Public Transportation in Spain

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Cities: In Madrid and Barcelona, your best option is the subway. Fast, relatively clean and safe (click HERE for our tips on urban safety), it will get you where you want to go in record time. Most guidebooks will tell you correct subway stop for sights you want to see, and local people can do the same, so once on the surface you know where you are and can find your destination easily. Another big advantage of the subway is that once you've punched your ticket, you can go just about anywhere in the city. The exception in Madrid is two mini-networks in outlying areas that most visitors do not need - and now a new combo ticket can take you there if you do need to go

Of course, the biggest disadvantage to the subway is that you can't see anything. If this is an issue, by all means take the bus (good bus system in both cities and other major cities in Spain). But keep in mind that you might need help finding the right stop for what you want to see, if you don't know the city or have a visual landmark in mind. If there aren't too many people on the bus, sometimes the driver can tell you the correct stop for your destination. Otherwise, ask another passenger. 

One interesting sightseeing option using city buses is picking a bus line, riding as far as you want (watching scenery all the way), hopping off and walking back or taking the subway. If you are curious and fairly self-sufficient traveler, this can be a cheap alternative to the tourist buses that operate in Madrid and Barcelona - of course without the taped commentary. In Madrid, the buses up and down the north - south Castellana go by art museums, the central post office, Colon square and the financial district. Some of these buses have a lot of pickpockets (like the 27). The "Circular" (C) is another good bus for Madrid geography - get it in the Plaza de España and ride all around the central part of the city. Or take the "25" from Opera out to the edge of the Casa de Campo park to see how the city grew-then take a walk in the park or visit the zoo, as explained in April newsletter.   

Both major cities have a ten-ride ticket that can be used by several people with same origen and destination, good on both subway and bus systems. If you are traveling with at least one other person, staying in a fairly central location and plan a two-three day stay in either city, this ticket is probably the best deal, better than the unlimited travel tourist card that covers a set number of days. After all, you do plan to walk to some of the sights, don't you?

OUTSIDE CITIES: Speaking very generally, buses are cheaper and faster than trains for travel between towns or cities.

But there are exceptions to that generalization. If you are traveling in or out of a major city in high season, the traffic can be mind-boggling (personal experience: taking 4 hours into Madrid instead of 1 hour). There a train has a real advantage.

The other exception is on price. There are a number of different kinds of trains with different fares, depending on level of comfort and speed, with the AVE bullet trains at the top of the heap, the Talgo just underneath and so on down to the slowest kind of  Regional trains, and many kinds of train have tourist class and first class.

Buses are the same: luxury routes (on a few lines, fast, comfy buses, freebie snack or earphones, most expensive alternative), direct routes (fast but expensive), indirect (just a few stops, medium price) and milk run (stops everywhere but cheaper - if you have time, these buses are a lot of fun and great for people-watching).

Taking everything into account, a luxury or direct bus might be more expensive than a slow train. Depending on where you want to go, you may have lots of options on train and bus, or only one option.

So how to decide when you have several options?   Personally, if a trip is more than four hours, I prefer the train. You can get up and move around, go to the bathroom, get a snack on the cafeteria car (frequent on medium and long-distance trains). Not all buses have bathrooms, though on longer trips they stop every three hours or so - nice to stretch your legs but this adds time, and the lines for the bathrooms can be really long.

For long trips (over six hours) I almost always take trains, if possible, on a bunk (litera) on a night train to make better use of travel time. In my opinion, the seating on trains is generally more comfortable, better seats and more leg room, though on some trains you might end up sitting backwards. Another thing to factor in is motion sickness - if your trip is through mountains and you tend to queasiness, a train is definitely the best option.  As to smoking, it is not allowed on any buses at all. Trains have smoking and non-smoking cars, be sure to specify what you want when you buy your ticket.  

The other advantage to the train is a centralized information system (see Spanish national train system webs, www.renfe.es). This website is divided into short-run trains (cercanías), mid-distance (regionales) and long distance (grandes lineas). If you are interested in short or middle distances, a map and / or text will pop up to ask you what part of Spain you want, after that, the system varies between typing in origin and destination, or giving you the option of different train lines and you select your stops on the correct line. This can be a little confusing at first; to save time and frustration it is a good idea to have a basic idea of the major cities in the direction you want to go. But with a little practice the website is quite informative. At least partly in English.

Getting information on bus lines and schedules is more complicated. Different companies cover different areas, and there is no centralized information system. Some major bus companies have websites (see below for a few), but not all. In big cities (at least Madrid and Barcelona) there may be more than one bus station. A good guidebook with tell you the right station for the usual destinations, but if you are heading for an odd destination you may have to do some research, probably starting at the local tourist office or information booth at the biggest bus stations - they can usually tell you where to go if it isn't that station. 

If this sounds complicated, please note that it really isn't! It just takes a few trips to figure things out. All in all, using public transportation in Spain is fairly easy, like most of Europe. Though somewhat more time-consuming than a private car and somewhat challenging if your Spanish is shakey, you will see a lot more local culture if you travel this way.  

Sarfa:  Catalunya, Barcelona, Girona and many coastal destinations. www.sarfa.com

Teisa. Catalunya, covers most of inland Girona (Ripoll, Olot, Figueres) and down to Barcelona.  www.teisa-bus.com

Castromil. Galicia, covers several important lines from A Coruña (Corunna). www.castromil.com

Continental Auto. Madrid and many destinations north-northeast. Also to Granada and short-run buses to towns near Madrid. Departures from stations Mendez Alvaro, Avenida de America in Madrid, plus some departures from Plaza de Castilla, all depending on destination. This bus line is now under Alsa (see below)

Auto-Res. Madrid and many destinations in Galicia, Extremadura and east to Cuenca, Valencia and Castellon.  Also short-middle distance in central Spain. Departures now from Madrid's "south station". www.auto-res.net

Alsa. Madrid and many destinations north-northwest, from bus stations Mendez Alvaro and Avenida de America in Madrid. www.alsa.es

Socibus-Secorbus. Madrid - Sevilla and other destinations south, mostly from station Mendez Alvaro in Madrid. www.socibus.es

Biggest bus stations in Madrid for mid and long-distance: Continental at metro Avenida de America. Mendez Alvaro / Estacion Sur de Autobuses (south bus station) www.estaciondeautobuses.com , mega station serving lots of companies at metro Mendez-Alvaro (gray line).   Get some additional info on what bus lines serve your destination at  www.softdoc.es/guia_Madrid .

Biggest bus station in Barcelona at metro Arc de Triomf.

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