Mota del Cuervo, Las Pedroñeras and San Clemente to Madrid and Barajas: the Cuenca part of La Mancha along the A-4, A-3 or A-43, windmills and purple garlic as reasons to visit, and the group round trip

Why does the Cuenca part of La Mancha look to Madrid and which roads link them?

The south-west of the province is already the flat La Mancha of vineyards and windmills, and its three main towns are far from Cuenca: Mota del Cuervo, where the N-301 meets the N-420; Las Pedroñeras, on the same N-301; and San Clemente, on the edge of the A-43, which continues to Atalaya del Cañavate and the A-3. The AP-36 toll road runs parallel to the N-301 from Ocaña to La Roda and has exits for the area. They are towns which, as the province page says, for many things look to Albacete or Madrid, and the Spanish capital is the destination for specialist appointments, university studies, flights and the long-distance trains that do not pass through Cuenca.

Towards Madrid there are two ways and neither is always the best. The southern one follows the N-301 or the AP-36 to Ocaña and enters on the A-4, which serves the south and west of the capital well and, via the M-50 or M-40, Barajas; the northern one climbs the roads of the Mancha Alta to Tarancón and enters on the A-3, more direct for Atocha, the east of Madrid and the IFEMA exhibition centre. The engine's figures are similar either way: Mota del Cuervo to Barajas 150 km; Las Pedroñeras to Atocha 169 km; San Clemente to the centre, about 141 min. The driver decides on the day according to the destination and the state of Madrid's southern and eastern entries.

Which train is within reach: Fernando Zóbel or Alcázar de San Juan?

None of the three towns has a station, and the province's own, Cuenca-Fernando Zóbel, is 115 km and about 117 min from Mota del Cuervo along the N-420, passing Belmonte castle. The AVE from there reaches Atocha in under an hour, but the sum of the car to the station, the wait and the train is longer than the direct motorway to Madrid, so the combination only makes sense for anyone going on to Valencia, or for anyone who prefers not to cross Madrid by car at a difficult hour. For the Cuenca part of La Mancha the train to Madrid is not a fast option but a detour, which is why the area has always lived off the road.

The other nearby station is in the neighbouring province: Alcázar de San Juan, in Ciudad Real, is a historic hub of the conventional network with Media Distancia and Larga Distancia trains to Madrid and to Andalusia and the Levante, and from Mota del Cuervo it is reached along the N-420 westwards. For a resident of Mota or Las Pedroñeras it can be the way to catch a train without driving to Madrid, as long as the timetable fits; its services and times are on Renfe's site and change by season. This platform does not publish a priced route from the Cuenca towns to that station, so anyone wanting that transfer asks for it with the address in the calculator. To Madrid, in any case, the direct car along the A-4 or the A-3 remains what most of the area chooses.

How long and how much to Barajas and Madrid with a driver?

The transfer to Barajas from Mota del Cuervo costs from 202,25 € for the whole car and takes about 137 min; from Las Pedroñeras the "from" fare is 235,85 €. The driver goes up the A-4 and round the east of Madrid on the M-50 to the A-2 and the terminal junctions, or enters on the A-3 and the M-40 if the traffic advises it, and drops you at the door of the flight's terminal. For a first-thing flight the departure from the village is in the small hours, when no other option works; on the way back the driver waits in arrivals with a sign and tracks the flight if it is delayed, as explained on the airport pickup page. The flight number and terminal go in the booking and allow the pickup time to be worked out.

To central Madrid and to the stations the mechanics are the same. From Mota del Cuervo to the centre the "from" fare is 186,29 €, and from San Clemente to Atocha it is 201 km, entering on the A-4 and the M-30 or on the A-3 and Avenida del Mediterráneo. The stretch that varies most is the entry into the capital at morning rush hour, on the A-4 from Getafe as much as on the A-3 from Arganda; for a first-thing appointment the driver brings the departure forward from the engine's time. Scheduled buses of the corridor to Madrid run along the N-301, with few departures and a stop on the road, and the bus between the towns themselves is scarce, so most trips to Madrid from the area are made by own car or with a driver.

What do people come to see: the windmills of Mota, the purple garlic and San Clemente?

The trip also runs the other way, from Madrid to the area, and each town has its draw. Mota del Cuervo keeps a ridge of windmills above the town, one of which still grinds during the fiestas while others can be visited, with all of La Mancha in view and Belmonte castle a step away: 23 km along the N-420. Las Pedroñeras is the capital of purple garlic, with a protected geographical indication, a garlic fair that brings together growers and cooks, and a local cuisine that puts it in everything. San Clemente has one of the best-preserved Renaissance centres in the region, with its Plaza Mayor, sixteenth-century town hall and manor houses, and is covered on foot in a morning.

For a group leaving Madrid, a single car with a driver links Mota del Cuervo, Belmonte, Las Pedroñeras and San Clemente in a day, with nobody driving back after lunch, and the price is per vehicle, not per person: from central Madrid to Mota del Cuervo the "from" fare is 186,29 € per leg. The outward and return legs are booked with the agreed times, and the intermediate stops are stated when booking so the price is fixed before confirming. Anyone arriving in Cuenca by AVE who wants to see Belmonte and the windmills from the capital has the route explained in the guide to the Ciudad Encantada, Segóbriga, Uclés and Belmonte, which is the other end of the same trip.

How is the round trip organised, as a family or a group?

The outward and return legs are booked together, with the pickup address in the village, the destination in Madrid and the times, and the driver comes back at the agreed hour or waits if the errand is short. For a family taking a son or daughter to university with a term's luggage, for a group of friends going to a concert or a holiday flight, or for two couples going to Madrid for a wedding, the whole car costs a price that is shared and avoids parking. When booking, the number of people and bags is stated so the assigned vehicle has room for everything; the price is fixed before confirming, and anyone who needs one gets an invoice.

For the area's older residents, who make up many of the travellers to appointments in Madrid, the service is a car with a driver to the door of the centre, not medical transport; anyone who needs help getting in or carries a folding wheelchair says so when booking, and the over-65s page explains how to book by phone. The area's calendar sets its peaks: the garlic campaign in summer, with work crews coming and going, the grape harvest between late summer and autumn, and the holidays, when transfers to Barajas increase and the first-thing flights are booked earlier. In winter, early-morning fog on the plain of La Mancha calls for a margin on small-hours departures along the N-301.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• Aena · aeropuerto Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas: cómo llegar y terminales (consulted on 27 October 2026)
• Renfe · estaciones de Cuenca-Fernando Zóbel y Alcázar de San Juan, trenes y horarios (consulted on 27 October 2026)
• Turismo de Castilla-La Mancha · Mota del Cuervo, Las Pedroñeras, San Clemente y Belmonte (consulted on 27 October 2026)
• Diputación Provincial de Cuenca · municipios de la Mancha conquense (consulted on 27 October 2026)