Hi, have been looking around to travel from barcelona to madrid. i will be flying to barcelona and was thinking if the alternative bus/coach ride would allow me to do some sightseeing as compared to flying. i know that the journey would take longer but it will also be cheaper to taking train. any adivse? initially, i wanted a one way coach, where it can stop to visit places of interest on the way from barcelona to madrid but i cannot seem to book it for mid May when i checked yesterday, or that the page was in spanish (which i totally can't understand). would there be any help for this? in summary, i need advise for economical travel from barcelona to madrid which can provide some form of sightseeing.. so that i can book a flight from madrid back to london. tks
jess
Posted by
Tilburg, Netherlands
2829 posts
There are some direct buses, but be advised the terrain between Madrid and Barcelona is a rather uneventful dry plateau for most of it, you don't get to see much from the highway. And it takes more than twice the time of train. If you want to do sightseeing, you need a car to take detours from the highway, and some 2 days to complete the trip.
Posted by
OP
UK
11 posts
hi, tks for the reply... i need more help!! been to 2 web trying to book a bus from barcelona to madrid on the 19/5! but somehow cant find english translation as the web are all in ?spainish! http://www.raileurope.co.uk/Default.aspx?tabid=112 http://www.eurotrip.com/content/barcelona-madrid-bus-or-train i will be in barcelona from 15th May. can u advise if its safe to just buy the bus ticket when i reach barcelona? will there be a huge price difference? Jess
Posted by
Port St Joe Florida
513 posts
Jessica - Listen to Andre. You asked about the best (both fastest and least expensive) way to travel from Barcelona to Madrid and he told you: Take the train. Unless you must see Zaragoza or want to detour as far as Pamplona, you are best off to ride the train. I know the flight time Barcelona to Madrid is shorter than the train time, but the train takes you from city center to city center. Go to the RENFE site, click on English, and buy your ticket.
Posted by
Bend, OR, United States
1167 posts
You can get bus schedules in English here:
http://www.movelia.es/en/ If you are planning on stopovers you should look at the schedules for the various legs in order to be sure the bus stops where you want to get off.
Posted by
Tresana, Highlands Ranch, CO, USA
23569 posts
The bus system is terrific in Spain. Sometimes faster than the train but not in this case. You can easily buy the ticket the hour before. I am not aware of any discounts for advance purchase of bus tickets. Follow the above link to the schedules.
Posted by
Minneapolis, MN, USA
8700 posts
Vueling is a budget airline that has several daily non-stop flights from Barcelona to Madrid. Iberia has one. If you book ASAP on the RENFE site, you can get a discount fare as low as €58.80 for a direct high-speed train.