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Madrid to Malaga by train
How to take the rail journey from Madrid to Malaga
This is a journey which showcases European rail travel at is best, with trains racing across an ever-changing landscape at more than 300 km/h per hour.
Connect in Malaga for local trains to Torremelinos and Fuengirola.
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Routes
Option 1: taking the AVE trains operated by Renfe
Journey Summary
2hr 24min - 3hr 5min*
Daily
Travel Information
Final Destination: Malaga
Most trains also call at: Cordoba
The discrepancies in journey time are caused by the number of station calls the trains make.
The fastest trains are the non-stop trains, which USUALY depart from Madrid at:
- 08:25 on Mon - Thursday
- 18:30 not Saturdays
The slowest trains make five station calls.
Monday - Friday 11 x trains per day
Saturday = 10 x trains
Sunday = 9 x trains
Until September 30th the journey time will be extended by around 30 mins due to maintenance work on the high speed line.
Tickets
Book early and save: Yes
Online bookings open: up to 6 months ahead of the travel date - depending on the time of year.
The online booking window can be shorter between late July and early October.
When looking up journeys (not travelling) between late July and early October, it's likely you won't be able to book for journeys beyond the second Sunday in December.
On this route, prices are set per departure according to demand, hence the lack of price info below.
It can pay off to be as flexible as possible regarding departure and arrival times, because for these trains on this route it’s not unusual for a few departures to be available at much cheaper price, regardless of how far ahead you will be booking.
The limited numbers of tickets released for sale at very cheapest prices also inevitably sell out, so if possible book more than a couple of months ahead and you’ll be more likely to find them available.
Though from the moment the tickets are placed on sale, some departures will be cheaper than others.
Seat Reservations:
Seats will automatically be assigned when booking tickets for this journey.
Rail Pass Users:
Rail pass users will need to pay reservation fees prior to boarding these trains, though on this route, with its fairly frequent departures, you may as well book these reservations at the station when you arrive in Spain.
They are also not available on the Eurail/Interrail reservation service for journeys within Spain.
The only option, other than booking them at a station in Spain, is to pre-reserve seats by calling Renfe phone sales: +34 91 232 03 20.
Pre-reserving a seat is possible up to 24 hours before a train's departure. You will receive a PNR code which you must use to pick up and pay for your reservation at a local station ticket office, making sure to show your Interrail Pass. You must collect your reservation within 72 hours. After this time the pre-reservation will expire.
Please note that a pre-reservation is not the same as a reservation. It only holds a seat for you for 72 hours.
Where to book
| Ticket Provider | Approximate Cost | |
|---|---|---|
| Trainline (Spain) | * | |
| Renfe | * |
On this journey
Travelling On
Journey Features
Good to Know
The AVE 103 trains MAY be used for occasional departures, though we have never seem them used on this route
You will be travelling at more than 280 km/h for virtually the entire journey from the Madrid suburbs to the outskirts of Malaga.
Either side of Cordoba the trains rush between tunnels and viaducts, so look out for the intermittent sweeping views across the landscape.
Though we weren't lucky with the weather between Cordoba and Malaga when we were capturing the images and video; and this is the most scenic part of this journey.
Option 2: taking the iryo train(s)
Journey Summary
2hr 35min
Daily
Travel Information
On this route iryo now offers an alternative to the AVE trains provided by the Spanish national rail operator, Renfe
4 x trains per day
Until September 30th the journey time will be extended by around 15 mins due to maintenance work on the high speed line.
Tickets
Book early and save: Yes
Online bookings usually open: up to 6 months ahead of the travel date .
Both the iro online booking service and Trainline sell tickets for journeys by the iro trains, but Trainline also sells tickets for the alternative AVE, services.
The iryo prices are set per departure according to demand; hence the lack of price info below.
In common with the ticket pricing policy for most European high speed rail journeys, limited numbers of tickets will be available at each price, as each quota of tickets available at the cheaper price sell out, they are replaced with tickets at more expensive prices.
Similarly to how the tickets which Renfe makes available for its AVE services are sold, the terms of using the tickets to travel on iryo services, differ according to the class which you will be travelling by.
Incial Flexible
- want to cancel your booking more than 7 days before the journey = receive a refund of 80% of the price you paid
- want to cancel your booking less than 7 days before the journey = receive a refund of 70% of the price you paid
- subsequently want to travel by an alternative departure on your chosen travel date and arrange this a minimum of 24hrs in advance = pay the difference in price if the new departure you want to travel by is more expensive
- subsequently want to travel by another departure on a different travel date and arrange this a minimum of 24hrs in advance = pay the difference in price if the new departure you want to travel by is more expensive + 15% of the price you originally paid
- miss the train you are booked on to and want to travel on a different iryo departure = you will have to re-book an entirely new ticket.
Singular Cafe Flexible and Singular Flexible tickets
- want to cancel your booking more than 7 days before the journey = receive a refund of 85% of the price you paid
- want to cancel your booking less than 7 days before the journey = receive a refund of 75% of the price you paid
- subsequently want to travel by an alternative departure on your chosen travel date and arrange this a minimum of 24hrs in advance = no charge
- subsequently want to travel by another departure on a different travel date and arrange this a minimum of 24hrs in advance = pay the difference in price if the new departure you want to travel by is more expensive (avoid this when travelling Singular Cafe by booking Abierta tickets)
- miss the train you are booked on to and want to travel on a different iryo departure within 2 hours* = €30 for a replacement ticket
*= the gaps between iryo departures can be longer than 2 hours
Infinita Flexible
- complimentary meal from the Bistro Menu = included
- want to cancel your booking more than 7 days before the journey = receive a refund of 95% of the price you paid
- want to cancel your booking less than 7 days before the journey = receive a refund of 90% of the price you paid
- subsequently want to travel by an alternative departure on your chosen travel date and arrange this a minimum of 24hrs in advance = no charge
- subsequently want to travel by another departure on a different travel date and arrange this a minimum of 24hrs in advance = pay the difference in price if the new departure you want to travel by is more expensive (avoid this by booking Abierta tickets)
- miss the train you are booked on to and want to travel on a different iryo departure within 2 hours* = €10 for a replacement ticket
*= the gaps between iryo departures can be longer than 2 hours
Infinita Abierta
- complimentary meal from the Bistro Menu =option to pay extra for this
- want to cancel your booking more than 7 days before the journey = receive a refund of 100% of the price you paid
- want to cancel your booking less than 7 days before the journey = receive a refund of 95% of the price you paid
- subsequently want to travel by an alternative departure on your chosen travel date = no charge
- subsequently want to travel by another departure on a different travel date = no charge
- miss the train you are booked on to and want to travel on a different iryo departure within 2 hours* = no charge
*= the gaps between iryo departures can be longer than 2 hours
Singular Cafe Abierta
- want to cancel your booking more than 7 days before the journey = receive a refund of 90% of the price you paid
- want to cancel your booking less than 7 days before the journey = receive a refund of 95% of the price you paid
- subsequently want to travel by an alternative departure on your chosen travel date = no charge
- subsequently want to travel by a another departure on a different travel date = no charge
- miss the train you are booked on to and want to travel on a different iryo departure within 2 hours* = no charge
*= the gaps between iryo departures can be longer than 2 hours
Note that a core difference between Flexible and Abierta tickets is that the Abierta tickets can be exchanged to travel on a different date, without the difference in cost between the original booking and the price to travel by the alternative train, having to be paid.
So with Abierta tickets you have the peace of mind of knowing that you can travel on a different date to that which you originally selected, without having to pay more money, despite the likelihood that the price, of what is in effect your replacement ticket, having risen since the time of your original booking.
Making a booking
When looking up a journey on the iryo website only the prices per departure of Incial Flexible, Singular Flexible and Infinita Flexible tickets will be shown.
When more than one person will be travelling together, the price shown will be the price per ticket and not the total price for the entire party.
If you want to travel in Infinita Class with the additional benefits of an Abierta ticket, you can add it to the booking of Infinita Flexible tickets as an upgrade.
Though two options for the Infinita Abierta tickets will be available, because you can opt to pay less and then not have access to the complimentary Bistro menu,
If you want to travel in the Singular Cafe class, what isn't particularly obvious is that you can only do so by opting to upgrade Incial Flexible or Singular Flexible tickets.
To book a Singular Cafe Abierta ticket you can upgrade a Singular Flexible ticket.
To book a Singular Cafe Flexible ticket you can upgrade an Incial Flexible ticket.
Child tickets
An unconventional aspect of iryo's ticketing is that it doesn't offer dedicated rates for child tickets, when travelling with children.
Those aged 0-3 don't require a ticket if they travel on an adult's lap, but they will need a ticket if they are placed in a seat.
Children aged 4-13 travel at the 'standard' rate = the same price as Adult tickets.
Where to book
| Ticket Provider | Approximate Cost | |
|---|---|---|
| Trainline (Spain) | * | |
| iryo | * |
On this journey
Travelling On
Journey Features
Good to Know
The policies around travel with bikes and dogs, as well as the the availability of on-board entertainment and the bar car are all very similar to what's available on the national rail operator, Renfe's AVE services.
The AVE trains in effect offer
- second/standard = Estander
- first/premium = Comfort
- first/premium with complimentary catering = Comfort Class when booking Prémium tickets,
Note that the AVE trains in effect offer two on board ambiences, Estander and Comfort and iryo's two equivalents are its coaches which will have 'Gran Confort' and 'Confort' seating
Therefore the equivalents of the on-board ambiences on the iryo services are:
- Incial with Confort seats = Estander
- Singular Cafe with Gran Confort seats = Comfort
- Infinita with Gran Confort seats and complimentary menu = Prémium
Though iryo will also offer a 'class' of service, Singular, in which travellers in the equivalent of 2nd class coaches with the 'Confort' seats can have access to an at seat catering menu.
However, the core differences between the iryo and AVE services are connected to the ticketing terms and conditions.
For example, when booking tickets to in the equivalent of 2nd/standard class:
- Basico tickets to travel by the AVE services = no refund if you cancel your trip and no exchange available to a different departure.
- Incial Flexible tickets to travel by iryo services = cancel your booking more than 7 days before the journey and receive a refund of 80% of the price you paid; plus exchanges are available to a different departure if you pay the price difference with the alternative departure.
Though with the Incial Flexible tickets other refund and exchange terms are also available.
The comparison between booking tickets in the equivalent of 1st/premier class is more similar, but a key difference is that if you book a Prémium ticket for an AVE service and then cancel your trip, you will receive a refund of 95% of the ticket cost, but you will receive 100% if you have booked an Infinita Abierta for travel on a iyro service.
If you will be travelling with children aged 5 -13 it's definitely worth making the comparison of the total booking price between iryo and the AVE trains which can be booked on the Renfe website.
Children aged 5 -13 and under are entitled to a 40% discount when travelling on AVE trains, but on the iryo services they are charged at the standard, Adult rate.
You will be travelling at more than 280 km/h for virtually the entire journey from the Madrid suburbs to the outskirts of Malaga.
Either side of Cordoba the trains rush between tunnels and viaducts, so look out for the intermittent sweeping views across the landscape.
Though we weren't lucky with the weather between Cordoba and Malaga when we were capturing the images and video; and this is the most scenic part of this journey.
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