Spain trip in April, husband and I. Used points to book flights, so we had to fly in and out of Madrid. We picking up my daughter (studying in Madrid) and are staying in there for one night and leaving early next morning to take a train to Barcelona. We will stay 3 days & go to Seville (Easter festival) for 2 days and then back to Madrid for 4 days. Should we just take the high speed trains b/w the 3 cities. Can my daughter (20) get a better price on ticket if she buys her own? Are there deals if you are using train 3 times? Or is it best to fly from Barcelona to Seville? Cost wise & time wise, which is the better way to go?
Posted by
LaGrange, Ga, USA
1178 posts
Not sure of plane connections. Train from Barcelona to Madrid is approximately 3 1/2 hours. From Madrid to Sevilla is 2 1/2 hours. Your train station in Madrid is Atocha. Before you go to Sevilla be sure you have hotel rooms reserved...the city will be packed tight for the week.
Posted by
OP
Orange, CT, United States
2 posts
Have all hotels booked and I know the train travel hours, but not the flights and the overall travel time for flights. Mostly concerned about travelling b/w Barcelona and Seville b/c that is over 5 hours by train. Wondering if a flight would be worth it (time wise and price wise)
Posted by
Tresana, Highlands Ranch, CO, USA
23626 posts
For us the break point for considering air is 6 hours. Even at 5 hours to Seville I doubt if the plane is faster when you add in the time to get to the aiirport, time waiting, deplaning, getting into town. -- I will stick with the train. IF YOU KNOW you exact train schedule. Have your daughter go buy the tickets now. There are generally good discounts available for early purchase.
Posted by
Dallas, Texas, USA
4 posts
I am going to Spain next week and flying for several connections. My itinerary is Madrid-Barcelona-Granada-Sevilla-Madrid. I am flying from Madrid to Barcelona and from Barcelona to Granada. It was A LOT cheaper to fly. Go to orbitz.com and look at the prices. I was really shocked. We paid about $70 (dollarsnot EUROS) for each flight. To take the high speed (called AVE) train from Madrid to Barcelona was $150 or more depending on the time of day. We are doing trains for Granada-Sevilla (not high speed) and then Sevilla-Madrid (AVE) because we want more flexibility on when we travel. That is a drawback on flights because you would need to go ahead and book now and commit to a flight time. With the train, you can book same day or just show up. Although during Holy Week and Easter you may need earlier reservations. Have fun.
Posted by
Dallas, Texas, USA
4 posts
Ok I looked on Orbitz for you for BCN-SVQ (Barcelona to Sevilla) for April 21st. Assuming you are going a few days for Easter. The prices are definitely higher for the holiday, but a one way ticket on Spanair is $165 dollars and takes 95 minutes. Iberia (part of the AA One World Alliance) is about $10 more. There are morning, afternoon and evening flights.
Posted by
Seattle, WA
17442 posts
Madrid to Bsrcelona by AVE train is 47 euros if you buy in advance with the Web fare. The journey is 3 hours which has to beat the flying time if you count travel to the airport and check in and security check time. Madrid to Sevilla is 33 euros with the Web fare.