I have a 17 year old daughter traveling alone to Spain this June. She will be staying with a family in Almeria near Granada. I believe she will fly into Madrid (from Northern Calif) and take a bus to Granada. She's a very capable girl and I'm not worried about her flying alone, but once she's in Madrid, I am worried about her making the journey to Granada. I haven't heard if the host family will be driving up to Madrid to pick her up at the airport, so I'm looking into the alternative. Has anyone made this treck from Madrid airport to Granada?

It is easy to get from the airport to the bus station, especially if she is not taking too much stuff. The buses are great and she will be fine!! It is easy to buy the bus ticket once she is at the bus station.

Flying to Granada is another option and then she would not have to leave the airport.

Once you know for certain what her needs are there are many on this board that can help you make it happen. I just took detailed fotos of the airport to help my 19 year old daughter find her way this summer.

Concerned Mom,
I am a concerned Dad. Nothing I say can ever ease the concerns you'll have over your daughter in Spain, esp. after the today's bombing. However, my wife and two daughters are joining me in Spain for two weeks of planes, trains, and buses. All I can really do is pray for their safety, as I already do while they are in the states and may lightning not strike this wonderful country again while its wound is so fresh.

Best, A

I studied and lived in Granada (capital) last year at 19, and made the Madrid-Granada treck many times. Your two best options, like was mentioned before, are the bus, or the plane. Ive done both, so here are my thoughts:

-Bus: From the airport in Madrid, she would need to get to the bus station, and catch a bus from there down to the town where she will be staying. Madrid-Granada (the city), is around 4-6 hours if I remember correctly. Cheap, and buses are pretty comfortable. As far as getting to the bus station, you can take the metro, but with lots of luggage to weigh you down, a taxi may be a better option. One thing to think about, the flight to Madrid from Cal is a really long haul, and so the idea of sitting on a long bus ride, waiting around in a bus station, etc, may not be so wonderful at that point.

-Plane: I flew the Iberia Madrid-Granada route a couple times. It saves you the trouble of leaving the airport, dealing with finding a bus ticket, the metro, taxis and what not. Its about an hour long flight, and I think there are a couple daily. Lots of times you can get really good deals also through Iberia, especially if you are attaching it to a transatlantic flight with iberia. check out www.iberia.es and look for deals. In my personal opinion, if it was me, Id get a flight down to Granada, especially for a first time solo traveler in spain. Although it may cost a little more, itd be worth it to me.
Just my opinion.

Good Luck!
Kelly

Thanks everyone. My daughter is going to visit the home of the Spanish exchange student at her school that she's made friends with this year. What a great opportunity for her! Ainara, the exchange student, recommends taking the train from Madrid. Kelly, or anyone, what is your opinion on the train to Granada? After yesterday, I'm not thrilled with the idea of her taking the train...

First, just to clarify, is she going to the capital, city of Granada? Or another smaller town, that might make a difference. If shes trying to get to the city of granada, then a flight is direct. but if its a smaller town in the province of granada, then she could find herself arriving at the granada airport and then still having to get a bus or train to the exact town.

I wouldnt let what happen scare you away from the train. The train is maybe a little more comfortable than the bus, but a little more expensive. If you take the train, you have same to deal with that you have with the bus, you need to get to the train station atocha, via the metro from the airport. Its not that hard, but if you have lots of stuff, navigating the stairs and metro could be tough. I'm assuming your daughter speaks spanish? She would probably need to buy her ticket for a bus/train once she got to the station as im not sure if you can get those sent to the usa before hand.
Id do whatever she feels most comfortable handling on her own.

Thank you. She will be staying in Almaria. She speaks Spanish - 4 years of high school Spanish, so not fluently but I'd say enough to get by.

I went on buses throughout Spain, when I was there this past September. Also took the bus from Madrid to Granada. No problems. One bit of advice though is to try to watch your bag after you put it into the luggage compartment. Many times the driver isn't watching or talking to people and I was worried that someone could easily come up and grab a bag from the luggage compartment. I would usually wait until the bus was ready to go before mounting the bus, so I could make sure my luggage was safe. Besides, bus tickets are by seat numbers so you don't have to worry about getting on right away to avoid losing a seat.