Hi all, you've been so helpful in itinerary planning - a detailed question here: We arrive in Madrid from the US at 9:55 am on a Saturday morning, Nov 19. We will have carryon bags. How much time do we allow to get to the Ave train to Sevilla...? Thanks for your advice!

Well allow an hour minimum to get to Atocha station but though you should always be able to buy full-fare tickets -especially in first class-discounted tickets are train-specific and non-changeable I believe so in that case book in some extra time for planes to be late -immigration and or baggage slow,etc.

If you are arriving at 4S, allow for a long walk, plus an underground tram to get to the main portion of the terminal. The tram itself was 20-25 minutes, not including the wait.

Last year we arrived in Madrid airport at 10:00 AM on a Monday, and were at our hotel near Puerta Del Sol at about noon. We took a taxi and also only had carry on bags.

So that was two hours. Given you'll have to get to Atocha, find your platform, allow for traffic jams, etc. then maybe a minimum of three hours? I always hate to cut things like that too close.

What PP said.

I also agree with the PP. you need time to process from the airport (lines and lots of walking) then catch bus or cab to atocha. The bus has frequent stops. Build in extra time in case you are delayed and hang out or grab some food in Plaza Mayor. I think we left 4 hours. Good luck!

Why not stay in Madrid the first night and be refreshed for that train trip and be able to surely book discounted tickets without fear of missing the train or having to linger around Atocha for a train you booked later but arrived early - all while jet lagged.

If Madrid is on your itinerary maybe do it first.

From T4 you can take a fast train to Atocha..( about 30 min)

"The Spanish railway company RENFE, connects Madrid with the Madrid Barajas airport through the local train network service "Cercanías" C1 line. The train station is on the terminal T4 floor -1, and is called Aeropuerto T4. To move to the other terminals there is a shuttle bus service connecting the terminals.


...taxis charge a fix rate ...30 euros.

I agree with Palenq on this one. I'm often in the same position when arriving in Italy (where I live) from the US. I used to book tickets in advance, to get good fares, and allowed a comfortable cushion to allow for the unexpected. The result was that often I sat in the station, groggy from the overnight flight, watching one or more train depart while I waited for mine.

Now I buy the ticket when I get to the airport train station. It costs more, but it's worth it to me to get the earliest train I can make. The other option would be to spend the night in Madrid and get a discounted train the next morning, as Palenq suggests, but the cost of the hotel room would more than wipe out any savings, although it would allow you to make the trip in a more rested state.

, but the cost of the hotel room would more than wipe out any savings, although it would allow you to make the trip in a more rested state>

not in OP's case as I presume they will stay in a hotel in Seville.

It typically takes 20 minutes from landing at Madrid Barajas to reach the gate at T4S. Then, depending on where you are sitting, you can allow another 15 to 20 minutes just to reach passport control, maybe longer. As noted, we normally allow 40 minutes to clear the airport (when sitting in business class) and another 30 minutes to reach Atocha by taxi. This does not include picking up checked luggage.

I would buy train tickets for the later afternoon. My airplane was later than scheduled into Madrid and the last thing I'd want is to be running for the metro and the train. Schedule some breathing room.

These questions/answers are obviously for someone who does not mind having to repurchase a full fare ticket if their flight is late/ VERY late.

I'd buy an afternoon ticket or spend the night also.

There are (were?) bag check lockers at Atocha. If your decision is to keep moving that day and you find yourself at Atocha with a few hours to kill you could lock your bags and go out for a stroll.

It's just a few minutes to Retiro Park by foot. We like to get out and move around in some fresh air after arriving from a long flight. We walked from our hotel over to Retiro our first afternoon in Madrid, the day we arrived that morning. It was very pleasant.

Just another option.

Thanks for all the input - our time in Madrid is on the back-end (which was settled on from advice in a previous post) so we just need to get to Sevilla on Saturday, but there is no real hurry. It sounds like maybe the best plan is to just buy the tickets when we get there, I'd rather give up the discount and not stress about timing - unless there are issues with trains "selling out"?? In which case maybe I'll just allow 4 hours. One follow-up question - can I buy a full fare ticket that is "changeable"? Then I have my ticket but can change if we arrive/early late? Thanks again for the advice.

If rarely 2nd class was sold out first class would IME always be available -

The only issue that I have found with buying tickets on the day of travel at Atocha station is the possibility of long lines. Once the lines were long enough that I missed my desired departure (still in line when the train left) and had to buy a ticket for the next departure and wait around awhile for my train. There are ticket machines, but it requires a credit card with chip and PIN, and although my card has a chip, it doesn't have a PIN, so no go. If you have a chip and PIN credit card, then the machines may be a way to skip the line.

If you check RENFE website you will find explanation
reg. different fares and conditions for exchange.
Although there is a separate line for same day travel, it could be long
as PP noticed.

Thanks all I appreciate the additional info - what I'd like to do is just spend the extra money to have a fully flexible ticket, but on the renfe site and others it's a little confusing because it says "exchanges are free and available up to the day of departure". Does "up to" mean the same as "during" the day of departure? Because I won't know if I need to change until we get there.... I'm allowing 4 hours, so we should have plenty of time to get there - just hoping if we get there in 2 hours we can jump on an earlier train.

check www.seat61.com for great tips on Spanish trains and alternative booking sites that you may find the definitive answer to those questions at. Like loco2rail or some such name that has similar fares but is easier to actually book your own.

up to the day of departure does not mean after the train has left it seems but could.

If you can get a deep discounted ticket you may gamble on it being OK and then if not buy a full-fare one on site -there is a Rail Desk at Madrid Airport I believe (was last time i was there).