getting from Madrid to Pamplona

By train, you need to take a Cercanías (commuter) train from the T4 of the airport to Atocha (in downtown Madrid). You can't book that one in advance so just get it on arrival. Once in Atocha, you can take a train from Puerta de Atocha to Pamplona/Iruña. That one can be booked in advance on the web of RENFE. To know how to use the RENFE web, avoid common problems and/or know for alternative booking options if you can't make the RENFE web work for you, take a look at www.seat61.com/Spain-trains.htm#How_to_use_www.renfe.com

The bus route from Madrid's airport (Terminal 4) to Pamplona with Alsa means a change of buses in Soria. If you choose Madrid-Barajas Airport T4 as departure point and Pamplona as destination, it'll show you all the options available on your travel date. You can click on see itinerary to see the route, know the transfer time in Soria... The web of Alsa deals well with routes involving a change of buses along the route so there's no need to make separate searches/bookings for each leg of the route. If, by some reason, your credit card isn't accepted and you are a user of PayPal, you can also pay with PayPal. Otherwise, ask your bank just in case they were blocking your credit card for security reasons.

An alternative to book Alsa tickets on the web of Alsa would be to book them on the web of Movelia (www.movelia.es)

P.S.: PLM (http://plmautocares.com) has a daily except Sundays bus from Madrid's airport (terminal 4) to Pamplona and it's direct (i.e.: you don't need to change buses along the route). You might give it a try if the schedule suited you.

Renfe has international sales points. For example the official Renfe US sales point is Petrabax. https://petrabax.com/

Only the bus leaves from T-4. If your flight matches the bus departure times, it will be most convenient. I have done this a few times and the bus has never been full. For the train you need to take the Cercanias to the train station and transfer. Trains rarely run full, but you could be unlucky. You can buy your train ticket in the T-4 terminal, and it will include the ticket for the Cercanias.

I haven't used the Renfe site but I'm big fan of Alsa. I tried your date on the site just now and there were no problems. The cheapest ticket was €22 and the journey is 5 hours. The buses run regularly.

I've always used Mastercard and added the pittance for insurance. The only time I had to cancel a trip, I got the money back in the blink of an eye.

I put "Alsa Buses" in the search box and got the English version straight away. All the buses we've used have been excellent-on time, comfortable and they usually have good wifi.

Just checked on my browser, 4 buses run from T4 Madrid airport on that day - all showing availability. I booked using the web site a month ago, just a few days before I left on my Camino from Burgos to Santiago - no problems experienced. Like person above buses are first class, so much better then the train. Shouldn't worry about the transfers if needed, its chaotic sometimes but no one gets left behind.

Alsa and PLM Autocares operate buses from Madrid to Pamplona.

The buses leave from Madrid Intercambiador de Avenida de America. Some, but not all, buses make a stop at Madrid airport T4.

There are buses almost hourly. There should be no need to obtain a ticket prior to arrival at the bus station.

EMT Madrid #200 bus picks up at several spots at Madrid Airport T1 T2 T3 T4 and terminates at Avenida de America. The #200 operates every 10 - 20 minutes.

http://www.emtmadrid.es/Aeropuerto?lang=es-ES

http://www.emtmadrid.es/EMTBUS/Mi-linea?lang=es-ES