How to get to Madrid’s airport
Barajas International Airport has been recently renamed after Spain’s first democratically-elected president, Adolfo Suárez. The airport is absolutely enormous, covering two different metro stops. Its 4 terminals are spacious and spread out, which is why they’re connected by train and bus services inside the airport itself. Luckily, Madrid’s airport isn’t located far from the city center and there are plenty of ways to get there.
Here are the 6 main ways to get to Madrid’s Barajas (Adolfo Suárez) Airport:
1. Metro: Línea 8
The airport has two metro stops: the first stop is dedicated to Terminals 1, 2 and 3 (T1, T2 and T3) and the second stop is dedicated solely to Terminal 4 (T4). Take line 8 (the pink line) from Nuevos Ministerios and you will be there in about 15 minutes, depending on if you get off at the first or second stop (just a few minutes difference). To enter or leave Barajas airport by metro, you will have to buy a single ride ticket (around 1,50€ depending on destination) as well as an extra airport supplement of 3€ (bought at the machines). In total you’ll pay around 5€. However, if you have an abono de transporte (monthly travel pass), the fee is waived! Remember that the metro closes from 1:30-6am, so if you have a flight at that time, you can take our next and favorite option, the 24/7 airport express bus that costs the same price.
from esmadrid.com
For just 5€, you can hop on an incredibly convenient Airport Express Bus from the city center! During the day, from 6am-11:30pm, it leaves from Atocha, and makes stops at Plaza de Cibeles (next to the Palacio de Cibeles building) and O’Donnell (at the intersection with Doctor Esquerdo). At night, the bus leaves from Cibeles and continues to stop at O’Donnell (all night long). The express bus goes to terminals 1,2 & 4. The journey takes around 40 minutes and runs every 15 minutes during the day, and every 35 minutes at night (you pay the 5€ on the bus in cash). Here’s the bus schedule.
3. Cercanías: Línea C1
from mapamadrid.net
For 2.55€, you can take the Cercanías train line 1 — Línea C1 — to Terminal 4 (it doesn’t go to the other terminals, but there is a free bus service within the airport that goes to all terminals). The C1 comes around every 30 minutes and can be picked up at the following main stations: Chamartín, Nuevos Ministerios, Atocha, Méndez Álvaro, and Príncipe Pío, plus a few more.
4. Taxi
A taxi-ride to and from the airport to anywhere in the center of Madrid costs a flat rate of 30€. For no extra fee, you can pick up a taxi at the indicated taxi lines that you’ll find throughout the airport and city center. You can also download the free app MyTaxi so you can have a taxi pick you up from your home at a certain time for the same set price.
5. Public City Bus
You can pick up the 200 bus at Ave. de América for 1,50€. Here’s the 200 bus schedule and stops, which runs from 5am-11pm, every 10-20 minutes depending on the time of day.
6. Private Airport Shuttle Bus
With Aerocity, a 24/7 airport bus shuttle service, you can hire a van to pick you up from your house and drop you off directly at the airport. This service is good for groups, and especially if your flight is at an odd hour (i.e. late night/early morning) or if you have a lot of luggage. It usually costs around 10€ per person, but you can put your address here and get a quote.