Granada is located 420 km from the Spanish capital. It is mainly visited to see the famous Moorish Alhambra complex.
Travel between Madrid and Granada by rental car, airplane, train or bus.
Airplane Madrid to Granada
The Spanish airline Iberia flies directly from the Spanish capital to Granada: 3 flights a day. The flight is short, but add to it an hour of travel time to and from Madrid and Granada airports, and also landing time.
- The approximate cost of a one-way airfare is 40 €.
- Travel time is 1 hour and 5 minutes.
- Iberia airline website where you can buy tickets online.
Train Madrid to Granada
The national railway company Renfe operates three high-speed Ave trains daily from Madrid to Granada and back. The trains leave from Puerta de Atocha station in the Spanish capital.
Tickets can be purchased online on the Renfe website, at the train station ticket office or on Omio (you do not need to print the ticket, just show it on your smartphone)
- One-way ticket price: from 37 € for the promotional fare.
- Travel time: 3 hours and 17 minutes.
Bus Madrid — Granada
17 Alsa shuttle buses run daily between Madrid and Granada. In the Spanish capital, departing from Estación Sur and Intercambiador de AutobusesAvenida de America stations.
- Travel time: from 4 hours 30 minutes to 5 hours 45 minutes. The duration of the trip depends on the number of stops along the way.
- One way ticket price: from 14 €.
- Working hours: from 01:30 to 20:30.
- At 01:45 you can catch the bus at Madrid-Barajas Airport Terminal 4.
- Bus schedule from Madrid to Granada.
From Madrid to Granada by rental car
There is a 420 km road from Madrid south to Granada. If you are traveling as a family or with a group of friends, it is more comfortable to rent a car.
Renting cars in Spain is common and there are many rental companies. I recommend checking prices on Rentalcars or Economybookings. Here you can book a car for a day from 15 €.
- Travel time is 4 hours and 30 minutes.
- Gasoline consumption for a round trip is 80 liters. A liter of fuel costs €1.25 in Spain. A trip from Madrid to Granada and back will cost approximately 100 €.
The bus is the most budget-friendly and popular option for traveling between Madrid and Granada, even though it takes about 6 hours. You can save twice as much travel time by train or airplane. But the most pleasant and flexible option is to rent a car. After all, between Madrid and Granada there are still several bright and interesting cities that you will be sorry to just pass by.
