For better or for worse, Spain’s ALSA buses are a topic I’m all-too familiar with. Every Tuesday and Thursday at 1:15pm, I board a big green ALSA bus from Buitrago del Lozoya, where I work, to get back to Madrid, where I live. Occasionally I have to catch the 6:45am bus to work – but I don’t like to think about that because it is truly the stuff of nightmares.
Anyway, I don’t know what ALSA stands for, but I do know that it’s the largest Spanish bus company for more long-haul trips. So when I went to Granada for the weekend with my friends, that’s what we used. I looked on websites like GoEuro, but nothing I found was as cheap as the good old ALSA bus. Here’s how the experience stacked up.
Logistics
The particular bus that we took departed from Estación Sur, or South Station, which is the largest bus station in Madrid. We only booked our tickets about a week or two in advance, and at the time there were plenty of seats still available. But apparently it was a popular day/time to go to Granada, so there were two buses, and my friend Sarah and I were on different ones – because you do get an assigned seat. So make sure you have your ticket! I printed mine, but I saw other people showing it on their phones. You can book your tickets directly from ALSA’s website here.
Convenience
Most travelers reach Estación Sur via the Méndez Álvaro station, taking either Cercanías or the metro Line 6 (Circular). After arriving, follow the signs to the bus terminal, and then find which dársena, or door, your bus is departing from. Ours left from Madrid at 4:00pm on a Friday, from “Ramp B” and Dársena 24. There’s really no need to be there very early – Sarah was running late and showed up 10 minutes in advance, and boarding hadn’t even started yet. We arrived at the Estación de Autobuses in Granada right on time at 9:00pm.
Security
There is no security checkpoint at either bus station.
Experience
This was actually my longest-ever bus trip in Europe, which is a little crazy since it was only 5 hours. But it was a good experience overall. The bus was comfortable, had good climate control, a bathroom on board, and sporadic Wi-Fi. I was feeling really happy about it until I started texting Sarah, who was on her bus, and I found out she had an individual TV screen in front of her, complete with a USB port for charging. Somehow her bus was fancier than mine, but mine was still okay.
Of course, the view out the window was pretty amazing. Normally I’m heading north out of Madrid, so going down south was fun and interesting The only other time I’ve ventured down to southern Spain, I took the high-speed AVE train, and the landscape passed so quickly that I actually felt a little nauseated. On the bus, I could really appreciate the beauty of the Spanish countryside, observing the passing tiny pueblos and imagining how different life is there vs. in Madrid.
One unexpected but appreciated aspect of the journey was the fact that we made a 30-minute stop shortly after crossing into Andalusia. Abades Puerta Andalucía is basically a super rest stop, with lots of bathrooms, a gift shop, and even a restaurant/café inside. On the way down, we only had about 1:30 left of our trip at the point we stopped, so it was a welcome place to stretch and grab another bottle of water before finishing the last leg of the journey. We stopped at the same place on the way back up to Madrid, as well.
When you buy your ticket, if the journey time is listed as 5 hours, you’re most likely going to have a stop (though it may not be this one). If it’s 4 hours and 30 minutes, you probably won’t stop, since that’s the actual time it takes to drive.
Value
For about €30 round trip, I was really happy with the price. My other option to reach Granada would be flying, and that obviously costs a lot more than €30. Though the flight itself would take less time, if you factor in getting to the airport, going through security, flying, and transport from the airport to the city, the time is about the same.
Five hours is a long time to spend on a bus, but stopping helps to break it up, and it honestly doesn’t feel like too much. My friends and I had originally discussed leaving for Granada on Saturday morning and returning on Sunday night, but I’m glad we changed our minds. Going down to Granada on Friday night was a much better decision; it meant that we at least had one blissfully transport-free day on Saturday.
Overall, taking the ALSA bus between Madrid and Granada was a positive experience. Now that I’ve done it once, I won’t hesitate to do it again in the future!
Find things to do in Granada, Spain.
Have you ever taken a long trip via bus? What did you think of it? Let me know in the comments!
-Cathy
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Originally Published on March 18, 2019.
Although I’m glad you had a nice experience, Alsa is in fact a really bad company.
Specially when it comes to international buses, that should be avoided at all cost.
They are always late, but the problem is that you are never notified nor you get information about the delay. last time I had to wait more than 4 hours alone in the street at night. I received 0 information and when I tried to reach out the phone numbers were not working. In the end I left because it was already too late so I was going to miss my next bus anyway… They don’t give you your money back, no matter how long the delay is.
It was not the first time, it has always been like this for me, but I wanted to give it a second chance. Wrong, very wrong I was…
Also a few years ago, the bus broke down but instead of asking for a different one, they tried to fix the engine with … tape ! The whole bus said that it was a bad idea but they did not want to listen so we had to wait for hours for it to be fixed. It broke again a few kms later. They had no option than to change the bus. So we waited a few hours again. We arrived extremely late, and, as usual, no compensation and no excuses.
In conclusion, avoid Alsa for international trips.
When it comes to national ones, they are often better, but the only reason they still exist is that they have the monopoly and are very very rich. Still I try to avoid them when I travel nationally hoping that one day they company will bankrupt and also to promote other companies and options such as car pooling.
Hey Marta,
I’m sorry to hear you had that experience! I’ll be interested to see how it goes next time I take an ALSA bus. Thanks for stopping by anyway!
-Cathy