Train vs Plane?: Sevilla to Barcelona

I would definitely choose the train and thereby enjoy the travel experience...You will appreciate the change in landscape...orange groves, olive trees from Seville...and as you leave Madrid you will travel through vineyards (Cava grapes) and a completely different terrain. The trains will each have a dining/snack car, and you avoid the hassle of the airport. Vueling can be a good plane, but they may cancel your flights at the last minute and put you on a later plane. I had this happen to me on two trips -- Madrid to Paris, and Paris to Madrid...no explanation, even though I had purchased and paid fully for the tickets well in advance.

Six hours is always our benchmark for considering a flight instead of train. So I would opt for the train. You do have security screen in Spain for trains. About like the very early days of airport screening. Walk through the arch. Also you cannot go to the train platform until about 30 minutes prior to departure.

Appreciate the responses. Train does seem the way to go in this case.

If time isn't an issue, then the train is nice. But on a limited-time vacation, consider whether your time would be better spent seeing sights or sitting on a train.

Time is about equal in this case train v plane when you consider getting to/from airport each end, security lines, advance check-in time for airport. Train is city center to city center, and we get to see the countryside.

You'd save at least 2-3 hours flying. Another factor would be the actual schedule of flights versus trains: would you lose or gain time seeing sights? ie: you'd have to catch a 15:00 train but could take a 19:00 flight. In the former you lose most of the afternoon; the latter you can do something or have a nice lunch before leaving town.

Not trying to dissuade you from taking the train, just things to consider when comparing the two.

But you have to show me where you are saving two to three hours by flying. The time is just not there if you consider total time from when you leave your hotel to the time you check in at the next hotel.

Sure Frank, it's easy. This is based on Allan's stated transit times. It is also based on leaving a hotel in Sevilla and arriving at Barcelona Sants since the AVE arrives there and transportation from the airport arrives there.

Train: 15 mins taxi to train Station (it's not in the city center) + 30 mins check in at station + 5.5 hours train ride = 6.25 hours.

Fly: 30 mins taxi to airport + 1 hour check in at airport + 1.5 hour flight + 45 mins to Sants = 3.75 hours

That's just over 2 hours minimum difference and more if the flight is early (as they often are) or you catch just the right timing for the bus or train into Sants.

And as I noted, the real difference can be in the departure time from Sevilla. It may be possible to catch a later flight, thus enjoying more time in Sevilla.

"30 mins taxi to airport + 1 hour check in at airport"

Almost guarantees you'll miss your flight. I wouldn't plan to arrive at an airport with less than two hours for check in, security, boarding, etc. And, better add the price of a taxi to the total cost. And I've never "checked in" for a train 30 minutes in advance. I think you are deliberately padding the train time while shorting the flight time. There is an direct AVE from Seville at 4:15 and it only takes 4hr55min. So, if you are staying near the center of town, it's really 5½ hours by train vs 5 hours flying (more if you don't catch just the right timing for the bus or train into Sants).

Looking at Expedia, I only see a couple of flights in the afternoon, both around 3 PM, and a couple in the evening, around 8 PM. But the Bahn website shows trains almost every hour. You probably wait less time for a train.

Lee has done what I had suggested, which is to check the actual schedules and compare to see if you gain some extra time in town that afternoon. There is a nicely timed train, and direct so it cuts off half hour. That would give you until 3:30 to tour in Sevilla. But still, you could catch an 8:00 flight and have all afternoon until 6:00 and still be settled into your hotel by 11:00. That was my main point; it is just one factor to consider rather than dismissing the option outright.

As to the timing, if one left for the train station with only 30 minutes to spare, there is a very good chance you'd miss the train. The 30 minutes for "check in" allows for getting to the platform, going through security and walking the platform to your carriage. Also, AVE doors close a few minutes prior to departure. Of course that doesn't take 30 minutes, but you need some extra time to account for delays. In reality, I should have said allow for 45 minutes from hotel to departure (15 minutes taxi, 15 minutes station, 15 minutes buffer). So with the direct train, that would be 5.75 hours.

The timing for the flight is based on Sevilla's airport. It's just a few miles outside the city center (not far from the train station). It's a small airport so not much walking and no taking trams and it's a domestic flight. Allowing 90 minutes (rather than the 60 I initially said) is very prudent and reasonable. That allows an hour for checking a bag and security and still has you sitting at the gate prior to boarding call. So I should have said allow for 2 hours from hotel to flight time. I've taken the Barcelona airport bus, it's quick and efficient. Even with waiting for a checked bag, you can be at Placa Catalunya an hour after landing. That's still only 4 hours total. But as I said, it's less about the time saved and more about the schedule allowing time gained in Sevilla.

Thanks for the discussion everyone. It is an interesting calculation; to say the least. This will be our return to Barcelona for our flight home the next day, so we need to be conservative in planning. Bottom line to me is: 1. There is perhaps a danger of the low cost carrier canceling the flight and pushing us to another later flight. 2. The time calculations are fairly 'close' in comparison to each other (train vs plane), so I don't see a clear advantage with flying, given some of our concerns. So, we plan to leave Sevilla in the morning on the direct train and spend the afternoon in Barcelona. There are other trains, but typically with only 10-minute connections in Madrid. We were able to get the deep-discount Promo fares on the Renfe website today, and there are restrictions on those. We must make our connections, or avoid connections altogether, given those restrictions. Appreciated the feedback on this.