Was in Madrid recently and found the metro quite easy to use. From the time I landed in Madrid, I…read moreimmediately found my way to the Metro and headed directly to the City Center. From the airport, you'll take Line 8 to Nuevos Ministerios and then connect to wherever you needed to go. Line 8 is one of the few where the announcements are also in English. The connections were quite easy to maneuver in my opinion. For me, I took Line 10 to Santo Domingo and then Line 3 to Callao and ended up near my hotel. Very seamless process. A tad bit of walking underground, but that is to be expected outside the US. I found that the 10 trip is the most efficient deal for a 3 day stay. The signage is pretty clear in my opinion. I think it's easy for any foreigner to manage manuevering, granted they've had some experience navigating the metros in their local cities.

Frequent service to most destinations, inexpensive. A few escalators generally. Most stations have…read moresmall elevators which are overburdened. Lots of stairs are a challenge with luggage.

We arrived at Estación de Madrid Atocha from Barcelona in less than 3 hours... pretty impressive!…read moreCompared to the 6 hours drive, I'll gladly choose the train any day! As an American, I still find it crazy how you can really take the train from one country to the next in as little as a few hours! PLUS, seats are much more comfy than your typical plane seats LOL, easier + less stressful too. So this station is the first major train station in Madrid & is run by Renfe, Spain's national state-owned railway company. It opened in 1851 and is the largest train station in Madrid. I've been to a couple other major train stations in other countries in Europe and I cannot lie, so far Madrid + Barcelona's stations were the least impressive in terms of architecture. I also didn't find this station to be that easy to navigate. Once we had arrived to Madrid from the OUIGO OUIGO, we walked outside and entered the normal metro train station to take the L1 (towards Pinar de Chamartín) to get to where we needed to be. Overall, not bad & didn't experience pickpocketing, so that's good haha.

I ended up in the train station a few times and wowwww is this station massive! I mean, I should…read morehave expected it, seeing as how it's in a major city, but it's even bigger than you expect, especially when it's 6 am and you're trying to find a train. Everyone who worked here that I encountered was super nice and helpful if I asked for directions. The bathrooms were really clean too, you have to pay 1€ to use them so have change or your credit card ready. Also if you're American, prepare to go through security. I hadn't seen that before and for a moment worried I was in the wrong place instead of the train station, but nope, they just take precautions here.

Went from Madrid to Barcelona. Took about 3 hrs with 3 stops enroute…read more We purchased their version of First Class which was definitely worth it! More leg room,quiet coach car,comfortable seating and hot meal with beverage service all included. You also get access to their Club Room in the train station which we were not aware of until it was too late. Train travel in Spain is definitely a fun experience and a lot different than in the US.

Do not waste your money paying for seat selection on Renfe. I explicitly chose and confirmed…read moreside-by-side seats for my husband and myself prior to making our payment. However, once the booking went through and the tickets were issued, Renfe completely ignored our selection and assigned us entirely separate seats far apart from each other. If you are traveling with someone, be warned that Renfe's booking system is completely unreliable and may still split you up regardless of what you select and pay for.

This review is based on Premium Bus Service between Granada Bus Station and Madrid Airport…read more I was a little hesitant and even my traveling mate asked would I made my flight?? Bus service in North America bus service can be really unreliable as they never really been on schedule. The ride could be rough and riding a bus in the middle of the night alone? For 38€, I definitely think the ride is worth it. The bus is luxurious! There is even a bus attendant welcoming me and even serves me non alcoholic drinks and a breakfast snack just before arrival! The ride though long: 5 hours but was smooth. Booking process was simple as I booked through Alsa Official website with no third party booking fee. I highly recommend doing that pre travel if you are not fluent in Spanish! Pro Tip: The washroom is located in the middle of the bus so when you pick your seats when booking online, try to avoid that area! I would take Alsa again for my next trip in Spain, especially I can ride in one of those Premium Bus!

If there's one area where Europe is crushing the United States, it's the public transportation…read moresector, both in terms of infrastructure, pricing and actually being on time. This review is based on a 5 hour bus trip from Madrid to Granada, which only cost me just over $20 US. The bus left pretty much right on time and arrived just a few minutes late of the projected 5 hour ride, despite major traffic. Apparently, there's enough demand for Granada during the week to warrant two buses. During a complete standstill in traffic, the driver ahead of my bus left his seat to come discuss an alternate route with my driver and both buses got off at the next exit. We stopped at a rest are about halfway along the way for a 20 minute bathroom and lunch break. The only reason I'm at 4 stars is because the "wi-fi" didn't really work, but unlike taking the RENFE train, I didn't actually have to go print a hard copy of my ticket from a kiosk. The bus driver accepted my online reservation as confirmation, which made boarding much more simple.