Getting from Santiago to Madrid

johnnyman

Active Member
Jan 6, 2011
129
10
Central Texas, U.S.
Time of past OR future Camino
June/July 2011 and 2013
How difficult is it to get back to Madrid from Santiago de Compostela? I was thinking bus, but not too sure about a 7-hour bus ride. Looks like plane tickets are really cheap, but I don't want to buy in advance, because I'm not sure exactly when I'll be arriving in Santiago. Same thing with train tickets ...
 
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Hi
I am planning to travel by overnight train from Santiago to Madrid after I finish the camino - I am flying home from madrid.
It looks like I can book a single berth on the train but it is in a 4 berth sleeper car - has anyone done this? is it really cramped? and more importantly, are there female sleepers?

The spanish overnight ferries allow you to book one berth in a female only cabin so Im wondering if the same applies to trains.
the previous post says the buses are comfortable but a sleeper would cover off one nights accommodation.

thanks for any advice
karen
 

Alan Pearce

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Jul 20, 2008
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Cowra, N.S.W.
Time of past OR future Camino
Camino Invierno October 2022
Hi Karen

I have twice taken the overnight train from SdC to Madrid, buying a tourist [second class] sleeper berth. I think the train leaves around 11 PM and gets into Madrid around 8 AM. I can't tell you if there are designated womens cabins in tourist class but there is if you want to go first class :D Anyone over 175 cm will find the beds a bit short, but i found them comfortable enough. It is a bit cramped but me and my backpack fitted in okay.

If you travel on a weekend you cannot get the discounted deals that are available for midweek journeys.

buen camino

Alan

Be brave. Life is joyous.
 
thanks Alan, Ive been trying to decipher the renfe website today - I cant book till 90 days out but put in a sunday night in october just to get a sense of prices.
It showed a first class individual sleeper which was expensive, but then the tourist class sleeper was designated as 'familia' (i.e. family) with no indication you could book just one berth.

Did you book one berth in a 4 berth sleeper as tourist class?
also it says something called 'club preferente - bed' which me and my spanish dictionary cannot understand - given that according to the 'seat 61' website (the greatest travel website in the world by the way .... well ,okay I like trains), anyway according to 'seat 61' - if it doesnt say 'cama' it isnt a sleeper.

thanks
karen
 
The focus is on reducing the risk of failure through being well prepared. 2nd ed.

jpflavin1

Veteran Member
Dec 26, 2009
2,524
3,360
Chicago, Illinois
Time of past OR future Camino
Camino 2024 unknown starting 4/1 from somewhere.
Hi Karen:

I agree with John here. A flight on Ryan Air is 7-20 Euros and just over an hour. The train appears to be 50-70 Euros and takes 7 hours.

I usually buy my Ryan air ticket when I am about a week from completing the Camino. They are so inexpensive and I can tolerate their process because the flights are so short. That said, you have to be careful with them. Everything is an extra. The most common mistake I saw from people using their flights was to not print out their boarding pass in advance. A 20 Euro mistake.

Ultreya,
Joe
 

Alan Pearce

Veteran Member
Jul 20, 2008
664
848
Cowra, N.S.W.
Time of past OR future Camino
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Hi Karen

I gave up on the renfe website long ago, and had a tourist guide friend of mine who lives in Santiago do the booking for me [www.spanishadventures.com], But as I remember it. there were 4 options, one being a semi reclining seat, two being the second class sleeper in a cabin of four, thirdly a first class sleeper, and lastly a prestige sleeper with a five course meal thrown in which cost around 170 euro. Now thats a way to congratulate yourself for finishing the camino!

buen camino

Alan

Be brave. Life is joyous.
 
€2,-/day will present your project to thousands of visitors each day. All interested in the Camino de Santiago.

renegadepilgrim

Veteran Pilgrim and Traveler
Apr 13, 2007
700
57
Portland, OR, USA
renegadepilgrim.com
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I am also a huge fan of Vueling airlines. I flew them from Santiago to Barcelona and bought my ticket three days in advance for 70 Euros I think. Not a bargain, but compared to what a last minute ticket costs in the US, I was happy with that.
 
Hi Alan

dont think I wasnt tempted by a first class sleeper and the meal etc to finish off my travel :D but its probably more than I can afford. Everyone seems to find Renfe site difficult - but the 'seat 61' site has a very comprehensive guide to using the renfe site (you'd think that would give them a clue the site isnt that great eh).

thanks Joe for the tip re Ryannair and printing out boarding pass - Ive been put off them because of all the extra fees but if I do end up succumbing to cheap fares, I will keep that in mind.
will look at Vueling too and given price of train overnight, might do a cheap flight and a night in Madrid instead.

still months to go but planning small details takes my mind off frustrating hamstring injury that wont heal :cry: - off I go to check out blogs of Drew and PadreQ and live vicariously instead.
thanks for advice
karen
 
D

Deleted member 3000

Guest
I took the redeye bus from Santiago to the Madrid airport (Santiago bus station departure at 2130; scheduled airport arrival 0730, but it arrived at 0700). It starts by going north to A Coruna, where it filled completely. Then it was nine hours in the stuffiest bus I have ever been in, with seats that didn't recline much. It did stop two or three times for a break. Even though it is labeled as T-4 for the last terminal at the airport, its first stop was T-1, where all the international departures are.

It was the most unpleasant travel experience of my life, so I won't be doing it again!
 
€2,-/day will present your project to thousands of visitors each day. All interested in the Camino de Santiago.

Abbeydore

Veteran Member
Oct 11, 2011
705
48
Hereford England
Vueling Airlines, looking @ their Web site, although very easy to navigate, doesn't seem to go from Santiago to Madrid. A tough bus ride sounds like torture & the train doesn't sound much better.

So sadly Ryanair it will have to be; hope I remember to print the boarding pass before leaving UK!
Thanks David
 

johnnyman

Active Member
Jan 6, 2011
129
10
Central Texas, U.S.
Time of past OR future Camino
June/July 2011 and 2013
My overnight bus ride from Santiago down to Madrid was pretty interesting! I've never ridden a bus long-distance, and was lucky enough to somehow wind up in a front row seat, with no one sitting beside me, so I could sort of stretch out. Most of the rest of the bus was filled with a bunch of Spanish teenagers, and there was a movie playing during the first part of the trip. The movie had to have been R-rated, and involved some very explicit sex scenes throughout, but no one seemed to mind, and the youngsters didn't really seem all that interested in it.

We pulled over in the middle of nowhere after awhile, and another bus driver came walking up out of the darkness to relieve the first driver, who also disappeared into the night. At the beginning of the trip, I looked toward the back of the bus and didn't see any kind of restroom, so I just figured it was a hold-it-until-you-get-there affair. Then, we stopped at some motel/restaurant or something for a 15-minute break, and we did this two or three more times along the way.

It wasn't a bad trip at all, and we arrived at the downtown Madrid bus station early in the morning, then transferred to another bus that took people to the airport ...
 
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whariwharangi

Guest
I recommend the train. 70 euros and much more comfortable than a bus.

I caught the 0900 bus from Finisterre to Santiago. The bus arrived at the train station around 1200. The train left at 1430 ... right on time and arrived on time 5 hours 49 minutes later at Chamartin station in Madrid.

I like transportation that arrives on time ...

My travel was in early December and I bought my ticket at the station without booking.
 
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rickster

Active Member
Nov 8, 2011
202
113
Lakewood Ranch, Florida
Time of past OR future Camino
Camino Frances (2012), LePuy (2013), Coastal Portuguese( 2013), Norte (Fall 2014)
I took Ryanair from Santiago to Madrid this past June and it was cheap and easy. Wish that I had been
more skilled at finding cheaper transportation into Madrid from the airport as taxis are very expensive.
 

ricrog

New Member
Sep 24, 2006
26
26
Pilton, Somerset, UK
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whariwharangi said:
I recommend the train. 70 euros and much more comfortable than a bus.

I caught the 0900 bus from Finisterre to Santiago. The bus arrived at the train station around 1200. The train left at 1430 ... right on time and arrived on time 5 hours 49 minutes later at Chamartin station in Madrid.

I like transportation that arrives on time ...

My travel was in early December and I bought my ticket at the station without booking.
I did the overnight train(Trenhotel) from Santiago to Madrid in Nov 2011, it left at 22.03 and arrived at 08.05 the next day and cost Eur31.30 - booked online 2 months in advance. You have a glass of wine in the buffet car then go to bed and wake up in time for a cafe con leche before arriving in Madrid. Easy-Peasy!
 
The focus is on reducing the risk of failure through being well prepared. 2nd ed.

ricrog

New Member
Sep 24, 2006
26
26
Pilton, Somerset, UK
Time of past OR future Camino
Frances (07), Ingles(09), VDLP (09/10/11), Portuguese (12/20), Del Sur (18), Algarve Way(14/17)
rickster said:
I took Ryanair from Santiago to Madrid this past June and it was cheap and easy. Wish that I had been
more skilled at finding cheaper transportation into Madrid from the airport as taxis are very expensive.
EUR6.00 on the Metro! :D
 

Sheesh

Active Member
Sep 13, 2007
375
892
Canada
Time of past OR future Camino
2009, 2013, 2022
ricrog said:
My travel was in early December and I bought my ticket at the station without booking.
I did the overnight train(Trenhotel) from Santiago to Madrid in Nov 2011, it left at 22.03 and arrived at 08.05 the next day and cost Eur31.30 - booked online 2 months in advance. You have a glass of wine in the buffet car then go to bed and wake up in time for a cafe con leche before arriving in Madrid. Easy-Peasy!

Wow, Eur 31.30 for sleeping accomodation on the Trenhotel train - that's amazing. Everytime I've looked on-line it is MUCH higher than that. What was your bed like? And the sleeping compartment? And, just to be sure, you booked on-line on the Renfe site? Thanks.
 
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ricrog

New Member
Sep 24, 2006
26
26
Pilton, Somerset, UK
Time of past OR future Camino
Frances (07), Ingles(09), VDLP (09/10/11), Portuguese (12/20), Del Sur (18), Algarve Way(14/17)
Sheesh said:
ricrog said:
My travel was in early December and I bought my ticket at the station without booking.
I did the overnight train(Trenhotel) from Santiago to Madrid in Nov 2011, it left at 22.03 and arrived at 08.05 the next day and cost Eur31.30 - booked online 2 months in advance. You have a glass of wine in the buffet car then go to bed and wake up in time for a cafe con leche before arriving in Madrid. Easy-Peasy!

Wow, Eur 31.30 for sleeping accomodation on the Trenhotel train - that's amazing. Everytime I've looked on-line it is MUCH higher than that. What was your bed like? And the sleeping compartment? And, just to be sure, you booked on-line on the Renfe site? Thanks.

Hi Sheesh,
It was a 4 bed compartment, top bunk and bottom bunk either side and a small sink at the end, not much room in the compartment but bunks very comfy and bedding supplied and everything spotless.
Yes, booked on the RENFE site: https://venta.renfe.com/vol/inicioCompra.do, if you want it in a different language, across the top of the page beneath the RENFE banner heading, you'll see the word "welcome" written in 7 different languages, just click on the one you need. The trick to getting a cheap ticket is to book as far ahead as possible and check the price on different days of the week
Regards
Rick
 
Because I greatly dislike rush, I hopped on a train at Santiago and hopped off at Segovia, where I spent a couple of very interesting days and fell in love with an aqueduct. (That's possible, you know.) The trip to Madrid was then short and easy. I even loafed an extra day in Madrid, just to decrease the speed of everything.

On the way back to Sydney, I spent a night in Dubai, strolling around the docks and discovering nice things like dhal with fried brains.

For me, the answer to getting anywhere easily is not to try and get there first up. Why miss out on Segovia if the train goes right through? What was so important about getting back to Madrid or back to Sydney? I still got there.

A dawdler's perspective, not for all!
 
The focus is on reducing the risk of failure through being well prepared. 2nd ed.

Urban Trekker

Happy Trails
Jan 15, 2013
683
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Nevada, USA
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OK, now I know how to get from Santiago to Madrid. How about from Madrid to Santiago. Will be fling from the US to Madrid to walk the Camino Ingles in May/June. :D
 

tyrrek

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Jun 17, 2011
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Urban Trekker said:
OK, now I know how to get from Santiago to Madrid. How about from Madrid to Santiago. Will be fling from the US to Madrid to walk the Camino Ingles in May/June. :D
Look for connecting flights either to Santiago or La Coruna for the Camino Ingles. It might not cost much more and if the timings are right could save a long onward journey.

Are you being flung by Iberia? :D Buen Camino!
 
D

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There is one train at 1140 from Madrid Chamartin to Santiago connecting at Redondela de Galicia that takes about twelve hours. The fare is about 60 Euro.

There are up to seven buses, two of them from the T4 terminal at the airport. Transit time is between 7:45 and 10:10. The fare is 45 to 65 Euro.
 
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whariwharangi

Guest
I am looking to fly back from Santiago to Madrid after my walk (July 4th). Is it advisable to book this ticket in advance or wait until I arrive in Santiago? I will have a few days down time when I do "make it" to Santiago. I just checked the Ryanair site and they seem to be the cheapest....Thanks!
Buen Camino!

Discount airlines seem to work on the business model where the price on the ticket goes up as the seats fill ... so the earlier you book the cheaper it will be. You can purchase the same day but by then its no longer likely to be the cheapest option.

And Ryanair is a nickel and dime operation. You have to check for the hidden costs ... for instance checking a bag will often cost more than your ticket. You must bring your own boarding pass or they will charge an exorbiant fee for printing one for you. Fortunately saner heads prevailed when they contemplated a user fee for the washroom.
 
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