madrid to barcelona, cost to fly, train, bus?

[mr_sandman]

I am increasingly considering a trip to Spain after I write my exam, there is a GAP adventures package that interests me, which leaves from Barcelona. But since I'm going to be in the country, I would like to fly to Madrid and check things out there first as well before I join the GAP tour.

For those who have travelled to Spain, how much would it cost for a trip between the two cities, one way?

[originalnutta]

expedia says it's a $130 flight.

search through the airline sites and euro rail sites.

[Goldilocks]

We just took the brand new bullet (AVE) train from Madrid to Barcelona and the prices depend on the time and day, but we paid 58Euros incl taxes one way, the prices vary depending on how far in advance you get your tickets.

check here for more info http://www.renfe.es/horarios/english/index.html

Also if you are checking airlines, RyanAir flies there but we've had good luck getting really cheap flights with Iberia (Spain's main airline) if you book well in advance.

[GemInite]

Click Air is Spain's discount carrier and the flight from Madrid to Barcelona should be very cheap even with luggage.

use www.skyscanner.net as a reference.

[GangStarr]

I flew from Ibizza to Barcelona with http://www.vueling.com/

Fares as low as 30 euros. Flying to Madrid looks to be about 40 euros. Nice airline, friendly and quite roomy.

[GemInite]

also please note I don't think Ryan Air flies right into the BCN airport. I believe they go to an aiport 1 hour from Barcelona.

[GangStarr]

Keep in mind its a pretty short train ride, with the fastest train getting you from Downtown Madrid to downtown Barcelona in 2 hours and 38 minutes. Unless you run into some serious rail delays theres no way flying is any faster. I would definitely opt for the train even if it was a few euros more expensive than flying.

You end up wasting so much time going to and from airports and waiting in lines. Nothing beats boarding a train 10 minutes before departure.

[qzilla79]

If you do decide to take the train, don't buy your ticket the day of at the station or you'll be waiting for awhile in the queue (possibly several hours). Definitely go through a travel agent when you're in Barcelona. It will save you so much time. The ticketing system in Spain for renfe is not as efficient as other parts of Europe like Italy or France.

[GangStarr]

If you do decide to take the train, don't buy your ticket the day of at the station or you'll be waiting for awhile in the queue (possibly several hours). Definitely go through a travel agent when you're in Barcelona. It will save you so much time. The ticketing system in Spain for renfe is not as efficient as other parts of Europe like Italy or France.

^

OMG so true, I waited hours to be served. If you do have to buy tickets at the train station. Go to the train station closer to the water. Forgot the name but its the one near the Christopher Colombus Monument.

[jjj3663]

have a look at here, it's pretty much almost everything you need to know

http://www.barcelona-tourist-guide.c...rid-train.html

and the Renfe website (Trains in Spain)

http://horarios.renfe.es/hir/ingles.html#

I personally took a train, because it was just easier to get from city center to city center. And if going by train, you can buy your tickets beforehand to save some time. Oh, don't forget to reserve your seat. It's best to do so for this route.

[PsioniC]

I rode the train from Barcelona to Madrid 2 weeks ago actually. It was super easy and really relaxed. I cant really give you an idea of cost because I transfered from Madrid to Lisbon on the same ticket. Barcelona > Madrid > Lisbon cost me 319 CDN, but that was an over night trip and I had a sleeper car from Madrid to Lisbon.

It will probably be a high speed train too, or atleast it was for me, so the trip ended up being something like 2 hours long. Not bad at all.

[sexpuppet6000]

If you do decide to take the train, don't buy your ticket the day of at the station or you'll be waiting for awhile in the queue (possibly several hours). Definitely go through a travel agent when you're in Barcelona. It will save you so much time. The ticketing system in Spain for renfe is not as efficient as other parts of Europe like Italy or France.

+1

[fast_typeR]

I took the bus from Madrid to Barcelona before... its about 29 EUROS if I remembered correctly. The trip took about 12 hours tho, so it is usually an overnight bus.

[GangStarr]

I took the bus from Madrid to Barcelona before... its about 29 EUROS if I remembered correctly. The trip took about 12 hours tho, so it is usually an overnight bus.

I've taken night busses before (not in spain) but I was suprised that many buses have washrooms onboard but they are locked. I found this on a couple of EuroLines buses but I did take 1 night bus that did have the washroom.

They stop to let you do your business but its never a comfortable feeling having to go and not having any idea when the next stop is.

The buses are genearlly more modern and more comfortable than greyhound type buses. My bus had a leather (maybe pleather) seats for example. Also take a look at your chair, sometimes there is a switch on the side that lets you slide the chair out in the aisle to add more room.

Trains kick a$$ though.

Also oddly enough, buses are more expensive in countries where rail service isn't as good. Taking the bus around the Balkans and Croatia is more expensive then taking the train.

[jjj3663]

I rode the train from Barcelona to Madrid 2 weeks ago actually. It was super easy and really relaxed. I cant really give you an idea of cost because I transfered from Madrid to Lisbon on the same ticket. Barcelona > Madrid > Lisbon cost me 319 CDN, but that was an over night trip and I had a sleeper car from Madrid to Lisbon.

It will probably be a high speed train too, or atleast it was for me, so the trip ended up being something like 2 hours long. Not bad at all.

Barcelona > Madrid > Lisbon cost me 319 CDN???

Wow, have prices gone up THAT bad???

I took a trip last summer, Barcelona > Madrid > Entroncamento > Lisboa, overnight trains, with days of stopover in between, and it was probably roughly $200 CDN.

I think prices for trains in Spain (renfe) fall just behind UK and Germany.