Getting to Sanlúcar de Barrameda by bus, train, or plane

With a population of about 70,000 people (140,000 in summer) Sanlúcar de Barrameda is considered a mid-sized city. We don’t have our own airport or train station but getting to Sanlúcar is relatively easy—it’s conveniently located near large cities with good transport connections.

Getting to Sanlúcar from Madrid by train

Some people prefer to take the train from Madrid—keep in mind if you take the train you’ll need to go to either Jerez or Seville, and from there you can make your way to Sanlúcar. From the airport you can take the Cercanías train or the bus to Atocha Railway Station.

• Bus to Atocha: There is an “airport bus” that goes straight to the train station—you should be able to purchase your ticket on the bus for less than 5€. The bus pickup is outside the front entrance to the airport to the right. There should be signs indicating where to catch the bus or you can ask an airport employee for “autobus a Atocha”.
• Metro to Atocha: There’s also a local metro stop at the airport in terminal T4 (the metro is called Cercanías) and it has a stop at Atocha. I would recommend purchasing a train ticket ahead of time and choose one scheduled for 2 hours after your flight lands in Madrid to make sure you’ve got enough time to get to the station (also with your Renfe ticket you should be able to ride the Cercanías train for free!).

Train tickets to Jerez de la Frontera or Seville from Madrid usually cost between 50 – 80€ (depending on how far in advance you buy them) for the high-speed train and the ride lasts 3 hours. The train has some nice views along the way and the seats are more comfortable than ones you’d find on a plane. Also there’s plenty of storage in each train car and you won’t get charged for luggage. 😉

Getting to Sanlúcar from Seville

For US travelers there are direct flights to Madrid International Airport from Atlanta, New York, Miami, etc. Once you get to Madrid you can get a connecting flight to Seville or Jerez de la Frontera.  From Seville you’ve got a few options for getting to Sanlúcar de Barrameda; you can rent a car, take a bus, or a train to get here. If you plan on traveling to smaller cities around Andalusia renting a car is a good option—the drive to Sanlúcar de Barrameda is about an hour from Seville.

• Buses to Sanlúcar from Seville: Take the bus or a taxi to the San Prado Bus station and take a bus to Sanlúcar (usually takes about an hour and a half – Los Amarillos aka yellow buses, are the ones that go to Sanlúcar). I’ve never purchased a ticket online, I usually get one at the station; one way ticket is 8.84€. Make sure you ask which number “plataforma” or “anden” your bus will leave from. Buses should leave once every hour on weekdays 6am – 8:15pm and weekends 8am to 8:30pm. You can check the Seville/ Sanlúcar bus schedule on their website.
• Trains to Sanlúcar from Seville: There isn’t a train station in Sanlúcar but there is one in Jerez (which is 20 minutes away). Take a taxi to the Santa Justa Train Station and then take a train to Jerez de la Frontera. You can reserve your ticket online ahead of time or purchase one when you arrive—click here to visit renfe.com and review prices/timetables. Once you’re in Jerez you can either take a taxi to Sanlúcar (40€) or take a bus.

Getting to Sanlúcar from Jerez de la Frontera

Jerez is just a 20 minute ride from Sanlúcar de Barrameda. This city has good flight connections with larger cities like Madrid and Barcelona.

• Rental car:  If you fly into Jerez you can rent a car (also available: Enterprise Cars – use XRY as airport code). If you’re taking the train to Jerez from Madrid then you should get off the train at the Jerez Airport, “Aueropuerto de Jerez” (it’s the stop before the main train station in Jerez).
• Taxi: Another option is to take a taxi; there’s a taxi stop directly outside the train station and the ride should cost around 30 – 45€.
• Bus: If you plan to take a bus to Sanlúcar stay on the train until it arrives at the Jerez Train station. Once you walk out of the train station the Jerez bus station is directly next door on the right. Usually buses run daily from 7am to 9pm; the bus leaves once every hour during the week and once every two hours on the weekend. Bus tickets to Sanlúcar are about 6€ (last time I checked) and the ride should take about 45 minutes. You’ll ride the bus all the way to the bus station in Sanlúcar (which is just a 5 minute walk to the center), there’ll be several stops along the way in nearby towns (that’s why it takes 45 minutes) so make sure you don’t get off at the wrong stop! M-970 is the bus that connects Sanlúcar and Jerez. You can check their schedule here. I wasn’t able to find an updated schedule online but this timetable doesn’t seem to change very often. Also you can check Sanlúcar’s bus schedule (it’s also dated so I took a photo above).

So what’s the best way to get to Sanlúcar?

Personally I would recommend getting a connecting flight for your arrival and fly straight to Jerez de la Frontera from Madrid. To get to your returning flight back home from Madrid I would take the train to Madrid Atocha Railway Station instead of flying. If you’re staying in a hotel near the Madrid airport check to see if they have an airport shuttle – if they do you can take the metro all the way to the airport and from there get picked up by the shuttle to your hotel (to save money on taking a taxi to your hotel). My family always stays at the Axor Bajaras Hotel because it’s nice and has a free airport shuttle. Keep in mind if you want to see Madrid the night before your flight it’s best to stay in the city center near the train station; those airport hotels are super far from the center and in the morning you can take the airport bus or metro to the airport.