If you need to travel from Madrid to Seville, the train is probably the best way to go. The other option is to travel by bus. If you choose your company carefully the bus will undoubtedly be the cheapest way to get from Madrid to Seville. However, making the journey to Seville via bus will eat up a big portion of your day. You can get there by train in around 2 1/2 hours.
Madrid to Seville by Bus: A Look at the Options
When it comes to travelling between Madrid and Seville by bus, the only two options I could find were Flixbus and Socibus. The search engine results made it look like there were other options but they all turned out to be middlemen.
Flixbus Vs. Socibus
I’ve done a lot of travelling with Flixbus. It’s my preferred bus company for long-distance journeys. Unfortunately, in this case, the prices aren’t competitive. Depending on what time you want to travel, making the journey from Madrid to Seville costs around €40-€60. The journey time is around 18 hours and there are only two services per day.
Socibus is a Spanish bus company that offers 8 services per day. The normal price is just under €23 for a one-way ticket. That’s near as damn it half what it would cost to travel with Flixbus. Socibus is faster too. It can get you from Madrid to Sevilla in less than 6 1/2 hours. Socibus also offers a lot more services per day.
If you do an internet search for buses from Madrid to Seville, the results can be confusing. Most of the top answers are companies like Bus Bud and Check My Bus. These are the middle-men companies I mentioned before. Booking tickets via them pushes up the price. Sometimes the difference may be only a few cents, at other times it can be a few euros. I’m not sure why the difference varies, it’s just something I’ve observed.
If you want to get the cheapest tickets for the bus or the train never use middlemen. Book with the bus companies direct.
In this case, travelling with Socibus is the cheapest way to get from Madrid to Seville. If you are travelling on a tight budget you can buy a ticket online from the Socibus website and the good news is, the site has an English version. That will be handy if you struggle with Spanish
The Socibus Website: https://socibusventas.es/en/
If you want to travel to Seville with Flixbus it’s normally going to be more expensive, but Flixbus occasionally offers special deals on certain routes. Flixbus also normally has Wi-Fi and power points on its buses. This may be a consideration if you need to do some work or want to watch videos along the way.
The other good thing about Flixbus is, if you download the app you won’t need to print any tickets because you’ll have a copy of the ticket on your phone. The Flixbus app also has a bus-stop finder that makes it easier to find the right place to go and wait for your bus. There are lots of reasons I like travelling with Flixbus but, in this case, I don’t like the price. It’s not greedy, but I know I can do better. The Flixbus price is also similar to what you pay when using the train.
The Flixbus Website: https://www.flixbus.co.uk
Taking the Train from Madrid to Seville
The train to Seville costs more than Socibus but it gets you there faster. It’s also more comfortable. The service is run by Renfe and the trains travel at high speed. Anything up to 300 km/ph.
When you travel between Madrid and Seville, you’re looking at a distance that’s over 500 km. The train does it in around 2 1/2 hours and generally costs around €41. You need to book a seat in advance because it’s the only way to guarantee you will get a seat. The best thing to do is travel from the main station. It’s called Madrid Puerta de Atocha [MAP].
There are several train stations in Seville. The main station is Sevilla Santa Justa. However, depending on where you need to be in the City you may need to go to Sevilla San Bernardo. You can get a tram outside the station that will take you all the way to the city centre.
A Tip That Will Save You Money
If you need to go to San Bernardo, don’t buy a ticket from Madrid to Sevilla-San Bernardo. Buy a ticket to Santa Justa and then purchase a separate ticket for the journey from San Bernardo to Santa Justa. If you don’t you will pay more. It seems ridiculous, but that’s how it is.
Buying a ticket from Madrid to San Bernardo can add an extra €10 or more to the price. The journey from Santa Justa to San Barnardo normally only costs around €2.55.
*Don’t let Renfe charge you €10+ for a 3-minute trip.
You can find up-to-date train time information and buy a ticket from Madrid to Seville via the Renfe website: https://venta.renfe.com
It’s not easy to find, but there is an English versions of the Renfe website. If you look at the small print at the top of the page, you will see the word “welcome” written in several Languages (Bienvenido, Bienvenue, Benvingut, Ongi etorri, Benvido, Benvingut). You have to click on “Welcome” you will get the English version of the site.
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