Granada to Madrid
 

I'm working on the logistics of our trip to Andalucia in March. We are set to travel from Granada to Madrid by either train or Alsa premium bus. I'm aware that the AVE high speed train project has been delayed and that to travel by train from Granada to Madrid requires a bus transfer at Antequera. However, I'm perplexed by the fact that I can't even seem to book that route on Renfe's site. Am I missing something? I'd like to at least price both options.

Also, is a taxi from the bus station to Central Madrid expensive (we're staying off of Calle de Las Huertas)?

Thanks for your help!

check www.seat61.com for alternate Renfe booking sites with similar prices but easier to use.

I just input a random date in March (9th) on www.renfe.es and it immediately brought up a good number of connections, and took me right to the purchasing screen when I selected one, for 27.35 euros.

Try again?

Thanks. I'm not sure what I was doing wrong. I did finally get some results using Renfe's site. That said, I'm still not seeing any options coming up on Petrabax, Raileurope, etc. I've used Raileurope before and think I'm inputting the right things. Petrabax just says no tickets are available, while RE says to search for Antequera but that option doesn't address getting from Antequera to Madrid. Granted, I can try to book with Renfe; I've just heard a lot of horror stories!

That issue aside, I still have the bus versus train dilemma. Any idea how much a taxi from the bus station in Madrid will cost?

We just did this in November. I just looked up my tickets and we booked it through Renfe -left Granada at 14:45 pm via bus to Antequera, arrived 16:00 then train from Antequera to Madrid left at 16:23 and arrived at 18:41. Tickets were 30 euros each, and it was total smooth sailing. This option was much faster than taking the bus directly, so I was very glad I made that choice. As from taxi - I can't remember exactly but it wasn't much getting from train station to our hotel - the train station is very central.

I'm so envious, we loved Spain so much! If you need a guide for the Alhambra, you may have read about Juan Cobo on these forums - best money we've ever spent!!!!!

Thanks, Linda! Glad you enjoyed your trip! We're getting excited; we leave in just two months.

The first thing you do is go to the german rail site to find the best train:

http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en?

It's at 6:45AM. Then you go to renfre and luckily there it is.

no, the taxi in Madrid won't be that expensive if you are going from Estacion Sur (ALSA goes to a couple bus stations in Madrid, but mainly that one from Granada). Maybe 10 euro.

The first thing you do is go to the german rail site to find the best train>

and www.bahn.de/en shows for a dummy day in March trains taking about 5-6 hours with one or two changes of train -nothing about buses.

FWIW, I flew from Granada to Madrid. It was simple and inexpensive.

I found the RENFE site EXTREMELY user unfriendly. I might also be confusing it with Morocco's train website but it might not be possible to even book your tix if you are outside of Spain. If I recall correctly, I just booked my train tix at a RENFE office in Spain once I arrived.

MinnBeef, I've read any number of complaints about Renfe's site. I haven't yet tried to make a purchase using the site; I bought our Madrid to Seville tickets using RailEurope. In doing a bit more digging, it sounds others have had trouble using 3rd party sites for Granada to Madrid tickets. I don't know if it has something to do with the line's disruption or what.

From my research I'm planning on using https://loco2.com/, which has been recommended by Seat61 and various forum people as a much easier alternative to the Renfe official site.

Peg, at least for the date I'm looking at for my own trip, tickets from Granada to Madrid are considerably more expensive on loc2.com's site than on Renfre and they're not offering all of the same itineraries (departure wise) as Renfe. I may have to just bite the bullet and try to buy them through Renfe.

All that angst for nothing. I just purchased--with ease--my tickets from Renfe using the Paypal option. Peg, I'd add that the tickets were about 50 Euros cheaper a piece through Renfe than on Loco2.com's site. So, you might want to compare prices on the various sites for your purposes before buying anything. When I checked the tickets for Madrid to Seville, there were small price differences, but differences all the same.

I've never had any problems with Renfe, either, in terms of using it. Pretty straightforwards and easy to me. I suppose because i can read Spanish helps. I did have problem buying a ticket once with my American CC but as indyhiker, I just used the Paypal option and it worked.

They have an option that allows you to change the language for the site, so there's really no language barrier either. I was pleasantly surprised after reading many a frustration about the site on Fodors. I was even more pleasantly surprised that I was able to get the tickets for less than 60 euros. The premium Alsa bus would have been 80 (plus longer taxi rides in both Granada and Madrid). I'm trying my hardest to contain transportation costs for this trip. With transfers between Madrid, Seville, Cordoba, Granada and back to Madrid, it is quickly adding up.

We have yet to buy tickets between Seville and Cordoba. From what I've gathered, they're not discounted like other itineraries. We also have to buy bus tickets for Cordoba and Grananda. Thankfully, they're cheap.

Thanks Indy! Good to know that I definitely need to comparison shop. One of my legs will also be Granada to Madrid, this thread comparing train vs. bus has been soooo helpful!