Getting to Madrid from Santiago

[jpcnd78]

What is the best easiest and cheapest return from Santiago to Madrid ?
Thanks

 

[naplesdon]

Search on Rome2Rio.

 

[Tincatinker]

Those are three contradictory criteria. Bus will always be cheaper, train will always easiest and walking will always be best

 

[pmusial]

I can tell you that today I walked to the Santiago train station and bought a ticket for Madrid tomorrow. It’s about 3.5 hours. If you are 60 or over you can get a discount (tarjeta dorada).

 

[Bradypus]

Those are three contradictory criteria. Bus will always be cheaper, train will always easiest and walking will always be best

Depends on the day you want to travel. Outside of peak seasons flying with one of the budget airlines is often the cheapest option. With ALSA, RENFE and the airlines all using dynamic pricing these days there is no simple answer on cost.

 

[Stephan the Painter]

What is the best easiest and cheapest return from Santiago to Madrid ?
Thanks

I hope you had a great Camino by the time you get on one of these forms of transport!

Bus is eight hours. Train is four hours. Plane is 60 to 90 minute ride plus an hour or two at the airport and 30 minutes to get to from santiago.

The price of the tickets will depend on how far you book in advance. Tickets sell out, so don’t wait until the absolute last minute. Of course, the bus is usually the cheapest, but the only way to know for a particular day, as noted above, is to check.

The apps or websites for either Google Maps or Rome2Rio will give you specific information on specific days.
In the future, you can use these apps to give you quicker information then posting on a forum like this. The apps are what most people here use . There is no secret.

The website for the Spanish train service is renfe.es. The website for the Spanish bus service is alsa.es

In my experience, taking the train is the easiest and most comfortable. The train and bus stations are (near each other) a 20 to 30 minute walk from the cathedral. It also puts you in central Madrid. Also the lowest carbon footprint, if you care about these things.

 

[jpcnd78]

I hope you had a great Camino by the time you get on one of these forms of transport!

Bus is eight hours. Train is four hours. Plane is 60 to 90 minute ride plus an hour or two at the airport and 30 minutes to get to from santiago.

The price of the tickets will depend on how far you book in advance. Tickets sell out, so don’t wait until the absolute last minute. Of course, the bus is usually the cheapest, but the only way to know for a particular day, as noted above, is to check.

The apps or websites for either Google Maps or Rome2Rio will give you specific information on specific days.
In the future, you can use these apps to give you quicker information then posting on a forum like this. The apps are what most people here use . There is no secret.

The website for the Spanish train service is renfe.es. The website for the Spanish bus service is alsa.es

In my experience, taking the train is the easiest and most comfortable. The train and bus stations are (near each other) a 20 to 30 minute walk from the cathedral. It also puts you in central Madrid. Also the lowest carbon footprint, if you care about these things.

Thank you. I think I will book today. If plans change do you know if I can modify by say a day or so

 

[Bradypus]

Thank you. I think I will book today. If plans change do you know if I can modify by say a day or so

Depends on the ticket conditions of the bus/rail/air company. The cheapest fares are usually non-refundable and cannot be amended or only amendable at an extra cost. Check the terms before buying.

 

[Stephan the Painter]

Thank you. I think I will book today. If plans change do you know if I can modify by say a day or so

With the train and bus you can buy tickets that are changeable. But you have to select the right ticket, Which will be slightly more expensive than the cheapest option. For the train, not “basico”, but “elige or premium.” If you click on or touch the ticket price, it’ll show you it’s terms and conditions. For the bus it’s “super flex.”

At either the renfe or the alsa site , there’s an option to select English as the language. Most of the time it works…!

One can never be sure, but I noticed it was usually only if I try to book the day before that the tickets were sold out. Usually three or four days in advance I could get one. For instance, I just tried to book a train from santiago to Madrid for tomorrow. It was sold out. But Monday I can get a ticket for between €75 and €150.

I’ve taken a lot of trains and buses in Spain. And they’re comparitively cheap, even at the last minute, compared to northern Europe or North America. It probably won’t cost you more than €100 to get to Madrid on a train. And maybe for as little as 65 or €70 if you book a week in advance or more.

The bus is even cheaper, (Hovers around €50) and I did notice they had an overnight option on some days (If you’re really on a tight budget you can sleep on a bus) for eight hours getting you into Madrid about 630 or seven in the morning.

 

[mustang2actual]

I can tell you that today I walked to the Santiago train station and bought a ticket for Madrid tomorrow. It’s about 3.5 hours. If you are 60 or over you can get a discount (tarjeta dorada).

That’s exactly what I have planned

 

[gloria lowe]

But the train is the most scenic and relaxing.

 

[green_spork]

Don’t know if ALSA bus still run this promotion, but when I traveled from Madrid to Oviedo last September, I was offered a discount on the ticket cost as a new customer!
The seats also had individual tv screens with pre loading movies, music, internet!

 

[BabzHikes]

Depends on the ticket conditions of the bus/rail/air company. The cheapest fares are usually non-refundable and cannot be amended or only amendable at an extra cost. Check the terms before buying.

Is there only one fast train company? I guess what I'm asking is, what train do you recommend to get from Santiago to Madrid (closest to the airport)? Please and thank you

 

[Bradypus]

Is there only one fast train company?

Between Santiago and Madrid all the trains are run by RENFE.

 

[BabzHikes]

Between Santiago and Madrid all the trains are run by RENFE.

Awesome, thank you. I will need to look into it.