Barajas Airport (MAD) | Terminal 4S to Terminal 4 in 1 hour 20 minutes?

[jemitch65]

Hello fellow peregrinos: I am planning the airfare leg of my trip to Spain walking the Camino del Norte. I have looked at several flights from Boston USA to Madrid Barajas Airport Terminal 4S with connecting flight to Bilbao in terminal 4. The time between flights is a mere 1 hour and 20 minutes. I am concerned about this for several reasons. What if I am delayed out of Boston? I have heard that Terminals 4 and 4S are huge (1/2 KM walk) and there is a train that I need to ride that connects the two terminals. Moreover, getting in line at Customs in the terminal to present my passport. An hour and 20 minutes seems like I would be cutting it very close in the most ideal situation. The next flight to Bilbao from Madrid is 4 hours later. What should I do? As always, thank you for any advice you may be able to give me. John

 

[wayfarer]

Hi John, one hour twenty minutes is very tight indeed, the later flight would be better IMO. Have a great Camino.
Buen Camino.

 

[lettinggo]

Hi John, one hour twenty minutes is very tight indeed, the later flight would be better IMO. Have a great Camino.
Buen Camino.

I agree with wayfarer.
Your flight may also be delayed and the Camino will still be there waiting for you

Buen Camino
Lettinggo

 

[Arn]

I took that same flight in October this year. Unless you doddle...you can make the trip between terminals. I did. But just, you must keep moving...customs is rather quick and the train fast. I had about 20 minutes breathing space once I arrived at the Flt to SdC. The safe choice is the later flight...if you like a thrill...

 

[peregrina2000]

I have also made connections from T4S to T4 in that amount of time and even less. If your flight is late they will expedite you through the lines for passport control. I've always found passport control to be rather empty in early morning. And in the worst case they will rebook you and you don't have to worry about that (unlike if you had booked a separate ticket).

I am also virtually certain that you will need to go through security again (but not going T4 to T4S) but I could have my directions mixed up. But again if you are running late they push you up to the front.

Best thing to do is not worry, move quickly, and always take the elevators and not the escalators. Buen camino, Laurie.

 

[whariwharangi]

See the airport site for information about interterminal shuttles. The Automatic People Mover gets you from 4S to 4 in 3 minutes.

I guess the question is whether you need to check in for your flight to Bilbao or if the trip is on one ticket. If your bags are transferred from flight to flight then I would go for it. If you have to collect your bags, go out of the secure area, and check in then for sure you stand no chance of making a 1.4 hour connection.

Madrid Barajas Airport (MAD)
http://www.aena.es/csee/Satellite/Aeropuerto-Madrid-Barajas/es/Inicio.html

 

[jemitch65]

Thank you all for responding. What I am reading online is that travelers have had to collect their bags between terminals. If that is the case, then I agree with you Whariwharangi, I stand "no" chance of making the flight to Bilbao. If however, the baggage (backpack) is transferred from flight to flight then I will take Laurie's advice and go for it hoping that they will expedite me through the line. In any event, when I book, I will ask if the flight to Madrid and Bilbao will be on the same ticket. This forum, the people that make up this community, their help and willingness to give back remind me of why I want to return to the Camino. I thank you all so much. John

 

[peregrina2000]

Thank you all for responding. What I am reading online is that travelers have had to collect their bags between terminals. If that is the case, then I agree with you Whariwharangi, I stand "no" chance of making the flight to Bilbao. If however, the baggage (backpack) is transferred from flight to flight then I will take Laurie's advice and go for it hoping that they will expedite me through the line. In any event, when I book, I will ask if the flight to Madrid and Bilbao will be on the same ticket. This forum, the people that make up this community, their help and willingness to give back remind me of why I want to return to the Camino. I thank you all so much. John

Hi, John,
If you have a ticket from Boston to Bilbao with a connection in Madrid, you will not have to pick up your bags. Spain is very different from the US in this regard -- when you come back to the US, you always have to pick up your bags and go through customs at your point of entry to the US, and then recheck your bags if you have a connecting flight. Not in Spain-- you don't see your bag till your final destination. So that will save you time.

If you're booking a round trip ticket, you should use the multi-city option to get a Boston-Madrid-Bilbao and a Santiago-Madrid-Boston ticket. Since you're landing in T4, you're on Iberia or AA, and I know that the flight from Madrid to Boston leaves late enough (I think 12:30 or later) for you to get the Iberia flight from Santiago to Madrid, which is usually at 9:15 am. Leaving from the East Coast like you are gives you such a nice short flight over across the Atlantic!

 

[KinkyOne]

Hello fellow peregrinos: I am planning the airfare leg of my trip to Spain walking the Camino del Norte. I have looked at several flights from Boston USA to Madrid Barajas Airport Terminal 4S with connecting flight to Bilbao in terminal 4. The time between flights is a mere 1 hour and 20 minutes. I am concerned about this for several reasons. What if I am delayed out of Boston? I have heard that Terminals 4 and 4S are huge (1/2 KM walk) and there is a train that I need to ride that connects the two terminals. Moreover, getting in line at Customs in the terminal to present my passport. An hour and 20 minutes seems like I would be cutting it very close in the most ideal situation. The next flight to Bilbao from Madrid is 4 hours later. What should I do? As always, thank you for any advice you may be able to give me. John

Hi, John!
4 hours you have in Madrid??? Man, enjoy them! Buy a beer in terminal store, put your rucksack on the "pavement" in front of the terminal, sit on it and drink that cold beer. The Camino starts exactly where (& when) you want it to start
Ultreia!

PS (Sorry I haven't been of more help...)

 

[nidarosa]

Just out of interest (don't want to hijack the thread) how long does it take to get from Madrid T1 to T4 by that shuttle bus? In reality, not just the bus journey ... getting off the plane with hand luggage, getting through passport control, finding the bus and getting to the right place? Will I too have time for a cold cerveza?? Thanks good people!

 

[jemitch65]

Hi, John,
If you have a ticket from Boston to Bilbao with a connection in Madrid, you will not have to pick up your bags. Spain is very different from the US in this regard -- when you come back to the US, you always have to pick up your bags and go through customs at your point of entry to the US, and then recheck your bags if you have a connecting flight. Not in Spain-- you don't see your bag till your final destination. So that will save you time.

If you're booking a round trip ticket, you should use the multi-city option to get a Boston-Madrid-Bilbao and a Santiago-Madrid-Boston ticket. Since you're landing in T4, you're on Iberia or AA, and I know that the flight from Madrid to Boston leaves late enough (I think 12:30 or later) for you to get the Iberia flight from Santiago to Madrid, which is usually at 9:15 am. Leaving from the East Coast like you are gives you such a nice short flight over across the Atlantic!

Hi Laurie: Thank you for the advice. Your note here mirrors the Iberia schedule quoted to me for $1,040 round trip. I love the idea of a 9:15 AM flight out of Santiago which is a nice morning flight with connection in Madrid at 12:30 as you say. I get back into Boston at 2:30 PM which I like better for the jet lag transition back to EST. I can't wait to return to Spain for this new walk on the Norte and possibly Primitivo. My walk on the Frances in 2012 was a life changing one when I was going through a difficult time. Things are wonderful for me now, but I long for the Way of Saint James and its lesson in simplicity which I find far more appealing than the runaway train we call life today. I wish I could turn the 40 days in 2015 into an every day lifestyle, but since I am only 8 years away from retirement, I do see the light at the end of the tunnel! Thank you. John

 

[peregrina2000]

Hi Laurie: Thank you for the advice. Your note here mirrors the Iberia schedule quoted to me for $1,040 round trip. I love the idea of a 9:15 AM flight out of Santiago which is a nice morning flight with connection in Madrid at 12:30 as you say. I get back into Boston at 2:30 PM which I like better for the jet lag transition back to EST. I can't wait to return to Spain for this new walk on the Norte and possibly Primitivo. My walk on the Frances in 2012 was a life changing one when I was going through a difficult time. Things are wonderful for me now, but I long for the Way of Saint James and its lesson in simplicity which I find far more appealing than the runaway train we call life today. I wish I could turn the 40 days in 2015 into an every day lifestyle, but since I am only 8 years away from retirement, I do see the light at the end of the tunnel! Thank you. John

And if you're a fan of public transportation instead of taxis (even though the taxis are pretty cheap out to the Santiago airport), with a flight at that time you can easily use the cheap airport bus from the Plaza de Galicia, runs every half hour starting at 6 or 6:30.

 

[Arn]

I do not check baggage. If I can't fit all I need in a pack small enough as carry on then I have too many "might needs".
OK, let's say this is an extended trip, not just the Camino.
Most of your kit is perfectly acceptable in polite company...if you have it professionally fumigated, er laundered. Your choice!
The odd "extras" (tux, coat and tie) can be either borrowed/rented.
Or, as in my case, go as you are!

After all, you've just proved you are eccentric: you wear the same clothes, sleep in a room full of others, shower in the same room as the opposite sex and begin drinking at 10:30.
Anyone should be enchanted to show they are in touch with the mentally challenged and obviously homeless.

Take less, fret less and make the 90 minute connection between terminals a challenge not a problem.
Buen "streaking thru airports" Camino,
Arn

 

[whariwharangi]

Just out of interest (don't want to hijack the thread) how long does it take to get from Madrid T1 to T4 by that shuttle bus? In reality, not just the bus journey ... getting off the plane with hand luggage, getting through passport control, finding the bus and getting to the right place? Will I too have time for a cold cerveza?? Thanks good people!

The shuttle takes 10 minutes to travel from T1 to T4. I can't figure out the frequency of service so waiting might be a half hour while the shuttle does the rounds.

Madrid Bajaras Airport (MAD) Shuttle page
http://www.aena.es/csee/Satellite/A...37554331229//Conexiones-entre-terminales.html

If you do a map recce using the information on the website the time for finding the bus should be much reduced. If time is of the essence I would recommend printing off a copy of the map.

Typically it takes as much as 30 minutes to get off a plane and make ones way to the baggage area where often as not the baggage is unloading onto the carosel. You don't usually save a lot of time by not checking in baggage ... though sometimes it can be quite slow.

Passport control is hard to predict. I have always entered Spain from Britain and most people are merely waved through making - lines for people that need visa stamps - short. I don't know what the experience would be like for travelers from other countries ... only that passport line ups in Britain, Argentina, and Canada can take quite some time ... upwards of an hour ... and citizens are checked through first. I guess this is somewhat dependent on how many flights arrive at the same time.

I once spent half a day in T1 waiting for the check-in to open (I had this huge pack making visiting Madrid like a tourist, impractical). Services this side of security are sparse and uncomfortable. Services the other side of security are expensive and not particularly comfortable. The airport is not a good place to enjoy a beer.

 

[nidarosa]

@whariwharangi Thank you so much for that info! That's exactly the sort of thing that's good to know - the bus taking ten minutes doesn't mean you'll be there in ten. I seem to remember landing in one Madrid terminal while my luggage was at another, and it took ages just finding out where it had gone, not to mention finding the bus and getting to T4, so naturally I didn't time the experience. Thanks for the link - I shall make sure I know where I am going before I go. This forum is the best!

 

[peregrina2000]

The intra-airport shuttle bus runs constantly, at least during the day. The hours are every five minutes from 6:30 to 23:30, every 20 minutes from 23:30 to 01:50, and every 40 minutes from 01:50 to 6:30 am.

This website also tells you where the stops are:

http://www.aeropuertomadrid-barajas.com/transportation/connections-between-terminals.htm

Buen camino, Laurie

 

[jemitch65]

I do not check baggage. If I can't fit all I need in a pack small enough as carry on then I have too many "might needs".
OK, let's say this is an extended trip, not just the Camino.
Most of your kit is perfectly acceptable in polite company...if you have it professionally fumigated, er laundered. Your choice!
The odd "extras" (tux, coat and tie) can be either borrowed/rented.
Or, as in my case, go as you are!

After all, you've just proved you are eccentric: you wear the same clothes, sleep in a room full of others, shower in the same room as the opposite sex and begin drinking at 10:30.
Anyone should be enchanted to show they are in touch with the mentally challenged and obviously homeless.

Take less, fret less and make the 90 minute connection between terminals a challenge not a problem.
Buen "streaking thru airports" Camino,
Arn

Hello Arn: I loved your response which gave me a morning smile and laugh. I "embrace" the description of eccentric and wear it as a badge of honor. I have met more interesting people in 40 days in 2012 on the Camino Frances than I had met in my life up to the age of then 46. The question becomes as I approach retirement in 8 years; how do I convince my wife to move to Spain? =) I agree with you Arn, accepting the challenge and not the problem between terminals. After all, I am in Spain about to walk the Camino del Norte and what could be better than that?

I will be taking a 50 liter pack with me that I believe is small enough for overhead carryon. My question is, I walk with trekking poles and will I have to check those before boarding? Thank you for your comments. John

 

[peregrina2000]

I will be taking a 50 liter pack with me that I believe is small enough for overhead carryon. My question is, I walk with trekking poles and will I have to check those before boarding? Thank you for your comments. John

This is one of those topics that has generated thread after thread after thread and I have a lot of experience with carrying on hiking poles flying from the US. In short, I always carry them through in a duffel, collapsed and with rubber tips on, just so I can check them at the last minute if TSA says no. But I have never had a problem, and I've carried them through security on many many trips, both in the US and to Spain and Portugal. The poles have always gone through the xray machine without generating any question or comment form any TSA person. (On arrival, I pack up my airplane pillow and my duffel bag in a box and mail it to Santiago, so I then can fill up the duffel with goodies from Spain to bring home and can also pack up my sticks, because you absolutely cannot carry the sticks through security at the Santiago airport).

Just for a little background -- the problem is that the TSA regulations say that you can't bring on ski poles and you can bring on walking aids. So there is no rule about hiking poles, which leaves it up to the TSA officer's discretion. I know that for some reason a lot of people tell you not to carry on poles, and that may be good advice for other countries, but I've never had a problem in the US. Maybe others have, though, and I know it's up to the individual officer, so I always have the duffel for a last minute check-in. Buen camino, Laurie

 

[jemitch65]

This is one of those topics that has generated thread after thread after thread and I have a lot of experience with carrying on hiking poles flying from the US. In short, I always carry them through in a duffel, collapsed and with rubber tips on, just so I can check them at the last minute if TSA says no. But I have never had a problem, and I've carried them through security on many many trips, both in the US and to Spain and Portugal. The poles have always gone through the xray machine without generating any question or comment form any TSA person. (On arrival, I pack up my airplane pillow and my duffel bag in a box and mail it to Santiago, so I then can fill up the duffel with goodies from Spain to bring home and can also pack up my sticks, because you absolutely cannot carry the sticks through security at the Santiago airport).

Just for a little background -- the problem is that the TSA regulations say that you can't bring on ski poles and you can bring on walking aids. So there is no rule about hiking poles, which leaves it up to the TSA officer's discretion. I know that for some reason a lot of people tell you not to carry on poles, and that may be good advice for other countries, but I've never had a problem in the US. Maybe others have, though, and I know it's up to the individual officer, so I always have the duffel for a last minute check-in. Buen camino, Laurie

Hi Laurie: Thank you for the response. When you refer to "sticks" when returning to the USA through Santiago's airport, you are referring to your hiking poles yes? John

 

[peregrina2000]

Hi Laurie: Thank you for the response. When you refer to "sticks" when returning to the USA through Santiago's airport, you are referring to your hiking poles yes? John

Hi, John,
Yes, I know lots of people who have either had to leave behind or check their hiking poles, collapsible or not, or their wooden hiking sticks. The Santiago policy seems to be unusual, because I've carried on poles on other intra-Spain flights with no problem. But it is what it is, so I always check them. Buen camino, Laurie

 

[jemitch65]

Hi, John,
Yes, I know lots of people who have either had to leave behind or check their hiking poles, collapsible or not, or their wooden hiking sticks. The Santiago policy seems to be unusual, because I've carried on poles on other intra-Spain flights with no problem. But it is what it is, so I always check them. Buen camino, Laurie

Thank you Laurie. You have been a big help. John

 

[camino-david]

General note: Arrival time given by the airline is the time the planes wheels touch the tarmac, not arrival at the gate, and the taxiing might take 10 - 15 minutes if a slot is not immediately available

 

[whariwharangi]

My Easy Jet flight from Madrid to London was unique in that they were asking passengers to help load the baggage in exchange for being the first to board the plane. Needless to say the Easy Jet flight did not leave on time.

 

[Al the optimist]

My Easy Jet flight from Madrid to London was unique in that they were asking passengers to help load the baggage in exchange for being the first to board the plane. Needless to say the Easy Jet flight did not leave on time.

Weird! I travelled with them Madrid to Liverpool yesterday and it was business as usual.

 

[jemitch65]

My Easy Jet flight from Madrid to London was unique in that they were asking passengers to help load the baggage in exchange for being the first to board the plane. Needless to say the Easy Jet flight did not leave on time.

That is too funny Whari. I suppose if they handed you parachutes instead of boarding first, then you should really be concerned.