How To Go To Madrid From Barajas Airport?

Barajas Terminal 4, Madrid.

Official website: Barajas Airport.

"Madrid-Barajas Airport (Spanish: Aeropuerto Internacional de Madrid-Barajas) is the main international airport serving Madrid in Spain. 

In 2010, over 49.8 million passengers used Madrid-Barajas making it the country's largest and busiest airport, and in 2009 it was the world's 11th busiest airport and Europe's fourth busiest airport. 

It opened in 1928, and has grown to be one of the most important aviation centres of Europe. Located within the city limits of Madrid, just 9 km (5.6 mi) from the city's financial district and 13 km (8.1 mi) northeast of the Puerta del Sol, Madrid's historic centre. 

The airport name derives from the adjacent district of Barajas, which has its own metro station on the same rail line serving the airport." Source: Wikipedia.

Note: Barajas is pronounced as 'Barakhas'. If you has learned Arabic or learned to read the Al-Quran, you should be familiar with this letter as the image below:

Source: Wikipedia

Source: Airport MAD Map.

There are 4 terminals in Barajas Airport.

• Terminal 1 - for inter-continental and selected Europe flights.


• Terminal 2 - mostly European flights and some inter-continental. You can take the Metro Line 8 to Madrid from here. I arrived at Terminal 2 when I took the KLM flight from Amsterdam as in here.


• Terminal 3 - flights between Madrid and Barcelona.


• Terminal 4 and Terminal 4S(satellite) - flights for Iberia Airline, Air Nostrum and OneWorld partner airlines. The terminal is separated from T1,T2 and T3.  You can also take the Metro Line 8 to Madrid from here.

Shuttle bus from T1,T2,T3 to T4

Free shuttle buses serve all four terminals. 

• 6:30am-11:30pm every 5 mins


• 11:30pm-1:50am every 20 mins 


• 1:50am-6:30am every 40 mins  

Buses stop at level 1 of T1, T2 & T4, and on the ground level of T4 & T2.

How To Go To Madrid From Barajas Airport?

First you need to be sure which terminal your flight will be arriving into. 
Sadly as of now, Malaysia Airlines does not service direct flight from Kuala Lumpur to Madrid. T_T
For Example: 
If you ride KLM Royal Dutch - you will arrive at Terminal 2
If you ride EgyptAir - you will arrive at Terminal 1
If you ride Emirates - you will arrive at Terminal 4
Check here for other airlines and their corresponding terminal at Barajas Airport.

You can either choose the following transportation mode:

1. Private transfer - from airport to hotel is the most convenient but the most expensive. Unless your trip is fully sponsored by the company or you don't mind the the extra luxury then I will rule this out for a budget traveler like myself. ^^


2. Taxi - costs about 20~25 Euros.


3. City bus - Bus route 200 runs from the Avenida de América Transport Hub for 1.50 euro to terminals T1, T2, T3 and T4. Route 101 runs from the Canillejas Transport Hub  for 1.50 euro to terminals T1, T2, T3. More info on city buses here.


4. Line'a Express - the express bus runs from Atocha-RENFE transport hub in Madrid city centre (very near the well-known Paseo del Arte and the main museums: the Prado, Reina Sofía and Thyssen-Bornemisza), about 40 minutes and costs 5 euros. Buy ticket on board (CASH ONLY).


5. Metro (the subway or underground)  - From all terminals you can ride Metro Line 8 to Nuevos Ministerios station will take about 12 ~ 15 minutes and to central Madrid about 45 minutes. Costs 1.50 euro.


6. Train - A modern suburban train line connects Terminal T4 with several key locations in Madrid: Chamartin, Nuevos Ministerios, Atocha and Principe Pío. About 11 minutes from Chamartin. Costs 2.40 euros.

More info on public transportation to and fro Barajas Airport is here and here.

NOTE:

The cheapest is to get the tourist pass but you need to plan your itinerary well or else the pass will just be a waste of your money. More info on tourist pass here.

The cheapest way to travel on the Madrid metro

There are two options for travelling more cheaply on the metro. The first is the Metrobús 10 journey ticket. This gives you 10 journeys on any metro line in zone A, and on buses from all EMT (bus) stations, except the Plaza de Colón to Airport line.

The second option is to buy a Tourist Travel Pass (Abono Turístico) which is valid for either 1,2,3,5 or 7 consecutive days. This pass permits unlimited travel on all forms of public transport within Madrid and its surrounding autonomous region.