Pre-booking train/bus from Madrid to Leon mid-April?

Mark2012 · Apr 6, 2022

Hello all,

I will be flying from Ireland to Madrid on Saturday, April 16, with a view towards starting walking from Leon the next day. My flight is due to land around 10am and as best as I can tell, my best bet in terms of getting to Leon is to get the train from T4 into Moncloa train station and getting a bus from there. If anyone knows of a better way, I'd be happy to hear it, but what I'm mainly wondering at this point is if it would be wise to pre-book those tickets? Back in the "old days" it wouldn't have crossed my mind, but so many things are more complicated in the Covid era, so why not this too. The key question that comes to mind on that is whether public transport is running at 100% capacity at this point or if there are limitations in place. Obviously, if the latter, then pre-booking might be a good idea.

Anyway, any and all thoughts and knowledge would be gratefully received!

Thanks in advance!

Mark

SabsP · Apr 6, 2022

Mark2012 said:
Hello all,

I will be flying from Ireland to Madrid on Saturday, April 16, with a view towards starting walking from Leon the next day. My flight is due to land around 10am and as best as I can tell, my best bet in terms of getting to Leon is to get the train from T4 into Moncloa train station and getting a bus from there. If anyone knows of a better way, I'd be happy to hear it, but what I'm mainly wondering at this point is if it would be wise to pre-book those tickets? Back in the "old days" it wouldn't have crossed my mind, but so many things are more complicated in the Covid era, so why not this too. The key question that comes to mind on that is whether public transport is running at 100% capacity at this point or if there are limitations in place. Obviously, if the latter, then pre-booking might be a good idea.

Anyway, any and all thoughts and knowledge would be gratefully received!

Thanks in advance!

Mark

Easter weekend in Spain! Book. Without a doubt : book!

Quietways · Apr 6, 2022

Hi Mark, ALSA's app shows busses leaving T-4 for Leon April 16th at:

11:15am arriving 4:00pm in Leon
1:30pm arriving 6:45pm in Leon.

you can book though the app. fare is 26.76 euro.

have a wonderful camino!

Mark2012 · Apr 6, 2022

Thank you. Looks like I'll be booking!

Amused212 · Apr 7, 2022

I fly into Madrid on April 24 and am taking a bus to Leon. There is a train that leaves later (from Chamartin?) but it seemed a bit of a hassle to go from the airport to a train station when the bus leaves from the airport. The train is a bit shorter but the bus leaves earlier. So I have prebooked my ALSA bus ticket. Did you know that after you select your seat you can block the seat next to you? It costs something, I don't remember how much, maybe 9 euro, but for a long ride I like to spread out so for me it was worth it.

Arniece2022 · Apr 7, 2022

Although a different destination, I am also leaving Madrid by train on Saturday, April 16th. I chose to purchase my ticket ahead since it is Easter weekend and I didn't want to be stuck. Also, if you can't book directly, I found Omio to have the least expensive booking fee. Some of the others were crazy high.

henrythedog · Apr 7, 2022

Arniece2022 said:
Although a different destination, I am also leaving Madrid by train on Saturday, April 16th. I chose to purchase my ticket ahead since it is Easter weekend and I didn't want to be stuck. Also, if you can't book directly, I found Omio to have the least expensive booking fee. Some of the others were crazy high.

You’ll also find that by booking in advance you will have got a significantly better deal than walk-up. I booked my recent train on the same route but in reverse for €29, which for a two hour train ride (I’m from the UK) is astounding. Madrid Burgos ( similar time) was €13.

Arniece2022 · Apr 7, 2022

henrythedog said:
You’ll also find that by booking in advance you will have got a significantly better deal than walk-up. I booked my recent train on the same route but in reverse for €29, which for a two hour train ride (I’m from the UK) is astounding. Madrid Burgos ( similar time) was €13.

And I saw that Saturdays are less expensive than week days.

henrythedog · Apr 7, 2022

Arniece2022 said:
And I saw that Saturdays are less expensive than week days.

The one bit of RENFEs booking system which works is the one which changes price according to demand. Now if only they’d not spent all the money on new stations and could run a few more trains …

walkinglover · Apr 8, 2022

Mark2012 said:
Hello all,

I will be flying from Ireland to Madrid on Saturday, April 16, with a view towards starting walking from Leon the next day. My flight is due to land around 10am and as best as I can tell, my best bet in terms of getting to Leon is to get the train from T4 into Moncloa train station and getting a bus from there. If anyone knows of a better way, I'd be happy to hear it, but what I'm mainly wondering at this point is if it would be wise to pre-book those tickets? Back in the "old days" it wouldn't have crossed my mind, but so many things are more complicated in the Covid era, so why not this too. The key question that comes to mind on that is whether public transport is running at 100% capacity at this point or if there are limitations in place. Obviously, if the latter, then pre-booking might be a good idea.

Anyway, any and all thoughts and knowledge would be gratefully received!

Thanks in advance!

Mark

I pre-booked in '16 and again in '18.

ScorpioGirl22 · Apr 4, 2023

Mark2012 said:
Thank you. Looks like I'll be booking!

Mark: I am travelling this May & just reading your post now.
Did you end up booking the Alsa bus from the Madrid Airport to Leon?
If so, what was the ride like as far as comfort / crowdedness goes?

EricJR · Apr 4, 2023

ScorpioGirl22 said:
Mark: I am travelling this May & just reading your post now.
Did you end up booking the Alsa bus from the Madrid Airport to Leon?
If so, what was the ride like as far as comfort / crowdedness goes?

I took the Alsa from T-4 to Leon last September. I think 5.5 hours - felt very long - though the seat and air conditioning were good. In future, I would definitely book the express train: I met people who did, who reported a very pleasant journey. There's a ticket machine for the local connection at the airport, so I'd get that after arriving, but probably pre-book the express train online, allowing for some possible delay (standing around isn't too bad after the plane flight).

Paul McAmino · Apr 4, 2023

EricJR said:
I took the Alsa from T-4 to Leon last September. I think 5.5 hours - felt very long - though the seat and air conditioning were good. In future, I would definitely book the express train: I met people who did, who reported a very pleasant journey. There's a ticket machine for the local connection at the airport, so I'd get that after arriving, but probably pre-book the express train online, allowing for some possible delay (standing around isn't too bad after the plane flight).

If you book to León by rail with Renfe, your ride to Chamartin station is free. On your ticket you should see in the upper left corner a code for a ticket on the Cercanias train in the lower level of T4. Bring your ticket to León to the Renfe ticket booth for your free ticket for your 11-minute ride to Chamartin.
it’s a comfortable quick trip to León on the high speed train.

Whichever way you get there, you’ll be on the Camino in May, and a very happy walker indeed.
All the best,
Paul

dick bird · Apr 4, 2023

Thanks everyone, but the thread dates from 2022. I'll close it now.

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Pre-booking train/bus from Madrid to Leon mid-April?

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