Travel from Santiago to Madrid to catch a flight

[LexKatherine]

My Blessing and I are walking the CF 8/23-9/27. We have a flight on 10/1 back to the US. Are challenges getting back to Madrid. Yes we looked at flights yet the are expensive. We are trying to get train tickets yet don’t seem to be able due to too far out. Suggestions, hints, recommendations? Thank you in advance. Buen Camino

 

[markie6]

Renfe will have the trains when they become available. Right now I think they haven't released the tickets yet


ALSA bus company too to check ( as per Rome to Rio website )

 

[Tincatinker]

Check the current timetable for the corresponding day you intend to travel. Check to see if it corresponds with a public holiday, university re-start or the end of the world. If none of those apply try booking your ticket about 1 week out, when you are certain of your travel dates. If any of the above apply, well the first two anyways, try booking about 1 month out. You’ll be fine

 

[jungleboy]

Yes we looked at flights yet the are expensive.

€15 on Sep 30 with Ryanair, late at night though. €51 the day before at midday.

 

[mochilaverde]

Renfe tickets for Alvia and Avant trains are available 62 days before travel. You can buy AVE train tickets 90 days in advance.

 

[Skinnybiker]

Take the train, far more interesting than Ryanair and probably just as quick. Back in early June I bought my ticket the day before, October shouldn't be a problem.

 

[Camino Chrissy]

Take the train, far more interesting than Ryanair and probably just as quick. Back in early June I bought my ticket the day before, October shouldn't be a problem.

Hmmm, this sounds good for you, but it looks like you live in Spain. If a train is sold out going back to Madrid, it is different for you. Anyone who has already purchased expensive airfare for round trip international flights can not usually gamble like that. I looked diligently for more than a month ahead of time and when tickets finally were released in May, I bought them asap for the high speed train back to Madrid. I rechecked the following day out of curiosity and it showed that particular train and time was already sold out.

 

[Kiwi-family]

Hmmm, this sounds good for you, but it looks like you live in Spain. If a train is sold out going back to Madrid, it is different for you. Anyone who has already purchased expensive airfare for round trip international flights can not usually gamble like that. I looked diligently for more than a month ahead of time and when tickets finally were released in May, I bought them asap for the high speed train back to Madrid. I rechecked the following day out of curiosity and it showed that particular train and time was already sold out.

This is an important factor. I had made my booking back to Madrid in advance for that very reason. Others who hadn't were left paying for very expensive tickets at a time they would have preferred not to travel and consoling themselves with the thought that at least they made it.

For the OP, the main factor is that the tickets have not yet been released for trains and busses. Pop the release date in your diary and sit back and relax!

 

[henrythedog]

With RENFE release dates the words ‘usually’ or ‘hopefully’ apply. I’d start looking a couple of months in advance, but not be surprised if it’s closer to your travel date.

 

[Skinnybiker]

If you use the RENFE app, Trainline and Rail-Europe they all show trains for the 30 Sept (30/9/3024) but only Trainline is showing trains on the 1 October (1/10/2024). Use that information as best you can. Richard

 

[lt56ny]

€15 on Sep 30 with Ryanair, late at night though. €51 the day before at midday.

View attachment 174623

I have found that flights more often then not a cheaper than the train. It is so easy to get from the airport to either Madrid or Barcelona on public transportation after your flight. I would also check Vueling and Iberia as they may be a few dollars more but you don't have to pay for a carry on.

 

[BROWNCOUNTYBOB]

If you plan to fly from Santiago to Madrid, then catch a connecting flight to the US, please make sure you have a few hours in Madrid to make the connecting flight. Last Fall I hiked Camino Portuguese and spent two nights in Santiago. I had a flight on Iberian airlines from Santiago to Madrid, that had a 60 minute layover before catching my flight to the US. Well, the flight from Santiago was delayed an hour, so I missed the flight to the US. And there were no additional departures to the US since local time was late morning. American Airlines rebooked me the following day, and gave me a voucher for a crummy hotel on the outskirts of Madrid, and very cheap meal vouchers.

My wife and I plan to hike CF next fall, from Leon to Santiago and I plan to book tickets on the train to Madrid where we'll spend the day and night and catch a plane the following day to the US. Bob

 

[mattythedog]

Take the train, far more interesting than Ryanair and probably just as quick. Back in early June I bought my ticket the day before, October shouldn't be a problem.

I was in Santiago Oct and May last year, and there were no buses or trains available to either Madrid or Porto for 2-3 days. Do not wait until the day before. Also, beware the websites which may not work. From Santiago, at least, it was better to book directly at the bus/train station. A friend of mine had the same problem already this year.

 

[trecile]

If you plan to fly from Santiago to Madrid, then catch a connecting flight to the US, please make sure you have a few hours in Madrid to make the connecting flight. Last Fall I hiked Camino Portuguese and spent two nights in Santiago. I had a flight on Iberian airlines from Santiago to Madrid, that had a 60 minute layover before catching my flight to the US. Well, the flight from Santiago was delayed an hour, so I missed the flight to the US. And there were no additional departures to the US since local time was late morning. American Airlines rebooked me the following day, and gave me a voucher for a crummy hotel on the outskirts of Madrid, and very cheap meal vouchers.

Did you have actual connecting flights - that is all flights booked on one ticket?
Normally you will only be rebooked for free and given hotel and meal vouchers if it was all booked together on one ticket. And that's because the EU has better protections for passengers. In the US you may not get a free hotel or meals at all. That's what happened to us after a long delay at Newark meant that we missed our flight in San Francisco. Since the delay was weather related we were on our own to book a hotel.

But, if the flights are booked separately, the passenger is not due any compensation. I would arrive the day before or many, many hours earlier for a separately ticketed flight rather than risk buying a new ticket.

 

[frannie z]

My Blessing and I are walking the CF 8/23-9/27. We have a flight on 10/1 back to the US. Are challenges getting back to Madrid. Yes we looked at flights yet the are expensive. We are trying to get train tickets yet don’t seem to be able due to too far out. Suggestions, hints, recommendations? Thank you in advance. Buen Camino

You checked Ryan Air? If you book ahead they are very reasonable

 

[BROWNCOUNTYBOB]

Yes, the Iberian flight was code-share with American. To make matters worse, there were mechanical issues with the flight from the US to Madrid / on to Porto so I was stranded heading to Europe as well. Same issue - a long wait in customer service, voucher for hotel room and breakfast. So I arrived in Porto one day late. Rather than have a full day to enjoy Porto, I arrived mid-day, then started hiking CP the following day. Bob

 

[trecile]

Yes, the Iberian flight was code-share with American. To make matters worse, there were mechanical issues with the flight from the US to Madrid / on to Porto so I was stranded heading to Europe as well. Same issue - a long wait in customer service, voucher for hotel room and breakfast. So I arrived in Porto one day late. Rather than have a full day to enjoy Porto, I arrived mid-day, then started hiking CP the following day. Bob

I try to always avoid short layovers before long haul flights. Coming home from Spain a couple of weeks ago I had 2 hr 20 min layover in Frankfurt, which I thought would give me enough time to grab some breakfast, but passport control was so backed up that I only had time to grab a pretzel to go, and got to my gate just 5 minutes before boarding started! There were people trying to get through passport control who only had a 45 minute layover. I don't know if they made their flights.

But, like me, they had a protected connection all on one ticket, so the airline had a duty of care to rebook them on the next flight with available seats, and provide meals and overnight accommodation if necessary. Those flying on separately ticketed flights have no such protections.

 

[CWBuff]

If you plan to fly from Santiago to Madrid, then catch a connecting flight to the US, please make sure you have a few hours in Madrid to make the connecting flight. Last Fall I hiked Camino Portuguese and spent two nights in Santiago. I had a flight on Iberian airlines from Santiago to Madrid, that had a 60 minute layover before catching my flight to the US. Well, the flight from Santiago was delayed an hour, so I missed the flight to the US.

I just flew GVA --> PHL connecting via MAD 2 days ago. You also gonna factor in that you will have to change the terminal to "international " one as well as go through passport control since you will be leaving Schengen Area.
Most likely go from Terminals 1 or 2 to 4.
Extra time here is also crucial!

 

[Hans-Georg Goebel]

My Blessing and I are walking the CF 8/23-9/27. We have a flight on 10/1 back to the US. Are challenges getting back to Madrid. Yes we looked at flights yet the are expensive. We are trying to get train tickets yet don’t seem to be able due to too far out. Suggestions, hints, recommendations? Thank you in advance. Buen Camino

look at www.thetrainline.com, there you can find and book a lot of trains end of september

 

[henrythedog]

look at www.thetrainline.com, there you can find and book a lot of trains end of september

Surprisingly; this is correct. RENFE seem to have released bookings earlier than has been the case for the past several months.

 

[Debora]

My Blessing and I are walking the CF 8/23-9/27. We have a flight on 10/1 back to the US. Are challenges getting back to Madrid. Yes we looked at flights yet the are expensive. We are trying to get train tickets yet don’t seem to be able due to too far out. Suggestions, hints, recommendations? Thank you in advance. Buen Camino

Iberian Airlines has a non stop, 1.5 hour, one way flight out of Santiago de Compostela at 9:45PM to Madrid for $98.

 

[MarianneF]

My Blessing and I are walking the CF 8/23-9/27. We have a flight on 10/1 back to the US. Are challenges getting back to Madrid. Yes we looked at flights yet the are expensive. We are trying to get train tickets yet don’t seem to be able due to too far out. Suggestions, hints, recommendations? Thank you in advance. Buen Camino

I used the bus to Vigo and from there another bus to Vigo airport. AE Air Europa flight @12h35 landing 13h45 in Madrid. All booked in advance. Not expensive.

 

[gtweath]

We did this in May. Originally I had booked a flight in the morning from Santiago to Madrid (with Air Europa) with a 1 hour layover then a flight from Madrid to Atlanta via Delta. I was already dreading such a long day of travel and worrying about the short layover then heard of the possibility of an airport employees strike in Santiago the day we were leaving. So, only 3 days out I bought train tickets via Trainline for the night before our Madrid flight home and got a hotel room at the Marriott near the airport. We only had 5 hours in the hotel but got some sleep, didn't have to worry about changing planes and broke the long travel day up. Well worth the change IMHO.

 

[Bill from Canada]

My Blessing and I are walking the CF 8/23-9/27. We have a flight on 10/1 back to the US. Are challenges getting back to Madrid. Yes we looked at flights yet the are expensive. We are trying to get train tickets yet don’t seem to be able due to too far out. Suggestions, hints, recommendations? Thank you in advance. Buen Camino

Try SkyScanner, there are lots of flights on Sept 30 and some early morning ones on October 1.

 

[Livetotravel]

My Blessing and I are walking the CF 8/23-9/27. We have a flight on 10/1 back to the US. Are challenges getting back to Madrid. Yes we looked at flights yet the are expensive. We are trying to get train tickets yet don’t seem to be able due to too far out. Suggestions, hints, recommendations? Thank you in advance. Buen Camino

 

[Livetotravel]

I’m also traveling from Santiago to Madrid on September 30. You can purchase tickets already. And I love to travel by train. Very official