How to get to Burgos from Madrid?

[Greta Schönberg]

Hey everybody!

I am a newbie in this site, so I dont know if I am posting my question in the right place. Sorry if not. :/

So...I have a question, and it would be a big help if somebody could answer it.

In September we (my fiancé and I) would like to walk a half-Camino, and to reduce the costs, we thought that Madrid would be a nice starting point (getting there by plane is a lot more cheaper than in San Sebastian for exmaple), and also seeing the capital would be nice as well. We would like to stay 1-2 days in Madrid, to visit it, and look around, but the next stop would be Burgos, or León, where we can start the walking. What is the cheapest way to get there? By bus, train, or maybe to rent, or buy a bike?

Can anyone help me with this? Can anyone say approximately how much a bus or train ticket is? Or how much is the average price of a second hand bike in Madrid?

Thank you!

 

[Castilian]

By bus, Alsa (http://www.alsa.es/en) makes both routes (Madrid-Burgos and Madrid-León).

By train, RENFE (http://www.renfe.com) makes both routes.

Full fare is cheaper by bus but some trains can be cheaper than the bus on the route from Madrid to León if booked online well in advance (train ticket sales usually open two months in advance although they may open later).

P.S.: If you would like to start someway between Burgos and León, Frómista is quite easy to reach from Madrid by train although you would need to change trains in Valladolid (or in Palencia). You may get discounted fares on some trains from Madrid to Valladolid (or Palencia) but the fare of trains from Valladolid (or Palencia) to Frómista is fixed.

 

[NualaOC]

Hi Greta,

We took the bus last year from Madrid Airport (terminal 4) to Burgos. It cost €21 and took 2 hours and 30 minutes. Very comfortable and efficient.

Hope this helps. Buen Camino!

Nuala

 

[Rambler1959]

Greta: Willkomen! A couple thoughts about your post. September is a very popular month to walk but crowds should not be a problem until you get to Sarria. Have you thought about walking a half Camino from SJPdP to Burgos (280 km) or Leon (440 km) and returning another time to walk the rest?

Train or bus travel from Madrid to either city is easy-breezy. Your choice will probably be based on arrival time in Madrid, your desire to see the city (which I recommend highly, especially in September) and preference for train or bus. I've taken both and each has their advantages - I would recommend a deluxe bus (Supra?) with reclining seats, wi-fi, movies, etc.

Jet lag is another issue, although I've found walking is a great way to acclimate to a new time zone. In 2013 I flew into Madrid from Bali at 2 pm, took the late train to Pamplona and arrived at 10 pm, and started walking the next morning at 8 am. I was pretty spaced out trying to get going but moving my legs cleared the cobwebs pretty quickly.

Whatever you decide, I can't think of a better way for your and your fiancé to plan your life together.

 

[Felipe]

Consider that Burgos' train station (Rosa de Lima) is in the suburbs., 5 km. There is a bus from there to Plaza España every half hour. Or taxis...
On the other side, the bus terminal is a 10 minutes walk from cathedral.

 

[Greta Schönberg]

Rambler, yes I have thought about that. Actually this "trip" would be our honeymoon, after a wedding in august. I chose September because I hope its a bit cooler than the other months of the summer, and in October university starts, working season as well, so probably September is the best for us.

At first I wanted to walk the first half of the camino, from SJPdP to Gijon maybe. I've heard that the seaside is gorgeous, but I also wanted to visit Finisterra. It was, and still is a big dilemma for me, to chose which half we should walk...it would be fantastic if we could return some day, and do the other half of it. The reason I am bending to the second half of it, is that in Compostella/Finisterra it has an ending, you are finishing something, even if you didnt walked the whole distance.

I'll check the sites as well, and I'll try to find the best option, but Castilian, you gave me a good idea. If Valladolid or Palencia are easy to reach from Madrid, we could start walking from there as well? I guess there are albergues around there too.

Thank you again for your answers. Each of them were useful!

 

[Castilian]

If Valladolid or Palencia are easy to reach from Madrid, we could start walking from there as well?

With more than 10 daily buses from Madrid (both downtown and airport) to Valladolid and well more than 20 daily high speed trains linking both cities (and a few more non-high speed trains), it's really easy to reach Valladolid from Madrid. The Camino de Madrid cross the municipality of Valladolid in Puente Duero, a suburb something like 7 kms away from the downtown and something like 12 kilometers away from the City center. In Puente Duero there's a pilgrim's albergue. To get from the downtown to Puente Duero, you can walk it following the 60 conchas that mark the route from Santiago church (in downtown Valladolid) to Puente Duero, you can take urban bus line number 15 or you can take a taxi.

Palencia is also easy to reach from Madrid although there isn't so much train and bus service as from Madrid to Valladolid and Palencia isn't in any official camino and there's no pilgrim's albergue in Palencia... On the other hand, depending on bus or train schedules, it may be a good place to change buses or trains to go from Madrid to Frómista.

P.S.: The Camino de Madrid joins the Camino Francés in Sahagún. Albergues in the Camino de Madrid aren't as frequent as on the Camino Francés so a bit of planning to know where's an albergue and where you would need to look for other type of accommodation would be a good idea. If you are interested in walking the Camino de Madrid from Puente Duero to Sahagún, I would suggest you to take a look at the Camino de Madrid area of this forum and to ask there whatever questions you may have.