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 Transport in Spain
Air travel
Spain's Iberia Airlines, which is state-operated, covers all
air transport within Spain and from Spain to points abroad:
its subsidiary, Aviaco (Maudes 51, Madrid) covers solely Spanish
domestic routes Tel: (91) 554-3600 and 305 8685/4063
Iberia provides 200 reservation outlets. There are also 4,000
sales outlets in authorised travel agencies.
Iberia has offices in the principal countries around the world.
Its main office is at Calle Velazquez, 130, 28006 Madrid. Information,
Tel: (91) 411 2545. Reservations, tel: (91) 411 1011/5639966.
The Spanish airports open to international traffic are: Alicante,
Almeria, Aviles, Barcelona, Bilbao, Fuerteventura, Girona,
Granada, Ibiza, Jerez de la Frontera, Corunna, Lanzarote, Las
Palmas, Madrid-Barajas, Malaga, Melilla, Menorca, Murcia, Palma
de Mallorca, Reus (Tarragona), San Sebastian, Santander, Santiago
de Compostela (Corunna) Seville, Tenerife-Norte, Tenerife-Sur,
Valencia, Vigo, Vitoria and Zaragoza.
Flight times from Madrid to other Spanish cities are:
To Barcelona 55 minutes
To Bilbao 50 minutes
To Seville 50 minutes
To Valencia 30 minutes
To the Canary Islands 2 hours and 30 minutes
To Palma Mallorca 1 hour.
Railways
The Spanish state-operated railway network consists of a total
of 13,000 kilometres of tracks, covering the entire country.
The state-run company RENFE covers an ample number of domestic
lines that connect all the regions on the Iberian Peninsula.
Spanish trains, the most inexpensive in Europe, have two classes.
RENFE has established a series of special prices and discounts
that make travelling by rail in Spain that much more convenient.
The most interesting offers are the following: The so-called "Dias
Azules" (Blue Days) are dates that do not generally coincide
with holidays, the eves of holidays or the most common holiday
periods. There are many such dates throughout the year on which
it is possible to travel by rail with a 50% discount.
The "Tarjeta Joven" (Youth Card) allows the bearer,
whose age must be between 12 and 25, to travel with a 50% discount
on all tickets providing that travelling dates coincide with
the "Blue Days". The "Tarjeta Turistica" (Tourist
Card), reserved for non-residents of Spain, independent of
their nationality, allows unrestricted circulation, without
kilometre limitation, on any RENFE line, without having to
pay supplements. This card may be for either first or second
class travel and its price varies depending on the duration
of travel time requested, which may be 3, 5 or 10 days.
The "Euro- Railpass" (Eurail Pass) is also a discount
ticket reserved for visiting guests. It can be purchased in
the country of origin and provides unlimited travel rights
on any date, on any line, without supplements. Its price also
varies according to duration, which can be 15, 25, 30, 60,
or 90 days.
Besides the regular trains and sleeper cars, RENFE has recently
inaugurated the AVE, a high speed train linking Madrid and
Seville in a time of three hours, as well as series of special
trains, of particular interest to the tourist. The most outstanding
is the so-called "Expreso Al.Andalus" (Al Andalus
Express) which departs from Seville each week and for 5 days
tours the beautiful cities of Seville, Cordoba, Granada, Malaga,
and Jerez de la Frontera. The price of the ticket includes
the visits to these cities, meals at the finest restaurants
in each one, "fiestas" and typical shows plus dinner
and lodging on a truly special train that includes a discotheque,
video room, bars and the luxury and comfort of the finest hotel.
Another tourist train with similar characteristics is the "Transcantabrico" which
tours the north of Spain. For information call RENFE, tel:
(91) 530 0202, (93) 4900202 and for reservations call (91)
527 3333 in Madrid.
Road Travel
People in Spain drive on the right hand side of the road.
Spain has a road network measuring 317,000 kilometres of which
2,000 are relatively recent motorways.
The most important motor ways are: the Mediterranean coastal
road from the French border to Alicante, and the one linking
the Cantabrian region with Cataluña.
The use of the Spanish motorways usually requires paying a
toll, which can be calculated on the basis of the type of vehicle
in question and the distance to be travelled. There are numerous
petrol stations along the way and bars, restaurants and commercial
establishments.
Sea Travel
The shipping company Transmediterranea, also state-operated,
links the peninsula with the Balearic Isles, the Canary Islands
and northern Africa. There are also private companies based
at specific points along the coast that specialise in short
routes.
Transmediterranea operates year-round, with daily service
to the Balearic Isles and northern Africa. Service to the Canary
Islands is weekly. The most important ports are those of Barcelona,
Valencia, Palma de Mallorca, Malaga, Cadiz, Las Palmas in Gran
Canaria, Tenerife. The main office of Transmediterranea is
at Pedro Muñoz Seca, 2, 28001 Madrid, Tel: (91) 4310700.
Related Links
How to get from
London to Spain by train - A great page with details
on how to get to all major Spanish cities from London by
train. |
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