either city. If you have lots of time on your trip, then maybe the train would be more enjoyable. But if time is limited, spend it exploring the sites.
Posted by
Washington DC
28083 posts
To be precise, the morning departures on weekdays take between 7 hr. 10 min. and 8 hr. 45 min. There is an extended swath of unexciting scenery in central Spain, though I cannot comment on the specific routes the trains take. (They do vary; not all go through Madrid.)
How long is your trip? Pretty much a whole day on a train wouldn't faze me if I had two months and wasn't worried about fitting in everything I wanted to see. (Then again, on such a long trip I'd be making multiple stops between Barcelona and Granada.) If I had something like 2 weeks, I'd head for the airport, much as I hate to interrupt a relaxing vacation by dealing with flights.
Posted by
OP
Marquette, mi, USA
13 posts
Thank you for your input. We definitely wish to maximize our sightseeing, so booking a flight is our next task.
Posted by
Cincinnati
98 posts
Your post title says Grenada. Make sure you make your flight reservation for Granada and not Grenada. A couple flew to the Caribbean when they intended to fly to Spain. They lost their $34,000 lawsuit against British Air.