train from barcelona
 

From Barcelona to Granada what is the travel time by train and an approximate cost?

11.5 hours overnight, some months the train does not run every night. 80Euros budget class 110 Euros comfort class, price goes higher if you do not book in advance.

You can also do it by day in a little less than 8 hours with one change in route. Price will depend on how far in advance you buy the tickets.

www.renfe.com

There are direct flights from Barcelona to Granada for anywhere between €50 to around €150 pp depending on when you want to fly. on Vueling, http://www.vueling.com/en

The trip takes about an hour and a half. Even allowing for time to and from airports, it will be shorter and quite possibly cheaper too.

If you're into long hauls and perhaps saving money check out the bus or car sharing blablacar

But the flight will be just another flight, not an experience, not PART of your vacation like the train ride.

Just go to www.renfe.com - if you have any problems with that, use www.loco2.com instead.

Either book a daytime ride across Spain at up to 186mph, great scenery with a glass of wine to hand, a chill-out ride, or use the sleeper, a unique trainhotel which will save a hotel bill too.

Just like air fares, you can get cheap fares if you pre0-book. Booking usually opens 60 days ahead, 90 days for AVE high-speed trains.

oh, please, this romanticization of train rides is only for those who have never ridden on one, I guess. A flight is transpotation, just like the train. Why presume the OP has never been on a train so it's some grand adventure? And trains overnight are very expensive.

Barcelona to Granada is not a great train route, I'd fly.

I enjoyed our ride from Paris to Barcelona and I didn't romanticize it one bit. It was just a relaxing ride with nice scenery and I didn't even drink any wine!

Why is a train journey any more a part of a trip than a plane? As Christina says, it's just transport. Quite how much I'd see out of a train window at 186mph is open to question too. Don't they serve a glass of wine on planes?

I'd much rather get to my destination in three or four hours than spend 8 to 11 hours on a train.

I STRONGLY disagree that every train trip is somehow superior to flying which is just as much an experience as riding the rails and I've been riding them a LOT longer than Mr. Seat61...GET REAL!

Someone who asks about the travel time and cost from Barcelona to Granada might have a tough time finding out about flights and figuring it all out, so someone might need to answer that question also.

And trains overnight are very expensive.>

nothing could be further from the truth IME - for 80 euros (see above) you not only get transportation Barcelona to Granada but you also save on a night in a hotel - typically here meaning a few hundred bucks. Night trains can save money and daytime sightseeing time - flying inevitably requires much of the day - schlepping out to the airport and back, waiting, waiting, waiting

And even after zillions of night trains I still find them romantic - and as most on Fodor's have never taken a night train I agree with Man in Seat 61 about having that experience and it can save money not cost a lot as some may think (it could cost a lot depending on the style of accommodation you want but can be really cheap - like in Germany 40-50 euros all told.

To see what to expect on overnight trains check Man in Seat 61's commercial site - www.seat61.com and also these two IMO superb sites: www.ricksteves.com and www.budgeteuropetravel.com. Spanish hotel trains are some of the nicest overnight trains I've been on.

jan47ete, I think I did above.

Why is a train journey any more a part of a trip than a plane?>

Well for 8-11 hours yes flying makes sense unless taking an overnight train but for trains that are not that much longer than flying, considering all the out to airport, waiting, back in, etc if the train is only an hour or so longer all told it makes sense to forego the travails of flying these days and take the train - plus you will see the lay of the land in between and not just airports or tarmacs.

but I agree with robert - an 8-11 hours train trip in the day ain't much romantic after an hour or two - bring a lot of local vino!