events

6-7 February 2013, Madrid, Spain

 

The town of Alcalá de Henares (Madrid Region) is located 34 km away from Madrid’s city centre and 25 km away from Barajas International Airport (Madrid). The following link [http://goo.gl/maps/90RgS] (Google Maps ®) shows the direct route by car between Barajas International Airport and El Parador de Alcalá de Henares (Colegios 8, 28801 Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain). It will take around 30 minutes, depending on traffic intensity.

[Please note that in the afternoon there is high traffic density on the main road (A-2) to go to Alcalá de Henares (between 6 and 8 pm, approximately), whereas in the early hours of the morning (till 10 am) the traffic jam is on the opposite way, in the way to Madrid (i.e. to go to the airport).]

There are different options to get to El Parador from the international airport.

Directly by taxi

At the airport there are four terminals; in each one of them there are official taxi stands. In the following link [http://goo.gl/PW6Sz] you may find instructions on where to find stops and fares. The average price to Alcalá de Henares is 45€ (please note that fares at night, on Sunday or bank holidays are higher).

Train

Should you prefer to avoid the taxi, which is pretty expensive, you may want to use the train (Cercanías Renfe) to reach Alcalá de Henares. However, there is not direct train from the airport so you will have to do one transfer. The itinerary should be one of the following:

Take the train Line C1 (light blue) destination Principe Pío, which runs from terminal T4 [-1 floor] (click here to see a map) of Madrid-Barajas airport, to Chamartín (train map). Then get on a train of Line C2 (green) destination Guadalajara or C7 (red) destination Alcalá de Henares. There are three stops at Alcalá (La Garena, Alcalá de Henares and Alcalá de Henares Universidad); please do get off at the second one (Alcalá de Henares), which is the closest to the city centre. Once in Alcalá’s train station you can either choose to walk to El Parador (15 minutes, check directions here) or take a taxi (just a few minutes, just a few Euros).

The estimated time if you come by train is 75 minutes (including about 12 minutes for the transfer). Trains from Terminal 4 depart every half an hour. Trains from Chamartín to Alcalá de Henares depart every 5-10 minutes. Please note that at certain times there is an express train called CIVIS departing from Chamartín (destination Guadalajara) that arrives to Alcalá de Henares earlier. Check here for timetables. The train fare is about 4€, valid for one journey within the two hours after it is issued.

The airport has a free bus service for passengers without a boarding pass, connecting terminals T1, T2, T3 and T4, 24 hours a day. Stops at the airport are at:

       - Terminal T1. Floor 0. South Dock. Low-cost car park
       - Terminal T1. Floor 1. Departures
       - Terminal T2. Floor 0. Arrivals
       - Terminal T2. Floor 2. Departures
       - Terminal T4. Floor 0. Arrivals
       - Terminal T4. Floor 2. Departures

The alternative is to take the metro (Line 8, pink) at Terminal 4 [-1 floor] or Terminal 2 [1st floor, in the middle of the terminal] (Terminals 1, 2 and 3 are connected through walking distances) to Nuevos Ministerios. This will take no more than 15 minutes (seven stops). Once in Nuevos Ministerios station search for the train and repeat the previous itinerary: get on a train of Line C2 (green) destination Guadalajara or C7 (red) destination Alcalá de Henares. There are three stops at Alcalá (La Garena, Alcalá de Henares and Alcalá de Henares Universidad); please do get off at the second one (Alcalá de Henares), which is the closest to the city centre. Once in Alcalá’s train station you can either choose to walk to El Parador (15 minutes, check directions here) or take a taxi (just a few minutes, just a few Euros).

The total estimated time is also 75 minutes (including about 12 minutes for the transfer). Single ticket from the airport to Nuevos Ministerios is about 5€ and the single journey ticket for the train 4€. Total estimated fare: 9€.

Bus

There is a third option to get to Alcalá de Henares from the airport. From terminals T1, T2, T3, and T4 you can take bus No. 200 destination Avenida de América. You have to get off the bus at Canillejas and subsequently take bus No. 223 to Alcalá de Henares, and get off the bus at the last stop (if you miss Canillejas bus stop, you can continue to Av. de América and take there bus No. 223 [platform 12]). Once in Alcalá de Henares, El Parador is 10 minutes away, walking distance).

The estimated time is 60-70 minutes, and there are buses every 10-15 minutes. However the major drawback of this option is that, depending on the time of the day, there might be some traffic jam. Total fare: 5.10€.