lrice

Thanks Maribel and EduSeville,

We will book tickets for the bus from Granada to Sevilla. I read that it is a pretty route and it offers better departure times for us.

We already booked our tickets from Sevilla to Madrid (the third leg of our triangle tour). The train I wanted only had 10 seats left. Sounds like Madrid is popular for New Year’s Eve!

Maribel

Yes, it's extremely popular for NYE! Last year it seemed like Madrid was the party center of all of Europe! Glad you secured those tickets now!

Many prefer the Granada-Sevilla Alsa bus because it's comfortable and can often be even less expensive (almost half) as Renfe's AVANT.

lrice

Looking at Trainline, it looks like there is one bus station in Granada, Estacion de Autobuses. And in Sevilla, the bus goes to Plaza de Armas. Is that correct? $32.99 each

I see the other lower priced trains but they all have stops and take 5+ hours.

Maribel

Yes, that's correct. I don't know about pricing in English and the small fee that Trainline adds, because I book directly with Renfe and with Alsa (for Alsa I use Pay Pal), and I also am a member of Alsa Plus (I quality with my age), which gives me a discount.

Yes, there is just one bus station in Granada and the Sevilla bus goes to the Plaza de Armas.

lrice

Thought I would share a bit more information about Atocha as we are here now. We have found it a bit confusing, mostly because our Spanish is so poor and the information attendants only speak fair English.

You can only enter the departure area 90 minutes before your train. We will go in as soon as we are allowed so we can find our train track. Once we know exactly where we are departing from, we will go find the Club Sala and unwind for a while.

Also, make sure your phones are charged as we have not seen anywhere to charge a phone here.

Any other tips?

Maribel

Entering the departure area only 90 minutes before the train must have changed or they're now being very strict about this.

The departure for the Granada AVE should be on Planta 1, Planta Primera. When you´re allowed to enter the very large departures hall for Planta Primera, after your bags and coats pass through security, turn to your right once you enter the hall to find the Sala Club. The premium ticket holders are allowed in this lounge 2 hours before train departure.

On the map of Planta Primera, the Sala Club is 49A, near the Rodilla sandwich shop.
https://www.truecalia.com/blog/estacion-madrid-atocha/

Here's a photo of the entrance
https://www.instagram.com/explore/lo...atocha-madrid/

lrice

Shoot! I bought Elige Confort tickets and they are not good for the Sala Club.