The advantages of booking a taxi in advance to get to Madrid airport

Booking a taxi in advance has five main advantages: the taxi comes at the time you choose, you know the price before you leave, you can request the vehicle and extras you need (7 seats, child seat), you avoid waiting in the street or queuing at the rank and, on the way back, you are picked up at the terminal using your flight number. What is more, booking is free and does not make the journey any more expensive.

More and more travellers book their transfer between their home, hotel or office and Madrid-Barajas Airport instead of leaving it to chance. We explain why and in which cases it makes the most difference.

The taxi waits for you, not the other way round

The most obvious advantage is punctuality. You give the pickup time and the taxi is at your address at that time. You do not depend on a free one passing down your street or on there being cars at the nearest rank. For a flight, where a few minutes can mean missing it, that certainty is worth a great deal.

First-thing flights without a scare

Many flights leave very early, which means leaving the hotel or home while it is still dark. At that time fewer taxis are about and the streets are empty. With the booking made, you go to bed knowing the taxi will be at the door of your hotel or flat at the exact time. Our service runs 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

You can plan everything else

With the pickup fixed, the rest of the day falls into place: what time to have dinner, when to close your suitcase, what time to set the alarm. If you are unsure what time to choose, we help you in what time to order your taxi depending on your flight; as a guide, you should be at the terminal about 2 hours before European flights and 3 before international ones.

You know what you will pay before you get in

We work with a fixed fare by zone: the price you see when booking is the price you pay, with no meter and regardless of traffic, route or time. From inside the M-30 it is €33, and the price is the same in both directions. You can look up the price for your neighbourhood or town in our airport fares. If you want to understand why this is an advantage over the meter, we explain it in why it is better to book at a fixed price.

Booking costs nothing

There is no supplement for booking or for booking well in advance. You can pay online by card at the time, through the secure Redsys payment gateway, or pay the driver at the end of the journey, by card or in cash.

When booking you say how many of you there are and what you are carrying, and that allows the right vehicle to be assigned before the day arrives. From five passengers, or with large suitcases, pushchairs or sports equipment, a 7-seater taxi is the right choice. Finding one on the spot in the street is difficult: there are few of them and you do not know when a free one will pass.

If you are travelling with children, you can request a child seat by giving the child's age; availability is confirmed when you book. We explain it in our guide to taxis with a child seat.

Booking the return is just as useful. You give your flight number and it is used to check the terminal and confirm the meeting point with you. When you land, you collect your luggage and go straight to your taxi, without queuing at the rank. If your flight changes, you let us know by phone or WhatsApp. The whole process is on the airport pickup page.

• Same-day business trips there and back. You arrive in Madrid for a meeting or a signing and fly back in the afternoon. Booking both journeys lets you make the most of your time and forget about looking for a taxi in between.
• Families. Children, pushchairs and suitcases: the last thing you want is to wait on the pavement or check on the spot whether everything fits.
• Tourists staying in the centre. Knowing the price from the hotel to the terminal avoids surprises in a city you do not know.
• Residents of towns in the Madrid region. In many towns few taxis pass by in the street; with a booking, the taxi comes to fetch you.

Few, and they are easy to avoid. You need to know in advance what time you want to leave, and if your plans change, you have to let us know. If you need the taxi in less than 2 hours, online booking is not the quickest way: call 911 76 00 81. And if you are wondering how far ahead to book, we explain it in how long before to book an airport taxi. Once it is clear, make your airport taxi booking in three steps.