Use Uber instead of arranging car beforehand as it’s much cheaper using Uber as they also use Taxi which is the same as arranging a car with aviator beforehand. Make sure you get enough days of data plan as you need data for Uber.
It cost Euro 33 fixed rate from city to Madrid airport and Uber only costs Euro 23 or so depending on the time.
Metro ticket for one way is Euro 2.65 and can be paid by credit card. It was only a couple Euro more for us taking an Uber/Taxi from our hotel to Sagrada Familiar. However during peak hours, we tried calling an Uber and waited for 10 minutes before Uber cancelled on us as they can’t find a driver. We tried to flag a taxi but none stopped for us, so we ended up taking the metro.
For taking the train to Madrid/Barcelona, you need to be at the train station 30 minutes before your train leaves but try to be there 1 hour beforehand to give yourself ample time as it does get very crowded and line starts forming 1 hour before the train departs. They will allow you to the platform about 30 minutes before the train leaves and closes the door 2 minutes before train leaves. It’s about 3 hours to go from Barcelona to Madrid by high speed train and the train could travel up to almost 300km/hour.
At the train station in Madrid, you can just go outside where there are lines of taxi waiting for you and cost about Euro 11.50 to get to hotel in Gran Via as they run the meter.
Sun sets late in Spain at around 9:20pm.
Rolex gets 15.7% refund same as Chanel. LV gets 13.7% refund. You can also get refund if you provide your passport at Primor which sells skincare and cosmetics.
Mercadona supermarket closes on Sunday, so if you need to buy anything, make sure you don’t wait till Sunday. Most shops open late same as restaurants but restaurants also stay open late till midnight or 1am.
Souvenirs or snacks can also be bought at the supermarket inside El Corte Ingles.
Barcelona has a lot of artistic buildings by Gaudi and is near the beach while Madrid has more shopping areas and restaurants has better food in my opinion. Madrid is also hotter in the summer as it is inland and not near any ocean.
For tax refund, go scan your receipts at the kiosk machine first, then line up at the Global Blue counter. The guy will scan your receipts again and tells you that that’s all you need, no need to mail any forms as refund will be credited to my credit card. One of the candy purchase needs to be done by downloading the app on the receipt.
There are 2 dedicated aisle for business class and you can go there to check in your luggage and get your boarding pass. Then you can go through the fast lane for x-ray security check. After that, since we are in Terminal 4 and needs to go to Terminal 4S, you need to take the elevator downstairs and take the train for 7 minutes. Then you take the escalator to go through customs and get your passport stamped by the police. After that you walked toward the gate and the lounge.
For the ride from city to Madrid airport, it’s about 22 minutes for Terminal 4, no direct drop off to Terminal 4S, you will need to take the train at Terminal 4. If you go to Terminal 1-3, it will be 5 minutes closer to the city. Cost for a taxi is fixed rate of Euro 33 and there should be no surcharge. Taxi tried to scam me and asked for extra surcharge but hotel booked the taxi for me and told me to pay only Euro 33.
