Travelling Around
There is an extensive network of internal flights and most of the country is well covered by both bus and rail networks. For journeys between major towns there is often little to choose between them in cost or speed. On shorter routes buses tend to be quicker and will also normally take you closer to your destination whereas some train stations are several kilometres from the town or village they serve and you have no guarantee of a connecting bus. Car rental may be worth considering as costs are among the lowest in Europe.
By air
Iberia and its cheaper subsidiary Aviaco, as well as the independent companies Spanair and AirEurope, operate an extensive network of internal flights. The prices are quite reasonable by international standards. It is worth considering flights on the route between Madrid and Barcelona, which is poorly serviced by public transport, or getting to, and between, the Balearic Islands, for which flights are only marginally more expensive than the ferries. In peak season you may well have to reserve long in advance for these flights.
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By road
Buses will probably meet most of your transport needs and many smaller villages are accessible only by bus. Service varies in quality, but buses are generally reliable and comfortable enough - especially for long distances, with prices pretty standard at around €5 per 100km. The only real problem involved is that many towns still have no main bus station, and buses may leave from a variety of places and most newly built terminals are often on the outer fringes of town. As far as possible, departure points are detailed in the text or the "Travel details". All public transport, and the bus service especially, is drastically reduced on Sundays and holidays. The words to look out for on timetables are diario (daily), laborables (workdays, including Saturday), and domingos y festivos (Sundays and holidays).
Whilst getting around on public transport is easy enough, you will have a great deal more freedom if you have your own car. Major roads throughout the country are generally good, and traffic, while a little hectic in the cities, is generally well behaved - though Spain does have one of the highest incidences of traffic accidents in Europe. Equally, it also has some of the lowest fuel prices on the continent. Most foreign driver's licences are honoured in Spain - including all EU, US and Canadian ones - but an International Driver's Licence (available from motoring organizations, like the AA or RAC, in your home country) is an easy way to set your mind at rest. If you are bringing your own car, you must have a green card from your insurers.
By rail
RENFE , the Spanish rail company, operates a complicated variety of train services, divided into three main sections. Cercanias are local commuter trains in and around the major cities. Regionales are equivalent to buses in speed and cost, and run between cities - Regional expres and Delta trains can cover longer distances. Largo recorrido (long-distance) express trains have a bewildering number of names: in ascending order of speed and luxury, they are known as Diurno, Intercity (IC), Estrella (often just signified by a star *), Talgo, Talgo P(endular), Talgo 200 (T200), and Trenhotel. Anything above Intercity can cost upwards of twice as much as standard second class. There is also a growing number of super-high-speed trains from Madrid, such as AVE to Sevilla and EuroMed to Alicante; for those who can afford it, these have cut travelling times dramatically, with Madrid to Sevilla, for example, taking 2hr 30min compared with 6-9 hours on the slower trains. For budget travellers however, it can mean switching between regional trains to find an alternative route. For more information visit www.renfe.es
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