How do you get to the College?
You can fly via London (Heathrow or Gatwick) to Madrid on all major carriers (especially B.A., Iberia and Easyjet).
Another option would be to fly via Amsterdam with KLM or via Dublin with Aer Lingus.
There is also a direct Easyjet flight from Edinburgh to Madrid, most days around noon or early afternoon, which is often a convenient option.
Iberia Express also operate a direct service Edinburgh to Madrid, on certain days of the week (at present Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday), departing Edinburgh around 8.30am. Less conveniently, the Madrid-Edinburgh leg is scheduled to depart Madrid at around 10.00am, necessitating a 5.00am or 5.30am departure from the College or else an overnight in Madrid.
Our considered advice would be to “shop around” to get the best deal. The College can arrange transport for groups from Madrid Barajas airport while individuals or families may prefer to make use of the airport’s car hire facilities or the “Monbus” option noted below.
For individuals or smaller groups, there is a direct bus service (comfortable, non-stop coach) from the airport (Terminals 1 and 4) to Salamanca operated by the company “Monbus” (times vary, so check the website for the timetable). The bus station in Salamanca is only a 5 minute walk from the College. Tickets can be bought at the “El Corte Ingles Viajes” shop in the airport terminals or online at www.monbus.es (click on the top right of the page for the English language version). The journey takes about 2 hours 30 minutes (longer if it first passes the bus station in Madrid centre).
Trains from Madrid to Salamanca run via Ávila from Madrid-Chamartín station (from the airport or Madrid city centre take the Metro) or from “Principe Pio” station (from the airport there is a train line to this station). The train takes between 2 hours 45 minutes and 3 hours 15 minutes. You would need to get a taxi from the train station in Salamanca to the College. Train tickets and information can be found at www.renfe.com .
There is also a more high-speed, direct train service between Salamanca and Madrid city centre (Chamartín station) which takes about 1 1/2 hours. However, this train runs only a few times each day including in the early morning and late evening, and is not particularly useful for connecting with flights in or out of Barajas. Nonetheless, it is worth checking out if you are planning to spend a day or two in Madrid before or after your stay in the College.
Click here for more details on how to get to the College from the airport by bus, road or rail…