Getting Around

Britain and Spain each have their advantages over the other, but one area where The Spanish are undisputed champions, is in public transport.

For such a large country, coming from the UK, I am constantly astonished by how cheap, easy, and comfortably it is to traverse the long distances. Are Spain doing it right? I've got a feeling that it is Britain doing it very, very wrong.

Train

Picture the scene in the UK, you buy a ticket from London to Birmingham, you've purchased a super family day-saver special, but that particular ticket can't be used on this service, so you fork out another £100 to spend an hour standing up, with your face pushed into the toilet door. Whereupon half way there you are all shipped off the train to finish your journey on the now infamous 'replacement bus service'. You arrive in Birmingham 4 hours late, having missed your meeting you repeat the whole journey home again only to find the London Tube drivers on strike so you have to walk home in the inevitable rain.

Not in Spain, because they have this:

The high-speed, state owned 'RENFE' railway, connecting all the major cities of Spain in what, if you are British, passes for relative comfort. They don't even sell more tickets than there are seats, what an innovative idea.

Many international route connections are available from major cities in Spain, most popular are between Madrid and Lisbon and between Barcelona and Paris.

In comparison to British trains the Spanish equivalents are cheap, reliable and comfortable. You can book tickets (with guaranteed seats, unlike in the UK) on the RENFE website.

Buses/Coaches

Another area where Spain rules supreme is with its bus and coach services. There is nowhere in Spain which you can't reach via coach. Smaller bus companies run between towns and villages while faster, national services run betwee n major cities. These services are often cheaper than trains but are, for obvious reasons, less comfortable and a lot more time consuming. 

TIP - Often, tickets sold on popular, shorter routes, for example Madrid to a nearby city, like Toledo, are sold automatically for the next bus to leave, and are non-transferable. Whereas tickets sold on longer routes, such as the obviously popular Madrid - Barcelona route are sold in advance. 

Major cities will have an estacion de autobuses, a main, and often large bus station where all departures will leave from, and tickets (billetes), can be purchased.

All major cities, to my experience at least are blessed with decent local bus services, tickets are usually cheap, and money can be saved, in Madrid and Barcelona by purchasing a 'ten trip' ticket, which can be used for Metro journeys too. Tickets can be purchased from most tube stations, and the automatic ticket machines can easily be changed into English. (Are you listening, London?!)

Car Hire

A popular option in Spain due to the relatively large distances is to rent a car. Personally, I wouldn't advise this in larger cities, as the large volume of traffic makes public transport a much quicker, and cheaper, option. 

For exploring Spain's simply stunning natural beauty outside of these main population areas car hire is probably your only viable option. The most trusted and well known company is Europcar who have a presence at all main airports throughout Spain.

If a fly-drive holiday is your thing may I suggest you visit the Sierra Nevada region of Andalucia and the surrounding cities - the views are breathtaking. 

Domestic Flights

Some people prefer to fly domestically within Spain as opposed to get the train. I don't. Since the introduction of high-speed trains throughout Spain there is very little difference in times, in fact, in some cases, due to the check-in times, the train is quicker (and cheaper). There is one possible exception to this - Madrid to Barcelona. This is due to the fact you can buy open flight tickets 15 minutes before the flight and hop on the plane there and then - space permitting, but I've never had a problem.