ways to travel spain

travel agencies - car hire - rail travel and other ways to discover spain

For more information please select from the regions below or from the travel links here: Travel Information | International Airports | Ferries to Spain

To find travel agencies and companies providing travel services please select one of the region links below:

Introduction to Travelling to and in spain

Travel Information

From roads to railways, Spain has invested a lot into its transportation systems and visitors can benefit from this in the easy commuting from one magnificent destination to another. Last year approximately 78 million people visited Spain making it the world's 3rd most popular tourist destination. Spain is only a couple of hour's flight by plane from most European cities and all major cities in Spain host an airport so passengers are rarely more than 50 kilometers from their holiday destination.

Public Transport in Spain:

Public transport is very good and over the last twenty years Spain has gone through a major campaign of upgrading all aspects of its public transport system. All public transport is reduced on Sundays and holidays.

Buses:

The local bus services in cities run from around 0600 until between 22:00. Nowadays luxury coaches are used for longer journeys taken by bus around Spain Services vary depending on the area you visit but in general the Spanish bus services offer a very comfortable, reliable and inexpensive way to travel

The Metro:

An underground railway system found in cities such as Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia. They offer the fastest way to get around these cities. Tickets are readily available and can be purchased from any of the various stations. A map (plano del metro) showing the lines in different colours can be obtained from the ticket offices.

Trains:

Spanish trains are the most inexpensive in Europe The Spanish rail network is operated by the state company Red Nacional de los Ferrocarriles Espanoles (RENFE) and connects all the regions of the peninsula. Besides the regular trains and sleeper cars, there is now a more modern way to travel, AVE are high speed trains and offer services between Madrid and Seville and Madrid and Malaga. There are also a huge variety of local, short-distance trains called tranvia (also a tram). Suburban commuter trains (cercanias) are second class only and stop at all stations.

Taxis:

All official taxis display a special license and are governed by strict legislation. It is advisable to establish the fare prior to taking a long journey in a taxi to avoid any misunderstanding.

Many visitors coming to Spain are choosing to drive here or rent a car once they have arrived. Car hire is readily available and relatively inexpensive compared to other European destinations. It should be noted that in Spain people drive on the right hand side of the road. The motorways are well maintained and occasionally require paying a toll. There are numerous petrol stations along the way and bars, restaurants and commercial establishments. It is obligatory to have the driving license and insurance. The speed limit is 120 km/h on the motorways, 100 km/h on the fast lanes and 60 km/h in town

International Airports

There are several international Airports in Spain, the most important being Madrid Barajas Airport. Other cities with international airports are: Barcelona, Alicante, Malaga, Seville and Alicante. The Spanish flag airline is Iberia and covers international and domestic destinations. Flight times from Madrid to other Spanish cities are:

To Barcelona 55 minutes, Bilbao 50 minutes, Seville 50 minutes, Valencia 30 minutes and the Canary Islands 2 hours and 30 minutes. Flight information for flights in Spain can be obtained from Aena. Air Fares for flights to Spain vary through the year, depending on demand; they are generally highest during the summer months. Domestic flights are readily available throughout Spain and with more air carriers surfacing prices are becoming more competitive. It's recommended to book flights as far in advance as possible as last minute seats tend to be more expensive when traveling internally in Spain.

Ferries To Spain

Although not as popular as air travel and certainly more expensive there are still a lot of visitors who choose to travel to Spain by ferry. Mostly arriving through the north of Spain and traveling onwards to their holiday destinations. Domestically a company called Transmediterranea has regular connections from Barcelona, Valencia, and Denia to the Balearic Islands, and from Cadiz to the Canary Islands Inter-island service is available for both the Canary and the Balearic Islands. They also travel further afield to North Africa from Almeria and Malaga to Melilla, from Almeria to Nador, and from Algeciras to Ceuta and Tangiers.

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