TRAIN TRIP This is a short video on travelling by train from Madrid. The AVE trains are the best way to get about Spain from Madrid. The Atocha station, also known as Puerta de Atocha in Madrid is the main departure point. The trains -not cheap- are modern, fast and clean.
Madridisuserfriendly first went to check out the EXPO ZARAGOZA on a trip that was just under 2 hours. Since then we’ve tried the AVE to Seville, to Toledo and the AVE from Barcelona, all of which were a great success.
The difficulty with travelling by train is buying a ticket. MUF suggests you try the web www.renfe.es, but a travel agent would be your best bet... As you´ll see in the video, the machines in the station are impossible. They are only good for validating your pre-bought ticket. There are, more often than not, long lines at the counters and you are likely to lose your train. RENFE does put up a last minute counter...
If you have time to plan, a travel agent is the easiest way. You can walk in to one off the street. They usually speak English.Latest news: several complaints off the Renfe web…. a couple of seasoned travellers had trouble buying on line and paid for the same ticket twice, by accident. RENFE has NOT refunded the money… Still advise you buy at a travel agent and now eDreams is selling train tickets. At the bottom of the page we have some links for you.
Remember, you can send your comments to madridisuserfriendly@gmail.com. MUF would like to hear.
The rest of Spanish trains are interesting as well. Once upon a time, there used to be night trains where you could get a nice cabin for two and spend the night with a picnic. If you had a car, you could load it up as well. For some reason, they have removed these. So, if you want to get to Algeciras to cross the over to Morocco, for example, drive. It’s the only way.
If you don’t have a car, there are two options: the AVE to Malaga, which is 140 kilometers away, or the AVE to Seville, which is 220 kilometers away. At both stations you can rent a car, or try a selection of buses, which are not very organized. The other option is a five and a half hour train ride, which takes all day. Once upon a time, there was a flight to Gibraltar, but that has disappeared as well. Time, you need lots of time.
MADRID AIRPORTS AND AIRLINES
Over the last year or so, Madrid has added a new addition to the Barajas airport, known as the T4. The T4 is horrendous. Iberia, BA and many of the international Airlines fly in and out of the T4. However, the two original terminals, the T1 and the T2 are very userfriendly, especially since the bigger Airlines moved to the T4. MUF suggests that before buying a ticket, ask which terminal the airline flies in and out of and try and take that one.
The T4 is a longer and more expensive taxi ride and an even longer wait to collect your suitcases- if they don’t get lost + a train ride and a long walk. Anyone with mobility problems needs a wheelchair. If you are going to Madrid for the day on a business trip the T4 can add 2 hours back and forth -4 hours- on your trip. Except for it’s shops, there is no logic to this airport.
MUF suspects the architects built the T4 to win prizes, but not with the traveller in mind…
There are buses, which are easy to catch once you get out of the airport. There is also a METRO station, which is a long walk and difficult to find. Both add another hour to your trip. If you have suitcases take a cab...its not that expensive and much nicer. Spoil yourself and use the public transport when you are trying to get around the city during your trip.
There is a tourist office in all the terminals, which offer lots of information.
All the airlines that fly in Spain are safe and controlled regularly. The airlines offer better or worse service at differing times. IBERIA is getting a lot of flack at the moment, but when MUF has had to fly them, the service was just fine. The trouble is the price and that T4. Spannair is a userfriendly airline and at present, AIR EUROPA needs avoiding, if possible. Not happy with Easy Jet, which uses the T2 and would suggest avoiding Ryan Air which uses the T4.
MUF Airline pick of the moment is AIR COMET- nice price and old fashioned service…they don’t charge for extra bags and are easy going on a couple of kilos of overweight…. polite…they look after their clients! T2- so MUF gives them top points for being userfriendly.
MUF will keep you informed on how the airlines evolve on price + service.
NOTE FROM MUF:
Spain has made an enormous effort with their infrastructures, and are now some of the best in the world. However, as of yet, they haven’t managed to make them user friendly and operative. We hope our criticism will change this. MUF will keep you posted on this!
OTHER MUF ONLINE TRAVEL RECOMMENDATIONS
As we said before, the travel agents are extremely efficient and you can walk off the street, but we found eDreams was good news when it comes to buying tickets and reserving hotels...
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MUF uses a travel agent: Entertravel entertravel@e-savia.net, our guy is Emilio and they can be rung on 91.5792800.
They are in Bravo Murillo 82.... not to sure about their English, though...no web...
Another option is eDreams.
MUF found travelling easy and efficient with eDreams.
Try it!. They have a web in English!
http://www.edreams.com/edreams/english/
