Madrid from Ávila: IFEMA, Parque Warner, concerts and matches, the Estación Sur and hospital appointments, by train to Chamartín, coach, your own car along the AP-51 and AP-6 or a car with a driver
Ávila reaches Madrid three ways: the conventional train from Ávila station to Chamartín, scheduled coaches and the road, along the AP-51 and the AP-6 tunnel or, toll-free, on the N-110 and over the Alto del León. The south of the province, the Tiétar and Alberche valleys, comes in instead from the south-west of Madrid. A car with a driver to IFEMA costs from 151,08 € per car, with about 91 min on the road; to the Estación Sur, from 149,69 €. For Parque Warner, the stadiums and the hospitals, each destination page works out the price from every town. The train suits someone travelling alone and returning in daylight; the car suits those with material, children, an appointment with waiting time or a return in the small hours.
Written by Ridelta - Taxi y VTC · reviewed on 29 October 2026
Which route suits best from Ávila depending on the Madrid destination?
Ávila's train is a conventional one: it leaves Ávila station, stops at Las Navas del Marqués and the villages of the Madrid sierra, runs down through El Escorial and Villalba and ends at Chamartín, with no high speed and long gaps between services. From Chamartín, IFEMA needs the metro with a change, the Estación Sur is reached by Cercanías, each hospital has its own combination and Parque Warner adds Cercanías and an interurban bus. For someone from central Ávila going to an errand or a meeting and returning in the afternoon, the train does the job. Someone living in Piedrahíta or El Barco de Ávila first adds a good stretch of the N-110 to reach the station: from El Barco, central Madrid is 192 km away, and the sensible choice is usually to go by car from home.
By car, from the city you take the AP-51 to Villacastín and join the AP-6, which crosses the Guadarrama through the toll tunnel and enters Madrid on the A-6; the toll-free alternative is the N-110 to Villacastín and over the Alto del León. Arévalo and La Moraña head down the A-6 without passing through Ávila. The south is another province as far as Madrid is concerned: from Sotillo de la Adrada, Cebreros or El Tiemblo you head for San Martín de Valdeiglesias and the M-501, which comes in from the south-west, so for them the Estación Sur or Doce de Octubre are closer at hand than IFEMA. In every case, inside Madrid you have to reckon with the low-emission zones, which the City Council regulates according to the car's label, and with parking. With a driver, the door is the door.
How does an exhibiting company from Ávila, Arévalo or the Tiétar valley get to IFEMA?
The meat producers of Ávila and the dehesas, the food companies of Arévalo and La Moraña, the Gredos and Tiétar lodgings attending the tourism fair and the firms of the Vicolozano business park take material to IFEMA that does not travel on a train with changes: stands, boxes of brochures, samples and sometimes chilled products. On build-up day each organiser sets the time slot for the exhibitor gate, and a car with a roomy boot collects from the warehouse or the premises and unloads at the foot of the hall. From Ávila it is 115 km; from Arévalo, along the A-6, the transfer starts at 168,78 €, and from Las Navas del Marqués, almost in the Madrid region, at 111,84 €.
A visitor going to see the fair for the day can take the train to Chamartín and the metro, provided the return to Ávila does not force them to leave the venue earlier than they want. With a team spread between the city, Arévalo and the Tiétar, the car organises the day: it collects each person at home, drops everyone at the hall entrance and returns at closing, also if the day ends with a dinner with clients in Madrid. If a colleague or client lands at Barajas, which borders the venue, their terminal pickup is chained into the same booking. For multi-day fairs the pickup is repeated at the same time each morning, or only the outward trip with the material and the return on the last day are booked, and the business account puts it all on one invoice with the breakdown.
How do you organise Parque Warner with children from Ávila or the Tiétar?
Parque Warner is in San Martín de la Vega, south-east of Madrid. From Ávila city and La Moraña you cross the mountains on the AP-6 and skirt the city on the M-40 or the M-50; from the Tiétar and Alberche valleys you come in on the M-501 and link up with the M-50 to the south, without touching the Guadarrama. By public transport, from either side, the family chains train or coach, Cercanías and an interurban bus, and the day starts very early. Nearly every family in the province goes by car, and a transfer with a driver removes the hard part: it collects you at home, in Ávila, Arévalo, Sotillo or Candeleda, and drops you at the park entrance. Child seats are requested when booking with each child's age and weight; with pushchairs or more than four people, a people carrier. The park's page gives the price from each town.
The return weighs more than the outward trip. In season the park closes late, the car-park exit seizes up and then come the mountains at night, through the tunnel or over the Alto del León, or the bends of the M-501 and the N-502 towards the Tiétar, with fog or ice in winter and a driver who has been on their feet all day. With a driver, the pickup time is agreed when booking, changed by message if the family stays for the final show, and the adults travel back with the children asleep beside them. For two families or a gathering of cousins, one large vehicle at a fixed per-car price usually works out more reasonable than two cars with their tolls and parking. On long weekends, school holidays and at Christmas it is worth booking early, because the exit from the park is concentrated in the same window.
How do you get back to Ávila from a night concert or match in Madrid?
Stadium concerts and night matches end when the last train to Ávila has already left Chamartín and there is no coach left. Central Madrid is 108 km away, about 87 min in daytime with no incidents, and in the small hours that means crossing the mountains tired. Three ways out remain: sleep in Madrid, with the hotel and the next day lost; drive back through the tunnel or over the Alto del León, where there can be ice in winter; or book the return with a driver. For a group of friends, the per-car price shared among everyone makes the third reasonable, and nobody has to spend the concert thinking about driving afterwards. From the Tiétar the reckoning is the same with another road: the M-501 at night is no better than the mountains.
What makes the pickup work is agreeing the spot before going in. When a big event ends, the police close the streets around the venue and no car reaches the door. When booking a junction outside that perimeter is chosen, a few streets from the stadium and on the side that leads best to the A-6 or the southern M-40, depending on the destination town, and the group walks to it. If there is extra time or the concert runs long, the time is changed by message and the driver waits. The Madrid events page explains how that point is chosen at each venue and works out the price from each town in the province. Groups from Ávila commonly go in the afternoon by train, which leaves them at Chamartín, and book only the return by car.
Why is the Estación Sur close at hand for the south of Ávila province?
The Estación Sur, at Méndez Álvaro, with metro line 6 and Cercanías, is the terminal for long-distance coaches to Andalusia, Extremadura, the Valencia region and the east. Scheduled coaches linking Ávila and the province's towns with Madrid arrive at whichever terminal each operating company sets, and it is worth confirming it on the ticket. For the Tiétar valley, which enters Madrid from the south-west, Méndez Álvaro comes before Chamartín or IFEMA: from Sotillo de la Adrada it is about 80 min and the transfer starts at 126,94 €. Someone connecting there with a coach to the south, or arriving from the south and heading up to Arenas or Candeleda, finds that leg the most awkward part of the journey.
From Ávila city, the transfer to the bus bay takes about 88 min, without going through Chamartín or crossing Madrid by metro with suitcases. It makes sense when the connecting coach leaves first thing and the train does not arrive with a margin, when there is a lot of luggage, like a student's at the start or end of the academic year, or when the traveller is an older person who cannot manage stairs and changes. In the opposite direction, the driver waits in the arrivals area with a sign bearing the traveller's name and leaves them at their home in the province. How much waiting time is included if the coach is late, and what happens if the delay is long, are set out in the terms of service, which are read before booking and not on the platform.
How do you approach an appointment at a Madrid hospital from Ávila?
The Nuestra Señora de Sonsoles Hospital, in the city, is the province's hospital, and most appointments stay there. When one goes to Madrid it is usually through a referral to a reference centre, service or unit of the National Health System, which the Ministry of Health designates for complex or uncommon conditions, for a second opinion or through a private insurer's medical panel. For someone coming in on the A-6, Puerta de Hierro in Majadahonda and the Clínico San Carlos and Fundación Jiménez Díaz in Moncloa are the most direct; for the Tiétar and Alberche, which come in from the south-west, Doce de Octubre is closer at hand; La Paz, Ramón y Cajal and Gregorio Marañón mean crossing the city. The Madrid hospitals page works out the price from each town.
From Candeleda, at the far end of the Tiétar, central Madrid is 186 km away, and an early appointment means leaving in the dark on winding roads. The transfer is booked as a return trip with waiting: pickup at home, drop-off at the outpatients door, waiting while the appointment, test or treatment lasts, and the trip back, with a companion if you wish and an adapted vehicle if the person uses a wheelchair. It can be booked in the patient's name, with their phone number, even if a grandchild living in Madrid pays. It is not medical transport or an ambulance: it is for someone who can travel seated and needs no care on the way; if the doctor has prescribed medical transport, the health service arranges it. If an insurer pays, the invoice carries the details it asks for.
Frequently asked questions
How much is a car with a driver from Ávila to IFEMA?
The published 'from' fare is 151,08 € per car, not per person. The calculator gives the exact amount with your address, date and time, and it is fixed before you book.
Do you go via the AP-51 and AP-6 or the N-110 and the Alto del León?
It depends on traffic and the weather in the mountains, and you can state your preference when booking. How the AP-51 and AP-6 tolls are handled is explained on the help page; better to read it beforehand than to assume.
From the Tiétar valley do you also go over the mountains?
No. From Sotillo, Arenas, Candeleda, Cebreros or El Tiemblo the route heads for San Martín de Valdeiglesias and the M-501, which enters Madrid from the south-west. Each destination page works out the price from your town.
Can you collect me after a concert that finishes in the small hours?
Yes, with the return booked beforehand. A point a few streets from the venue, outside the traffic closure, is agreed, and if the concert runs late you change the time by message.
Can I book the hospital transfer for my grandmother even if I live in Madrid?
Yes. It is booked in her name, with her phone number and the exact hospital address, and the driver talks to her directly. Payment and the invoice can be in your name.
Sources
- Renfe · trenes desde la estación de Ávila a Madrid-Chamartín y Cercanías Madrid (consulted on 29 October 2026)
- Ayuntamiento de Madrid · zonas de bajas emisiones y movilidad (consulted on 29 October 2026)
- Ministerio de Sanidad · centros, servicios y unidades de referencia del Sistema Nacional de Salud (consulted on 29 October 2026)
- DGT · estado de las carreteras y puertos (AP-51, AP-6, N-110, N-502 y A-6) (consulted on 29 October 2026)
How we write, where the figures come from and how we correct an error: editorial policy.
Train and coach timetables and terminals belong to Renfe and the operating companies; venue times to each organiser, and the low-emission zone rules to Madrid City Council. They change: check before travelling. Distances and times are those of the route engine in daytime with no incidents; tolls, mountain passes and road conditions are as published by their operators and the DGT.