We are putting the finishing touches on our itinerary to Andalucia. We are arriving/departing from Madrid. Our flight leaves at 11:30 am from Madrid on the 25th. Is it possible to take the 6 Am AVE from Seville arriving in Madrid at 8:50 Am and get to the airport on time? We would plan on taking the metro from the Madrid AVE station to the airport. If the Ave arrives on time, that allows 40 minutes to ride the metro to the airport and still have two hours to check in. Let me know what you think.
Posted by
Trenton, Ontario, Canada
204 posts
Sally
We road the rails in Spain in 2007- Everything was dead on time. One thing about the Europeans the trains are clean, fast and on time. The only problem I see is a strike.
Have a great time- You'll love Spain.
Posted by
Chicago, Illinois, USA
586 posts
Hey, Sally: two thoughts:
Our experience is that your AVE train from Santa Justa in Sevilla to Atocha in Madrid will almost certainly be right on schedule: clean, fast, efficient, and smooth.
That being said, Barajas is a large, spacious and busy airport, with considerable distances between gates (as much as 30 minutes within the airport). Your plan sure cuts it close, at least for our preference, with Metro time, check-in time, and travel to the gate time being the wildcards. My take is that it's a reasonable plan...so that if the Metro runs smoothly (it should), your airline check-in counter is staffed properly and on time (not always the case), and the gate isn't clear across the airport, you should be fine. To me, in the slim chance you miss the flight, the AVE won't be the cause...it would be unforeseen circumstances in Madrid.
Posted by
Trenton, Ontario, Canada
204 posts
Sally- Perhaps a taxi to the arport should be considered - probably 35E.
Posted by
Ottawa, Canada
4555 posts
Sally...that might be too close. By the time you get off the train and walk to the Metro station, that's about 15 minutes. Considering you're going to have to transfer twice, your journey may take you closer to an hour. And, as Gio mentioned, it could be a massively long walk from the Metro station to the check-in counter. I'd cab it....as mentioned, about 35 Euro.