From Madrid to Marbella in four hours: when a getaway with friends is just a train and a bus away

The day started early in the morning, as it usually happens when you have scheduled an early morning trip. Almost no one on the street, the M-30 is not very busy and in my head, the typical question that one repeats when one finds oneself in this situation: who would send me on this trip?

On my WhatsApp there is a group that comes back to life from time to time, that of my Erasmus friends. This time I was the one in charge of encouraging it, motivated as I was by the September goal of having a more social life. The response to the idea of ​​going away for the weekend to see each other was unanimous: yes. It was not difficult to choose a date. Nor was it a destination: we wanted a beach – for the last swim of the summer – that was not too big, that had a certain atmosphere and that we could all easily access.

Marbella met all the requirements. Those from the South had it at hand, those from the Levant could organize to go there together by car and I, from Madrid, had iryo Conecta, the multimodal brand that offers combined train and bus tickets thanks to its alliance with AVANZA. Two and a half hours by train were enough to get me to Malaga station and in another hour by bus I would be in Marbella. Convenient, fast and practical.

So there I was at Atocha station, on a Friday at 7:30 in the morning because of the 10 frequencies that iryo offers per day between Madrid and Malaga, I had opted for the first one. To make the most of the destination.

The confusion disappeared as soon as I realized it was a good idea to book the fare. Bistro Infini. In two words: priority boarding. The relaxation came with the first moan, at 7:55; and the pleasure came when I was reminded that my fare included breakfast. I chose one of the savory options: coffee, juice, scrambled eggs with bacon and cherry tomatoes and for dessert—because yes, breakfast also includes dessert—creamy yogurt with granola.

I can say that the journey was seen and unseen. The journey lasted the time it took me to have breakfast and watch a few episodes of A new dawnthrough Ithe on-board entertainment platform that iryo makes available to its passengers.

A light transfer

Before I knew it, I was already in Malaga and yes, I have to admit that the idea of ​​changing trains during a trip makes me lazy. There is always something wrong: the station I have to go to is too far away, the waiting time between trips is excessive or on the contrary, there are hardly any minutes left to reach your connection. In short, a cause of stress.

In this case, my concerns were dismantled one by one because of the alliance between iryo and AVANZA the solution to these details arises. To get from the María Zambrano station to the bus station, I only had to cross one street. The time between trips, half an hour, was more than enough to do it calmly, have a coffee on a terrace and stretch my legs, but without waiting indefinitely.

Furthermore, as the objective of iryo Conecta and its alliance with AVANZA is that travelers can reach other places in the province of Malaga beyond the capital, they have arranged up to 30 frequencies with Marbella to make it easier for us.

Thirty minutes after arriving in the capital Malaga, I was already comfortably seated on the bus. I expected an hour’s journey, the city was falling behind, from the AP-7 I saw how bits of nature sometimes won the game on the concrete and here and there small white houses and occasional urbanization appeared.

To my left, the endless sheet of water that is the Mediterranean seemed calm. Bluer than usual under the rays of a sun that, even though it was not even noon, was already threatening to exceed 30º and confirmed that yes, there would be a swim this weekend. The last of the summer. It was 12:15 and I was already in Marbella. My friends too and before us, more than 48 hours together.

They may seem few. And that is clearly the case, when you haven’t seen each other for a long time and there are so many things to say. Now, if they take advantage of it, they give themselves and allow, for example, to catch up with a cocktail in hand while you watch the sea from a hammock on Venus Beach; stroll through the alleys of its charming historic center that, in September, seems a little emptier and more pleasant; Find restaurants where local cuisine is prepared with care and yes, also try something of your evening. But as they say, what happens in Marbella stays in Marbella.

The importance of supporting return travel

Much is said about the pleasure of traveling, that the journey begins the moment you leave home. Very little, however, that it only ends when you return and how important it is to take care of the return trips as well. Especially when someone is traveling with an emotional hangover and has a weekend with few hours of sleep behind them.

I was extremely grateful that the Marbella bus station was close to my accommodation, that the AVANZA bus left on time and without delay, that the journey was on time and that I knew that when I arrived in Malaga, almost, almost, I would. I don’t need it. I get up from my seat to see myself installed on the train.

That Sunday afternoon, at the María Zambrano station, everything was the same. Reunions and farewells. People coming and going looking for their train. The landscapes didn’t change on the way back either. They followed one another through the window to the rhythm of the puppet on the screen that showed us where we were going.

Yes, the light in which we contemplated them changed: instead of watching the sunrise, I enjoyed the way the sun set on them. And instead of a full breakfast, this time they served me a delicious dinner of juicy cheeks. Just like breakfast, the good food at iryo is taken care of by Haizea, its own brand of local gastronomy.

I will say that the two and a half hours of lull on the rails were not enough for me and that I would not mind stretching another five minutes before arriving at Atocha. There was no way: punctuality is not negotiable.

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