Benavente and Los Valles, where the A-6, A-52 and A-66 meet: how to get to Madrid and Barajas without a train, when Valladolid airport pays off and what a car with a driver solves
Benavente lives off its motorways: the A-6 from Madrid to Galicia, the A-52 towards Ourense and Vigo and the A-66 between León and Salamanca meet in the town, which is why thousands of through travellers stop there. What it lacks is a passenger train: the nearest stations with services are Zamora and Sanabria AV. For Madrid and Barajas the direct option is the road, along the A-6 to the mountains and the M-40 or M-50 to the terminal: a transfer with a driver from Benavente costs from 341,94 € per car, covers 282 km and takes about 195 min. If the flight exists at Villanubla, Valladolid airport is halfway, 113 km away along the A-6 and the N-601. The price is fixed before booking.
Written by Ridelta - Taxi y VTC · reviewed on 27 October 2026
What is Benavente for a traveller: the junction of the A-6, A-52 and A-66?
Benavente lies in the north of Zamora province, in the Esla valley, and is the point where three motorways meet: the A-6, linking Madrid with A Coruña via Tordesillas and Ponferrada; the A-52, the Rías Baixas motorway, which leaves here towards Sanabria, Ourense and Vigo; and the A-66, the Silver Route, which comes down from León and Asturias towards Zamora, Salamanca and Extremadura. That junction explains the town: logistics parks, service areas, roadside hotels and enormous through traffic between Madrid, Galicia and Asturias, above all on long weekends and at the start and end of holidays.
For anyone living in Benavente or Los Valles, the junction has a less comfortable side: the town has no railway station with passenger services. The old Zamora to Astorga line that passed through here lost its passenger trains decades ago, and today the useful stations are Zamora, 68 km away along the A-66, and Sanabria AV, at Otero de Sanabria, along the A-52. There is no airport in the province either. So the journey to Madrid, to Barajas or to an airport always begins by road, and the only question is in which car and how far.
How do you get from Benavente to Madrid and Barajas without a train?
Along the A-6, from start to finish. The motorway leaves Benavente towards the south-east, passes Villalpando and Medina de Rioseco, crosses the Duero at Tordesillas and continues past Medina del Campo, Arévalo and Adanero to the Guadarrama range; it crosses the pass through the AP-6 tunnel or over the Alto de los Leones and enters Madrid at Las Rozas. For Barajas you leave the A-6 before the city and skirt it on the M-40 or M-50 to the terminal; for Chamartín or central Madrid you carry on to the M-30. It is a simple motorway route whose only delicate point is the mountains in winter and on holiday returns.
The engine's figures: Benavente to Barajas, 282 km and about 195 min; Benavente to Chamartín, 267 km; Benavente to central Madrid, 266 km; Benavente to the Estación Sur coach station, 272 km. From Villalpando, already on the A-6, Barajas is 257 km away. The train alternative is to go first to Zamora station and continue to Chamartín by high-speed train, which makes sense for one person with little luggage and a mid-morning flight, but adds a change and a wait, and does not work for the earliest flights or for late-night arrivals at Barajas, when the last train has gone.
When does Valladolid airport pay off instead of Barajas?
Valladolid airport is at Villanubla, north-west of the city beside the N-601, the León road, and from Benavente it lies on the way: you go down the A-6 to Medina de Rioseco and continue on the N-601, and the airport appears before you enter Valladolid. It is half the trip to Barajas, with no mountains and no M-40. The problem is the offer: Villanubla has few routes, several of them seasonal only, and the neighbouring province's page says it plainly: for most destinations the journey ends up at Barajas. It pays off when the flight exists and fits; it does not pay to plan the trip around it.
As a reference, the engine publishes Benavente to Valladolid at 113 km and about 80 min, from 145,79 €, and the airport lies a little before the city; when booking you give the Villanubla terminal as the destination and the calculator adjusts the price. For Toro or Zamora the sum is similar, via Tordesillas and the A-62. Anyone flying from Villanubla with a connection in Barcelona or Palma to continue to Europe usually also looks at Barajas with a direct flight: less car, more plane. And for the north-west of the province, Sanabria and Aliste, the Galician airports and Porto enter the comparison.
What other options are there: coach, your own car or a transfer with a driver?
The coach is the cheap option: Benavente is on the Madrid to Galicia corridor and has stops for long-distance lines to Madrid's Estación Sur at Méndez Álvaro, which is neither the airport nor Chamartín; from there to Barajas there is metro with a change or Cercanías. It suits anyone in no hurry travelling light. Your own car is comfortable on the way out and expensive on the way back: a week's parking at Barajas comes close to the price of a return transfer, and the family car stays in Madrid. The train from Zamora means reaching the station first, and from Benavente that is already a trip.
The transfer with a driver is door to terminal, at whatever time the flight dictates, with a price fixed before booking and per car, not per person: with three or four travellers the split brings it close to the coach and avoids the change with suitcases. On the way out you book with the address, the terminal and the flight time; on the way back with the flight number, and the driver waits in arrivals with a name sign and follows the delay in the app. The invoice serves anyone travelling for work, and the business account serves the Benavente industrial estates that move staff to Madrid regularly. What the platform does is written on the help page.
What happens on holiday returns, and if your car is stuck in Benavente?
At the start and end of holidays, the A-6 and A-52 through Benavente carry half of Spain's traffic towards Galicia, and the Guadarrama range jams on Sunday afternoon. The province page records it: on those dates trains to Madrid and Galicia fill up sooner, and transfers to the station with them. It is worth booking the transfer to Barajas days ahead and giving the flight time, not the time you would like to leave: the driver works out the departure with the margin for the mountains and the airport, and in winter checks the state of the pass the day before.
Benavente also has a traveller of its own: the one who was passing through and stays. A breakdown at the junction, a change of plans or a car that cannot go on leave families at a service area with their luggage and no train; from there the transfer with a driver takes them to Zamora station, 68 km and about 49 min, to Sanabria AV, to León or straight to Madrid. The advice on the province page is to give the exact spot when booking, because the motorway junction has several service areas and saying just "Benavente" is not enough to find anyone.
Frequently asked questions
Does Benavente have a railway station?
Not with passenger services. The nearest stations with trains are Zamora, on the Madrid–Galicia high-speed line, 68 km away along the A-66, and Sanabria AV along the A-52. What Renfe publishes at any given time is the reference.
How much is Benavente to Barajas airport with a driver?
The published "from" fare is 341,94 € per car for 282 km and about 195 min; the calculator gives the exact price with your address, date and time. From Villalpando, from 312,18 €.
Is it worth flying from Valladolid instead of Barajas?
Only if the flight exists at Villanubla and fits: the airport has few routes, several of them seasonal. From Benavente it is halfway, along the A-6 and the N-601, with Valladolid 113 km away; check the offer on Aena before booking the transfer.
Will you collect me at a Benavente service area if my car cannot go on?
Yes, with the exact spot: the name of the service area and the motorway, because the junction has several. The driver takes you to Zamora station, Sanabria AV, León or Madrid, with the price fixed before confirming.
What if my return flight into Barajas is late?
The booking carries the flight number and the driver follows the actual arrival in the app; the pickup moves with the delay and the driver waits in arrivals with the sign. Waiting and cancellation conditions are on the help page.
Sources
- Aena · aeropuerto de Valladolid: destinos y cómo llegar (consulted on 27 October 2026)
- Aena · aeropuerto Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas: terminales y accesos (consulted on 27 October 2026)
- Renfe · estaciones y trenes de la línea Madrid–Zamora–Galicia (consulted on 27 October 2026)
- Ministerio de Transportes y Movilidad Sostenible · red de carreteras del Estado: A-6, A-52 y A-66 (consulted on 27 October 2026)
How we write, where the figures come from and how we correct an error: editorial policy.
Villanubla's destinations and Barajas's terminals are published by Aena and change by season; trains stopping at Zamora and Sanabria belong to Renfe. Distances and times are those of the route engine in daytime with no incidents; the exact price comes from the calculator with date and time, and waiting and cancellation conditions are those on the help page on the date consulted.