Madrid Airport Transport To The City Centre
Transport Options
There are 4 ways of traveling to Madrid city centre from the airport. Please note that the RENFE trains do not run directly from the airport, you will first need to take the metro, which does run from the airport, in order to get to a RENFE train station. Take metro line 8 from the airport to meet with overland trains at Nuevos Ministerios station. Alternatively, take metro line 8, change onto line 9 at Colombia station, and change again onto metro line 10 at Plaza de Castilla. From here it is one stop to Chamartin station, which is also a major RENFE station. Always check the metro website for any works along the lines.
If you have a lot of luggage the best option would be either to hire a car, or take an official council registered taxi. You can select one of the following options below to learn more.
Madrid Airport Taxi's
EMT Bus
Metro
Car hire
Madrid Airport Taxis
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| There are 100's of taxis at Madrid airport |
Taxi Tel: +34 91 588 9631
A taxi is a comfortable and direct way of traveling into to city centre. There are taxi's available non-stop, around the clock and you can find them outside T1 (Terminal 1) on the ground floor of the arrivals hall, just in front of gate 2. In T2, also outside the ground floor of arrivals, in front of lounge 5. T3 taxis are on the ground floor, opposite lounge 7 and in T4 are outside the arrivals on the ground floor.
To order a taxi that is especially equipped for disabled access call:
Euro-Taxi
Tel: +34 91 547 8200 / +34 91 547 8500 / +3491 547 86 00
You can call 24 hours a day. Eurotaxi also have taxis equipped for carrying large amounts of luggage. Most of the telephone operators only speak Spanish, so here are some useful phrases:
"Quiero reservar un taxi" - I want to reserve a taxi
"Para dos personas" - For 2 people
"Desde el aeropuerto" - From the airport
"Minusvalidos" - disabled
"A las tres" - at 3 o'clock
Taxi Fair
The journey to the city centre is around 20 - 25 minutes, subject to traffic, and costs about €20.00 - €25.00 (including supplements). There is a basic supplement of €2.10 every working day and €2.20 on Monday to Friday from 21:00 - 06:00, €2.20 Saturdays and public holidays from 06:00 to 21:00 and €3.10 on Saturday and public holidays from 22:00 - 06:00 the following day. In addition, pick-ups from the airport attract a €5.50 supplement which the driver will add to the displayed fair. The driver should start the meter as soon as you get into the taxi. You can ask for an official receipt and the driver is obliged to provide one.
Did you know? Guide dogs, or any pet in an official pet transport container can travel for free.
Official taxis are white with a red diagonal stripe. I recommend you stick to these taxis as opposed to the unofficial ones, whose drivers will tout for your business inside the airport. The official taxis are all licensed, and the others may not be.
EMT Bus
Tel: +34 90 250 7850
EMT is the public bus company that operates throughout Madrid. The 200 bus service runs from T1, T2, T3 to Avda. De América and the service 204 runs from T4 to Avda. De America. The bus services stop in the departures and arrivals of each terminal.
You can travel between any terminal by a free shuttle bus service that runs every 5 minutes.
Children under 4 can travel for free!
The bus tickets can also be used on the metro system. A single ticket costs €1.50, or you can buy a 10 journey 'metrobus' ticket for €9.30, which saves you money over the 10 journeys. The buses run from 06:36 - 23:45.
Official airport website to view Madrid airport transport timetable information
Metro (underground or subway)The airport falls within zone A of the metro, and the metro on line number 8 leaves directly from the first floor of T2 (Stop Aeropuerto). The metro does not run from the other terminals however you can catch a free shuttle bus service to take you from one terminal to the next.
The metro system is cheap, quick and efficient, and an excellent choice of transport if you don't have too many bags. Trains run from 06:00 - 13:30.
A one way ticket costs €1.50, or if you think you will be using the metro more often during your stay, then I recommend that you buy a 10 journey 'metrobus' ticket for €9.30. Journey time to the city centre is around 45 minutes, although you will have to change lines to go right to the centre. Line 8 from the airport terminates at Nuevos Ministerios, (a large station not far from the airport) and from here you can change to either lines 6 or 10. You can also change onto the overground train network from here. click here to view an official metro map and then select 'Travel in the metro', followed by 'Metro Map' from the drop down menu.
Car Hire
There are four car hire companies with offices in Madrid Airport. You can find them in both Terminal 1 and Terminal 2.
Contact numbers for car hire at Madrid airport
If you are spending a lot of time in the city centre, the best way to travel around is on the metro. Parking is quite difficult, and a car is only really necessary if you plan to leave Madrid centre and travel elsewhere.
If you have any further enquiries that are not answered on this page, then contact the official tourist information office at the airport between 09:00 and 20:00 on Tel: +34 90 210 0007 or Tel: +34 91 305 8656
