Getting from Madrid to Seville

seville Seville (Spanish: Sevilla) is the fourth largest city in Spain, as well as the financial and cultural capital of Andalucia. Among the highlights of the city, don’t forget to visit the Cathedral of Seville, the Real Alcázar (Moorish style palace) and the beautiful plazas.
Seville has a totally different feeling than Madrid or Barcelona , so it sure is a city worth checking out. And once you are close to the southern coast, you can also check out Malaga.

Summary

If you’ve got time on your hands, then the cheapest option is by bus (6 hours, €19.40 per person one way, €32.95 per person RT). If you manage to plan your vacation ahead of time and need a RT ticket then the best option is the plane (as low as €72 per person RT ticket on Iberia).

By plane

Seville is served by airports. The main one (Sevilla International Airport; airport code: SVQ) located at about 25 min drive from the city center. There’s a bus connecting the airport with the city center (about €2.50 one way).
The non-stop flights between Madrid and Seville are offered only by Iberia. There are 5 departures per day. The flight takes 1 hour and even if you book 2 months in advance you will pay around €152 per person, one way. You can save a lot if you book a RT ticket ahead of time (8-9 weeks) and find a ticket for as low as €72 per person.

By train

All trains to Seville depart from Madrid’s main railway station, Atocha. It takes between 2 h 20 min and 2 h 35 min on the AVE (high speed) trains to travel between Madrid and Seville. The tourist ticket costs €77.60 per person, one way (€78.10 if you buy the ticket in the train station)
The following trains are available:

at 7:30 a.m., daily, from July 1 to Dec 14
at 8 a.m., daily except on Sun, from July 1 to July 18
at 8:30 a.m., daily except on Sun, from July 1 to July 18
at 9 a.m., daily, from July 1 to Dec 14
at 10 a.m., daily except on Sun, from July 1 to Dec 14
at 11 a.m., daily, from July 1 to Dec 14
at 12 p.m., daily, from July 1 to Dec 14
at 1 p.m., daily, from July 1 to Dec 14
at 2 p.m., daily, from July 1 to Dec 14
at 4 p.m., daily, from July 1 to Dec 14
at 5 p.m., daily, from July 1 to Dec 14
at 6 p.m., daily, from July 1 to Dec 14
at 8 p.m., daily, from July 1 to Dec 14
at 9 p.m., daily, from July 1 to Dec 14
at 10 p.m. , daily, from July 1 to Dec 14

>>schedules and prices can be found here

By bus

The company called Sociobus offers the services between Madrid and Seville. The journey takes 6 hours on a regular bus (the only type available) and a one way ticket costs €19.40 per person. The RT ticket costs €32.95 per person.
There are 9 departures daily, the first being at 1 a.m. and the last at 11:59 p.m.
>>schedules and prices can be found here (the site is in Spanish only so follow the steps: 1) click on the Spanish flag; 2) Click on Rutas y Horarios ; 3) Choose “Madrid” from the first drop down list; choose “Sevilla” from the second list; choose “ida” for one way or “ida y vuelta” for round trip; click on the calendar icon and choose the date; choose the number of travelers and click on “Buscar”)

By car

If you prefer to have the liberty of stopping wherever you want while exploring Spain and not worrying about set schedules, then renting a car is the best idea.
The driving distance between Madrid and Seville is 533 km and it takes little over 5 h 30 min to get from one city to another by car. You’ll be exiting Madrid from M-40 ring road, then drive on R-5, A-5 (for 306 km), A-66 and take exit 17A to Seville. R-5 and A-5 are partial toll roads.
Here’s a map to help with directions:

View Larger Map

Other related information: