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.
Print this
page »
|
|