NeoPatrick

Arriving by Iberia from Rome around 7 PM. Need to get to the hotel fairly quickly so we can walk to our dinner reservation at 9:30 from the hotel. In the past, I've always taken public transport into or out of Madrid. The hotel (Westin Palace) will of course book us a car at 110 euro, but I'd prefer not to. I've read the taxi price should be anywhere from 25 to 45 euros, but my experience with taxis in Madrid has not been good and I guess I have a bit of distrust for most taxi drivers. Of course, I DO know not to take a rogue taxi from the airport, but use the regular queue. Or is there a good car service that is reasonable that we can pre-book? Or does that often involve waiting even longer after arrival to call them and then wait?

vespacurves

Like you, I suspect most people who've been to Madrid many times use public transport, so I'm not sure how many people will be able to answer your last question. Most pre-booked taxis stay right on top of flight arrivals, and I hope you will be carrying a cell phone. Makes sense to me to pre-book a taxi. Last time I was in Rome, the euro crisis was causing wildcat strikes of taxis. Public transportation can get affected too. The guaranteed rate of a pre-booked taxi takes away all worry of a rip off. Sounds to me like your best shot of making that 9.30 rez, given all the other options and frets about all that might go wrong.

vespacurves

I forgot to add that if you are running late, you should call your hotel and have them advise the restaurant.

BigRuss

First, you should be able to obtain a car service for far less than 110E - that price is ludicrous.

Second, there are plenty of taxis and if you go to a cab stand it is easy to procure one. We had no problem and we were traveling with two kids under 5. With a central location in town, the fare should be less than 35E.

NeoPatrick

"First, you should be able to obtain a car service for far less than 110E - that price is ludicrous."

Of course it is -- almost as ludicrous as the $42.67 per person breakfast or the 19 euro per day internet charge. It IS the Westin (but about the same prices as the Melia Fenix, I noticed.

As I mentioned, I wouldn't do that. By the way, I tried logging onto a prebooked taxi site via GoMadrid, but it was very weird. You have to enter your mobile phone number to register, but although they list lots of codes for various countries to click, there is no way I could find or figure out a way to enter a code for their site for a US mobile phone. What am I missing here?

BigRuss, my concern with Madrid taxis is the idea that as soon as I say Westin Palace, the meter may go off and a new rate be quoted, or simply a lot of "extras" may be added to the fare. That sort of thing has been my experience with the few taxis I've taken in Madrid.

travelhorizons

Following up on NeoPatrick, you can save $42.67 per person per day for breakfast and 19 EUR per day for internet, just by booking the Westin Palace through a Virtuoso travel consultant. The rate is the same - best available flexible rate - but you get a free Full Breakfast daily for two, complimentary WiFi … and maybe get upgraded too.

Cowboy1968

I have taken a cab maybe a dozen times in Madrid or to/from the airport, and never had any experiences to write home about. Sometimes the fastest way to the city center is not the cheapest one.
The worst fare I got in very dense rush hour traffic had been €35 with lots of stop and go from the airport to a Gran Via location. On a better it was € 25.
Fares within the city center had usually been €10 or less. This also included rides to more expensive hotels like the Wellington.
I have never had a taxi driver who would turn the meter off. If that happens, take a note of the cab's registration number and file a complaint through the central cab dispatch.

NeoPatrick

Not exactly, travelhorizons. Virtuoso can come up with a rate of 241.67 euro plus tax as opposed to 217.50 plus tax online (senior rate). I mentioned the breakfast, but really don't care about those huge buffet breakfast anyway -- would prefer a coffee and pastry or fruit at a little place outdoors. And I doubt that I'd pay for internet anyway, as I'll hardly use it, but can always use my laptop for free in the business center if desired.

So I'm not sure it's worth the extra $80 (approx) to book with Virtuoso.

NeoPatrick

ooops. Sorry. I mean 80 euros extra, not dollars.

Christina

I've only taken a taxi once in Madrid and it was very uneventful, cost around 25 euro from city center to airport.

YOu can check this shuttle service http://www.aerocity.com

however, I believe you have to prepay. I don't know their rates.

I thought madridman linked you to Viator, which asks you for your home phone no., but you can easily put in a US number. It asks for a cell phone no., but that's optional. I don't know about registration or if that's the one you used. It's around US$106, which is a lot less than 100 euro, but still more than a taxi.
http://www.partner.viator.com/en/346...=2013&itemKey=

NeoPatrick

Interesting. I can't seem to get an actual price on that Viator site, and I sure don't want to pay $106! In addition Viator won't let you book less that 30 minutes after arrival time. That could be fine, but with no passport control and no checked luggage and a flight that is normally early (I checked) I could end up waiting longer for the scheduled car than just standing in line getting a regular taxi.

I guess our best bet will be to just get a regular taxi from the airport.

danon

We have taken a taxi from the airport to the center several times....25- 35 ( with supplement)
-

NeoPatrick

OK, Done deal. Taxi it is.

Robert2533

With nearly 15,000 taxis in Madrid, it's never difficult to find one, especially at the airport.

The last three trips to/from Barajas to central Madrid cost less than €25, in traffic and with the airport surcharge. We've never paid more than €27, and as low as €22.

NeoPatrick

OK, back from Madrid, but a little confused by the prices quoted above. We arrived on a Thursday evening about 7 PM. The taxi was blocked in bumper to bumper traffic getting towards the city so the trip was about 40 minutes, but cost 38 euros. We returned on Sunday about 10:30 AM -- no traffic at all and we arrived (from Westin Palace) in about 15 minutes! But the price was still 34 euros. I can't imagine how it could be only 22 euros! Have the rates recently gone up?

Not complaining, just wondering how an almost instant taxi trip could normally cost that much less.

And travelhorizons, if you're reading this, we DID end up opting for the extra cost by booking with Virtuoso and did enjoy the huge and wonderful breakfast buffet and the free internet. They said we were upgraded also (to the executive floor) although I'm not sure what that advantage was. They also gave us a nice bottle of Riserva Rioja which we enjoyed on the little 7th floor terrace after our arrival along with some serrano ham, several cheeses, and some olive and fruit we got at a nearby shop. We had the terrace to ourselves and it was a wonderful and magical "picnic" that beat going out that first night after our flight from Rome.

Christina

Do they have higher rates on Sundays, perhaps? They do in Paris, for example. I'm going to Madrid shortly and will have to deal with this issue, also. I was thinking of booking Aerocity but their rate for one person (20 euro) doesn't seem that much less than a taxi to make it worth the trouble and uncertainty of a group shuttle.

NeoPatrick

I was sort of reading the rates on the back of the seat and it didn't appear to me that Sundays were higher. I'm with you Christina. By the way, the line for taxis at the airport when we arrived (despite the airport seeming VERY busy) was only 5 minutes or so. Quite organized and quick. I usually consider those shuttles much too inconvenient.

kimhe

In Madrid it's lowest fare from 6am to 9pm Monday to Friday, higher rates on nighttime and on Sunday and highest from Saturday 9pm to Sunday morning 6am.