Private transportation
Private transport means travelling in an exclusive bus. Buses in Spain generally are of good quality. Almost all buses have air-conditioning, heating, TV and video. Nevertheless it is not usual to use buses with toilets, although it is possible to contract it. This is because of higienic reasons and the bad smell during the trip.
The are buses of different sizes, The normal bus has between 50 and 55 seats. But there are smaller mini-buses of e.g 18, 25 o 35 seats. But you have to consider that costs will not be reduced in relation of the number of seats. Another aspect is that these small buses almost do not have a boot large enough and under extreme conditions the air-conditioning may not be suficient. There are as well bigger buses, they use to be doble deck with usually 75 seats, but they use to be quite more expensive.
Travelling by bus you will use the National Highway Network.Spain, which has a road network measuring 317,000 kilometres of which 2,000 are relatively recent motorways. In general the highways have a very good standard, which allows travelling without any complications. There are numerous petrol stations along the way and bars, restaurants and commercial establishments.
Public transportation
Alternatives to private travelling are trains and public buses. The Spanish state-operated railway network consists of a total of 13,000 kilometres of tracks, covering the entire country. The High speed train AVE www.renfe.es/ave/covers the following routes to the south of Spain: Madrid-Seville, going through Ciudad Real, Puertollano and Córdoba (2 hours and 15 minutes). Spanish trains, among the most inexpensive in western Europe, have two classes. RENFE www.renfe.es/ has established a series of special prices and discounts that make travelling by rail in Spain much more convenient.
Unless you’re travelling on a rail pass www.eurail.com/, buses will probably meet most of your transport needs; many smaller villages are accessible only by bus, almost always leaving from the capital of their province. 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 it’s often on the outer fringes of town. One important point to remember is that all public transport, and the bus service especially, is drastically reduced on Sundays and holidays .
To reach the islands you have to use the Maritime Traffic. The maritime company TRANSMEDITERRANEA, specialised in passengers, is state-operated and 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 are specialised in short routes.
The most important ports in Spain for passengers are those of Barcelona, Valencia, Palma de Mallorca, Malaga, Cadiz, Las Palmas in Gran Canaria and Tenerife.
Another possibility but much more expensive is to use the Airlines www.externalharddrive.com/travel/airlines/europe-airlines.html. Spain’s Iberia Airlines, which is state-operated, covers all air transport within Spain and from Spain to points abroad. But there are other companies, as Spainair or Air Europa. And several so called Low Cost Airlines as Ryanair, Easyjet, Vueling.
Flight times from Madrid to other Spanish cities are for example
to Barcelona 55 minutes,
to Seville 50 minutes,
to the Canary Islands 2 hours and 30 minutes
to Palma de Mallorca 1 hour.