Granada to Madrid
 

We will be traveling from Granada to Madrid and can go by train or on ALSA's "supra" bus. The times are almost identical (4 1/2 hours). The bus costs 35€ and the train about 65€ for first class (with the senior discount). Is anyone familiar with the "supra" bus? Would the scenery be comparable? Any other input? Thanks in advance for the help.

My "Supra" bus experience was a bit of a disappointment. I booked from Barcelona to Granada and it broke down about an hour outside of town. We waited about an hour for a "non-supra" bus to take us the rest of the way. I was promised a refund for the difference in the tickets, but the electronic tickets I printed before arriving in Spain blew the attendants mind and he did not give us a refund. All of the Spanish passengers with standard tickets got the refunds.

With that said, I was really impressed with the Supra bus for the hour I was on it. Big airline-type reclining seats, bag of snacks and a water when you get on, music and movies on an entertainment system. It could have been a great trip.

I am assuming the "fast" train does not run from Granada to Madrid. We took the fast train from Seville to Madrid and it was great. I booked second class tickets, but the seats my wife and I had were single seats across from one another with a shared table. The trip took less than three hours. There was a movie to watch and young ladies walking through the aisles selling drinks and food. It was a very pleasant experience.

I bought the tickets online before departure on both the bus and the train. If you chose the train, make sure you hit the RENFE site 62 days in advance to try to take advantage of the "saver" tickets. 62 days is the earliest you can book and the saver tickets sell out fast.

Atocha is just more convenient and a more attractive place to end up than any of the Madrid long distance terminals. Otherwise, the Supra bus would have been a nice experience, as I doubt there are many buses that nice in the USA.

Agree with Lincasanova's comments. I used Supra service once between Oviedo and Santiago de Compostela and I found it very nice.

Thanks for the help. Does anyone know if there would be much difference in the scenery between the train and the bus?

I like the train simply because you can walk around the carriage and have a bit to eat in the cafe car. The train and bus take the same amount of time.

We don't have trains as nice as Spain either. Loved the movies and free earphones.

Better scenery..I doubt it. The Granada - Madrid train is NOT one of the newer styles so it will be similar to the type you are used to.

If you have large luggage I prefer the bus, so you put it underneath and don't worry about it anymore.

Both stations will have plenty of taxis waiting for you but the bus terminal will most likely be a more expensive taxi ride than from Atocha.