Hi

Need your advice again. Will be staying near Plaza Carmen and want to save some money for shopping, so am thinking of taking the metro from the airport to the hostal. Have already heard of AeroCity but I think I can save at least EUR 15 by taking the metro. Can anyone tell if it's easy for a lone woman with a standard large luggage on wheels to take the metro to Gran Via station? Are there many stairs to manage at the metro stations while changing trains or are there escalators?

Or is there a cheaper airport shuttle service than AeroCity? Say costing below EUR 10?

Gracias!

Hi Otago --
It�s fairly simple (not to mention cheap) to take the metro from the airport, just a little long... about an hour. I believe jer has actual footage on this website of the route you need to follow through the airport. When you buy your metro ticket, buy the "metrobus" which is good for 10 trips on the metro and costs a little over 5 euros.

You should be fine if your suitcase has wheels as there is a moving sidewalk in the airport and most of the metro stations have escalators. I have seen many a mother haul a baby carriage up the few steps that there may be.

You are in luck as you only have to make 2 connections on the metro. Take line 8 (the pink line) towards Mar de Cristal. At Mar de Cristal change to line 4 (brown line) towards Arg�elles. You will remain on this line for 14 stops. Change to line 5 (green line) when you get to Alonso Mart�nez and head towards Aluche. Gran V�a will be your second stop after the change.

There is also a bus that leaves the airport and goes to the Plaza de Col�n which I believe costs about 10 euros, but I am not certain. However, once you get to Col�n, you will still need to get to Gran V�a, by either walking (ugh...after an international flight), metro, cab or bus.

If you are looking at saving money, I would say that the metro is your best bet even if it is the longest route.

Otago,

there is another possibility:

buy your bono, i imagine you can get one from the kiosko at the airport.

get the normal red EMT bus, number 101, from barajas (just outside the door!) to Canillejas, that's at the end of the green metro line (number 5), which will take you straight to metro gran via (at the top of montera, a down hill walk to plza. carmen!!).

my sister and brother-in-law used to use this route when the lived on Gran Via, its good if you have bagage!

harmless

Hi otago.

Chica wrote...

quote:

"I believe jer has actual footage on this website of the route you need to follow through the airport"

Guilty as charged!!!

Chica is referring to the link to my video clip on the HAVE I GONE TOO FAR? thread :jeje: Check it out HERE.

As far as other airport shuttle services go, there are none that I know of. I fo know a guy who gets visitors with his car and brings them to their hotels/hostels but he charges 35 Euros per trip

The closer you get to the city center (and the older the Metro stations get), the fewer escalators there are but as Chica said, if your suitcase is manageable, you should be fine.

A better route would be line 8 (pink) from the airport to the end of that line at "Nuevos Ministerios" and then change to line 10 (dark blue). Take line 10 in the direction of "Colonia Jard�n" and get off at "Tribunal". From "Tribunal", take the light blue #1 line one stop to "Gran V�a".

I recommend this route because it is faster than the other one (the new trains on line 10 are supa-speeders compared to the quaint but rickety ones on line 5. I also know for a fact that there are a lot of escalators at the "Nuevos Ministerios" station (brand new and VERY modern) and the "Tribunal" station where you will change trains. I do this route whenever I go to the airport (which is often) and it takes me 30-35 minutes (with no bags).

The only bad thing about Chica's route is that the #4 line is sloooooooooow and it zigas & zags with many stops. You are talking about 18 stops total with that route compared to only 8 stops on my route above.

harmless has also presented a viable option but there are 3 problems, one possible and two for sure.

� For sure: You will pay 2 trips, one for the bus to "Canillejas" and the other for the Metro ride to "Gran V�a". No major expense I know but sorry, no free transfers here

� For sure: The EMT bus mentioned by harmless lets you off at "Canillejas" on the other side of the highway from where the Metro entrance is. There is no crosswalk and the only way to cross the highway to get to the Metro entrance is an overpass with about 1,000,000 steps on each side Ok, I exagerate but it could seem like that if you have heavy bags.

� Possible: if you have more than one bag, the regular EMT bus driver may not allow you on. A friend of mine was told that he had to get the special bus to the Plaza de Col�n as he had 3 bags, 2 big suitcases and a backpack. This one could depend on the mood of the bus driver, how good your Spanish is, etc...

Saludos,
jer...

p.d. please come back and let us know what you ended up doing.

I'm also a big fan of the Metro all the way to Nuevos Ministerios, and have posted about its convenience in the past. Like Jer, I recommend you go all the way to Nuevos Ministerios, and then either connect from there, or take a taxi. From Nuevos Ministerios to Gran Via shouldn't be more than 5-6 Euros, I imagine.

quote:

The only bad thing about Chica's route is that the #4 line is sloooooooooow and it zigas & zags with many stops. You are talking about 18 stops total with that route compared to only 8 stops on my route above.

Duh! I knew that line 8 goes all the way to Nuevos Ministerios now...I was just looking at an old metro map! silly me!!

The Metro ride to Nuevos Ministerios is great if you are going from the airport directly to Atocha/Chamartin. You can get on a Cercanias train at Nuevos Ministerios and go north to Chamartin or south to Atocha.

Thanks, Jer for the web-directions. Certainly ups the comfort level for a first-time visitor to Madrid. You're site is one of the best message board/info resources I've seen. Diana

Jer, I can tell you right now I'll be taking the route you suggested. Unfortunately I couldn't view the video clip. But you have convinced me it's really a breeze.

Can't wait to step foot in Madrid, hoping the coming war isn't going to mess up my plans. My plane should be flying over the Middle East!

Hey Diana, no problem, my pleasure

otago, you need to install REAL PLAYER to view the video clip. There is a basic free version.

Saludos,
jer...

Hey ya'll,
I have to say that I think the little money you save with the Metro just is not worth it when you can take the bus (89?) to/from the Aeroport to/from Colon. It is 2.40 euros compared with 1.10 for the metro. Also, you catch it right outside the terminal, rather than slug through the long long long moving sidewalks to the metro.

If you are going to Sol, you can get off on C/Serrano and catch the 51, or if you are going to Atocha, you can get off at Colon and catch the 27. Of course you can take the Colon metro at the end of the line too.

I accompanied Diana this morning on the metro to the airport and it took nearly an hour from the center and with her bags...it was horrible. Not only manuervering the stairs but jostling against all the metro riders. I then took the Colon bus back and was home within 1/2 an hour. Granted, for a first time visitor, the bus is more complicated, but that is where mm comes in. All you have to do is come here, post your questions about the trip and we will help you. It is the mm way!!!

Candela

Hi

I finally took the route Jer suggested which was line 8, line 10 "Colonia Jard�n" and finally line 1 at "Tribunal" to "Gran V�a".

There were at least 2 flights of stairs to negotiate but it was manageable. I was in my hostal room within 90 mins of landing at Barajas airport.

Candela's post came too late for me but I have no complaints taking the metro. Fortunately it was during off peak hours so no jostling with other commuters. I think I would feel more uncomfortable taking the buses as I speak no words of Spanish other than Hola and Gracias!

Thanks to all for your replies.