Granada Spain, How to get there. Train , Bus, Plane

How to get to Granada

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Flying direct to Granada Airport

Updated 10th July 2009

NEW: stop-press check out cheap international flights direct to Granada airport on this page

Introduction
There are now international flights to Granada from about 6 locations. There are many more flights to Malaga so many people fly to Malaga and then get a bus or hire a car. See info below

Granada airport is 12km from the city center. On arrival it is best to get a taxi from the airport so that you can get to your accommodation without walking through the streets with your luggage. The taxi costs about 28 euros. Click here for more info.

There is also a bus service which takes you to the centre of Granada. The bus times tie in with all the flights. There is more information about the airport bus on this page and a map with the bus stops here.

Notes:
For domestic flights within Spain use the iberia web site click here
For cheap international flights click here

Flying to Malaga Airport

Malaga is the nearest international airport to Granada and there are plenty of flights. It takes about 90 minutes from Malaga to Granada by road.
For cheap international flights to Malaga click here

It is not usual to catch a train from Malaga to Granada mainly becuase of the change at Boadilla which can take a long time.

Getting from Malaga by bus

First you get a bus or taxi from the airport to Malaga bus station, (estación de autobuses). There is a bus every hour from 7am until 9pm (except 8pm). The price is about 9 euros. It takes 1 and a half hours.

Granada bus station is just outside of town, so you will have to get a taxi or a bus into the centre. To buy tickets online visit alsa.es You can check times and prices and even choose your seats.

If you miss the last bus to Granada, you can catch the 21.30 bus (Málaga-Guadix) which stops in Granada at 23.00. Failing that, you will have to get a hotel in Malaga or club together with 4 people and get a taxi (a taxi from Malaga is about 120 euros).

If you need a cheap place to stay in Malaga for the night, I have been told that the Cenacheros pension is OK . Otherwise ask a taxi driver to take you to a Pension or Hotel.

Getting from Malaga in a hire Car
Remember that the only point in having a car in the centre of Granada is for going on excursions. Once you are in the centre of Granada you can walk everywhere or get a taxi. Parking your car in a public car park will normally cost at least 14 euros per day but a new car park has opened which costs 35 euros per week click here

Most companies have pick-up and drop-off points both at Granada airport and in the centre of Granada.
There is a list of hire car companies here

Getting to Granada by Train

The train staion is fairly central and is in Avenida de Andaluces off Avenida de la constitución. The phone number is 958 271 272. Granada is not on a high speed line.

The talgo takes about 5 and a half hours from Madrid. Seville is 4 hours by train. Most people choose the bus rather than the train when coming from Malaga or Almeria.

RENFE have a good web site giving full information about trains in Spain in English.
Follow these links homepage and timetables and fares.

By the way: If you want some help with train vocabulary in Spanish, Go to this page

Getting to Granada by Bus

There are many buses each day to and from the other large Spanish cities. To buy tickets online visit alsa.es You can check times and prices and even choose your seats.The bus station is slightly out of town and you will need to get a taxi or a bus to get to the centre.

From Madrid
If you are coming from Madrid you will need to go to "estación del sur".

The nearest tube station to tube station to "Estación del sur" is Méndez Alvaro. The buses go about every hour and if there is a busy day, for example before or after a fiesta they put on more buses according to demand. The usual thing (if you haven't bought tickets in advance) is just to go to the bus station and get on the next available bus. You would be unlucky if you have to wait longer than 2 hours for a bus. Try the Enatcar window. It takes about 5 hours from Madrid to Granada and costs around 16 euros.

The bus company owns a cafe half way between Madrid and Granada where they sell overpriced dried up sandwiches and luckewarm coffee. If this is your first time in Spain don't get depressed, Spanish catering is not normally this bad.

From Malaga
See above in "getting from Malaga".

From other Spanish cites
Internet booking systems now function well so it is best to book seat online here ALSA, otherwise the normal procedure for getting a bus is to go to the station and get on the next available bus.

Getting taxis within Granada
It seems that it is not possible to book taxis in advance. However, if you phone for a taxi within Granada it rarely takes longer than 10 minutes for them to arrive. To get a taxi within Granada, just go to a taxi rank or phone 958 280 654. There are lots of taxi ranks in Granada: in front of the bus station, in front of the train station, in front of the plaza de Triunfo, in Plaza Nueva, in Fuente de las Batallats, and in front of the Corté Inglés, etc. click here for more info.

Driving to Granada

The Spanish road network has improved a lot in the last 20 years and there are good roads to all other Spanish cities. It takes about 5 hours to Madrid, 11 hours to Barcelona, 90 minutes to Malaga.

There are some notes for car drivers, distances etc, on this page
There is a list of hire car companies here