Getting from Santiago to Madrid

[johnnyman]

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 ...

 

[lanval]

I took the overnight train. It was relatively cheap and I was able to pick up the ticket the same day, but I must admit it was not the most comfortable ride. It was the oldest train I have ever ridden in Spain. Teh bus might have more comfortable seating...

 

[Deleted member 3000]

Supra Buses are very comfortable.

 

[karennz2012]

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]

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 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.

 

[karennz2012]

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

 

[JohnnieWalker]

My advice would be to also check out Ryanair flights from Santiago to Madrid. I recently bought a return ticket for 14€. I've just typed in some random dates and for the week of 9 - 15 October the prices range from 6€ one way to 16.99 € one way.

Good luck

John

 

[jpflavin1]

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]

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.

 

[renegadepilgrim]

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.

 

[karennz2012]

Hi Alan

dont think I wasnt tempted by a first class sleeper and the meal etc to finish off my travel 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

 

[Deleted member 3000]

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!

 

[Abbeydore]

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]

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 ...

 

[whariwharangi]

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.

 

[Marcilb]

Just booked a flight from Santiago to Madrd with aryanair for 50 Euros

 

[rickster]

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]

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!

 

[ricrog]

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!

 

[ricrog]

Just booked a flight from Santiago to Madrd with aryanair for 50 Euros

Took this flight last Sep for EUR 24!!!!

 

[Sheesh]

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.

 

[ricrog]

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

 

[robertt]

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!

 

[Sheesh]

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

Thanks Rick, I will be watching the Renfe site and will book as soon as my date comes up, as Renfe only shows about 60 days in advance.

 

[Urban Trekker]

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.

 

[tyrrek]

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.

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? Buen Camino!

 

[Deleted member 3000]

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.

 

[Rosemaryk1]

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!

 

[whariwharangi]

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.

 

[Rosemaryk1]

Oh boy! Maybe I should just take the train!