Getting from Madrid to Pamplona?

[Heather88]

Hello,
I am leaving from Canada via the US to Madrid en route to Pamplona to start my Camino July 9th and have a few panicky questions. I see the options are train, fly or bus from Madrid to Pamplona and am leaning towards bus or train. From what I have read on the forum the bus route seems the easiest to find once at the airport. I was wondering if I was best to purchase my bus or train ticket before leaving home and if so how much time is advisable between when I land and booking a bus or train ticket? I believe I am landing at T1.
Thank you for this forum as it had been immensely helpful and is making me a little less anxious about travelling alone.

 

[Mark Lee]

Both times I flew into Madrid I took an ALSA bus to Pamplona. I found it to be quite easy and I boarded the bus right outside of Madrid airport T4. There is also an ALSA kiosk there right next to the doors leading outside. I booked online from the ALSA website prior to my trip.
I know there are buses from Madrid to Pamplona leaving T4 (easy to get to from T1) at 10:45 am (arrive in Pamplona at 3:35 pm) and 3:15 pm (arrive in Pamplona at 8:15 pm). You do change buses in a small town called Soria prior to your arrival in Pamplona. Soria is a small town with a small bus station. All you do is exit your bus, grab your pack and get on the Pamplona bus just a few feet away.
It's an easy, inexpensive way to get to Pamplona and the buses are comfortable.
cheers and ultreia

 

[Castilian]

From what I have read on the forum the bus route seems the easiest to find once at the airport

If you arrive to T1, you'll have to take an airport bus to T4. Once in T4, your options are:

• By bus: PLM autocares (http://plmautocares.com) has a direct bus from Madrid airport (T4) to Pamplona six days per week. If its schedule doesn't suit you, Alsa (www.alsa.es/en) offers more frequencies and runs daily but it means a change of buses along the route (most likely in Soria).
• By train: take a Cercanías (commuter) train from the airport (T4) to Atocha station and a train from Puerta de Atocha to Pamplona. Take a look at the web of RENFE (www.renfe.com) for info about schedules and fares. Be aware the Commuter trains have their own area on the RENFE web and aren't showed neither on the ticket purchase area (you can't book them in advance) nor on the general schedule area.

I was wondering if I was best to purchase my bus or train ticket before leaving home and if so how much time is advisable between when I land and booking a bus or train ticket?

Booking in advance you may get discounted fares and you guarantee a seat in case the bus or the train gets full. OTOH, you have to guess how much time you'll need to guarantee you don't miss your bus or train what it's a trickier part because you don't know if you flight won't be heavily delayed, if you'll have a longer scrutinity than usual at customs... I would suggest to open a new thread saying the time you have between your scheduled flight arrival and your scheduled bus or train departure to get a wider number of replies and also to get more accurate answers because it's not the same if you plan to take a bus than if you plan to take a train.

P.S.: Just to inform @Mark Lee and any other one interested, Soria may have the size (and population) of a town but it's a city because it was given that title in the XIVth century.

 

[whariwharangi]

ALSA and PLM Autocares buses go from Madrid Intercambiador de Avenida de America to Pamplona.

Some buses make a stop at Madrid airport either before or after Avendia de America. ALSA at T4 and PLM Autocares at T1.

There is an airport shuttle that connects T1 to T4.

EMT Madrid bus #200 goes from all airport terminals to Avenida de America.

Renfe operates trains from Madrid Puerta de Atocha to Pamplona.

Renfe Cercanias operates LRT trains from Airport T4 to Puerta de Atocha

Madrid Metro operates from T1T2T3 and T4 to Renfe Atocha with transfers.

EMT Madrid bus #203 Aeropuerto Express goes from all airport terminals to Puerta de Atocha.

I would allow a minimum of an hour to deplane and get through customs and would prefer to have a 3 hour window. I would not purchase tickets in advance if my flight were scheduled to arrive less than 3 hours prior to staging to train or bus (having been on flights that have departed late by more than that on several occasions).

If I were you ... get a hotel in SOL area of Madrid (close to the Renfe Atocha station) and get some rest. Get a ticket for a train in the AM.

 

[JayPR]

Hello,
I am leaving from Canada via the US to Madrid en route to Pamplona to start my Camino July 9th and have a few panicky questions. I see the options are train, fly or bus from Madrid to Pamplona and am leaning towards bus or train. From what I have read on the forum the bus route seems the easiest to find once at the airport. I was wondering if I was best to purchase my bus or train ticket before leaving home and if so how much time is advisable between when I land and booking a bus or train ticket? I believe I am landing at T1.
Thank you for this forum as it had been immensely helpful and is making me a little less anxious about travelling alone.

You can easily get a train from Madrid (I did it at the Atocha Station) to Pamplona, I just did it, about 60 Euros only 2 hours +-, once in Pamplona walk out the train station to the bus stop right out the door and take bus #9 (ask the driver to make sure) 2 Euros to the bus station if you are taking the bus from Pamplona to St. Jean or Roncesvalles, very easy and no reservation required. Buen Camino!!!

 

[Deleted member 43985]

Our plane arrived in Madrid in the evening so we got a hotel with free airport shuttle for the night. In the morning we took a quick taxi to Atocha station and a train to Pamplona. We walked out the train station in Pamplona and stepped in to a taxi and were in SJPDP in an hour. Not the cheapest way to get to SJPDP but was very easy and we arrived by lunch and were well rested so had time and energy to go to the Pilgrim office, climb up to the Citedal and enjoy a couple of great meals before starting the next day. Having this schedule mapped out made it easy to purchase our train tickets online (Renfe.com) and leave our worries behind! Buen Camino!

 

[Saint Mike II]

You will (I think) be using the International Terminal (T4) - although you collect your luggage after immigration (after the internal metro). What method of transport depends upon what time you arrive at Madrid - late afternoon/evening (involving a night in Madrid) then bus/train equal. If you arrive before 2.00 pm then I think the bus will be better. If you do opt for the train then booking about 60 days in advance will generally be cheaper . Have fun!!

 

[Castilian]

You will (I think) be using the International Terminal (T4)

If he's flying, for example, with United or Delta, he'll arrive to T1. BTW, not all the flights out of T4 are International. OTOH, all the flights out of T4S (i.e.: the sattellite building of T4) are International. Maybe you mixed the T4 with T4S.

 

[Lmsundaze]

I booked in advance the ALSA bus from Madrid to Pamplona. Got a discount, got the seat I wanted, fast and comfortable.

 

[jmcarp]

Both times I flew into Madrid I took an ALSA bus to Pamplona. I found it to be quite easy and I boarded the bus right outside of Madrid airport T4. There is also an ALSA kiosk there right next to the doors leading outside. I booked online from the ALSA website prior to my trip.
I know there are buses from Madrid to Pamplona leaving T4 (easy to get to from T1) at 10:45 am (arrive in Pamplona at 3:35 pm) and 3:15 pm (arrive in Pamplona at 8:15 pm). You do change buses in a small town called Soria prior to your arrival in Pamplona. Soria is a small town with a small bus station. All you do is exit your bus, grab your pack and get on the Pamplona bus just a few feet away.
It's an easy, inexpensive way to get to Pamplona and the buses are comfortable.
cheers and ultreia

We arrived at T1 on a United flight that landed around 8:30am. We had plenty of time to get through customs and take the airport shuttle to T4. We just walked out to the kiosk and bought tickets on the 10:45 bus. If I recall correctly, the kiosk required cash (in Euros), so if you don't bring some Euros with you from home, stop at any ATM in the terminal and exchange there -- you'll need them from then on anyway. We did not make advance reservations for the bus, but that would be an option if you're confident that your arrival time will not be delayed and cause you to miss the bus. I would advise taking a snack and a bottle of water onto the bus with you, because as I recall the stop in Soria was very brief and there wasn't time to get anything for lunch during the transfer. Other than that, I agree with Mark that the bus was an inexpensive and comfortable way to get to Pamplona.

You can also buy tickets at the Pamplona bus station for the bus to SJPP, but it may not be possible to make a same-day connection. Check the schedule on that. But the worst thing that could happen is that you'd spend the night in Pamplona and catch up on jet lag before heading up to SJPP the next day. We actually pre-planned a night in Pamplona for this reason.

Buen Camino!
Jim

 

[Mark Lee]

We arrived at T1 on a United flight that landed around 8:30am. We had plenty of time to get through customs and take the airport shuttle to T4. We just walked out to the kiosk and bought tickets on the 10:45 bus. If I recall correctly, the kiosk required cash (in Euros), so if you don't bring some Euros with you from home, stop at any ATM in the terminal and exchange there -- you'll need them from then on anyway. We did not make advance reservations for the bus, but that would be an option if you're confident that your arrival time will not be delayed and cause you to miss the bus. I would advise taking a snack and a bottle of water onto the bus with you, because as I recall the stop in Soria was very brief and there wasn't time to get anything for lunch during the transfer. Other than that, I agree with Mark that the bus was an inexpensive and comfortable way to get to Pamplona.

You can also buy tickets at the Pamplona bus station for the bus to SJPP, but it may not be possible to make a same-day connection. Check the schedule on that. But the worst thing that could happen is that you'd spend the night in Pamplona and catch up on jet lag before heading up to SJPP the next day. We actually pre-planned a night in Pamplona for this reason.

Buen Camino!
Jim

Both times I flew in to Madrid and took the ALSA bus to Pamplona my flight from the US arrived at T1 around 7:30 am or so, and I had plenty of time to get through passport control, get to T4, etc. In fact both times I had time to spare, and got something to eat a roamed around the terminal a bit. Probably did that for over an hour.
I pre-booked my ALSA tickets online and printed out the boarding pass/reservation beforehand. I know a bit of a gamble doing so, but the tickets weren't expensive and I figured if I had to eat the cost, oh well. Fortunately I didn't, or even came close to doing so.
Both times the bus to Soria was full, but the bus from Soria to Pamplona was less than 1/2 full. I stretched out in the back and took a nap.
The ALSA buses from Pamplona to SJPdP run at 10:00 am, 2:30 pm and 5:30 pm.

 

[Heather88]

Thank you for all the advice. I am flying Air Canada until Newark and then I believe it is United. I arrive in Madrid around 9:55am. I'm not sure if that gives me enough time to make the 10:45 bus to Pamplona. I will check out the train site as well as the bus. I only have time to walk from Pamplona to Santiago so won't be travelling to SJPdP but thank you for that information as well.

 

[Mikel Olivares]

All tips are good. But you forget that this date coincides with the San Fermin sure you have problems with the bus and much more with accommodation in Pamplona.

Greetings again for all after my return from the Appalachian Trail.