Madrid to Vera Playa

Alsa is the only coach you will get from Madrid.  You can look up the times on line. Or hire a car.  It will take around 6 hrs I expect. You will have to enquire whether Alsa takes dogs.  I seem to remember they do but will put them in the luggage hold of course. Hope this is helpful.

you can also get a train to Lorca (or Almeria?) and hire transport from there.

but your best bet may be that rental car...

Thank you for your reply. Can't believe that it is acceptable practice to put dogs in a luggage hold on a bus. This is the reason we are not flying direct to Almeria as British and Irish airlines do not accept pets in the cabin and we would never allow our dogs to be put in the hold of an aircraft. I did this once with my first Bichon and it traumatised him for years afterwards. We are considering driving down but unsure if it would be too stressful.

Just check with Alsa, but don't forget if you drive down you can stop as often as you want to.  Alot of my friends travel by car backwards and forth with their pets. Sorry I couldn't be more helpful. Good luck.  Maybe even see you one day in vera plays as we live in that are. 

Train from Madrid to Alicante. Then rent a car. Around 2.5 hours to Vera

Or hire a car at Madrid, and drive down.  5 hour drive, motorway all the way with plenty of fuel / rest stops along the way.  I’ve done the drive a couple of times and it isn’t too bad at all.

You have the advantage that you can stop and water your puppies (and cater to other needs...) as often as possible.  Not all train lines allow dogs on the train and I’m unsure which operator runs the Madrid - Alicante route

Thank you. I had read that all train operators accepted dogs. A rethink may be needed for definite.

I DO stand to correction, but as far as I am aware, not all operators do accept pets.

I would suggest, that a drive down, in your own time, with puppies accompanied by people they know would be less stressful on them than whilst being with you, also being in a carriage full of strangers.

Just my thoughts.  I live in Vera as well, and it really isn’t a bad drive.  There are no villages or small winding roads to negotiate - use Google maps, head for Albacete, then Murcia, then Almería, climbing off at Vera.  It is motorway aalllllllllllllll the way and a 120 km/h speed limit for the majority of the journey.  Google Maps will help you get out of Madrid airport, which is a spaghetti junction of flyovers, motorways, off-ramps, on-ramps etc etc. But once clear of Madrid it’s a fairly straightforward run.

Have you thought about getting a connecting flight from Madrid to Almeria with Iberia (Air Nostrum) ? If you can take your dogs on the flight to Madrid I don't see why you couldn't going to Almeria. We use this connector flight regularly if there aren't any cheap direct flights available. Just allow yourself at least an hour & half between flights to avoid any rush.