Travelling To Spain - The Spanish Regional Travel Guide

>destinations, and the city has an underground metro
system as well.
Up to 60 million visitors travel to Spain every year toCosta del Azahar — The main travel hub of
delight in the country’s 315 sunny days and itsthis region is Valencia with the city’s airport
rich and diverse history and culture. As a result theenjoying direct UK flights. To access the rest of the
Spanish government spend millions of Euros per yearregion you can take advantage of the RENFE
on the travel and transport infrastructure to serviceservices from Valencia or enjoy the city via the FGV
the country’s growing population and its evertrams and underground trains. If you want to travel
growing numbers of visitors.from the coast to Madrid take the N430 and A3; to
Therefore Spain has to be one of the easiest andexplore the coast take the A7. Again, Eurolines
most affordable of the world’s popularcoaches operate connections to towns and cities in
destinations in terms of its accessibility - particularlythis region including Valencia, Sagunt and Vinaros. And
from the UK and Northern America. For examplelast but not least, Valencia is a port city and has
there are cheap flights available from all Britishferries running across the Mediterranean with
airports to main and regional airports across Spaindestinations including Malta, Ibiza, Italy etc.
daily and direct flights from the main Spanish hubs toCosta Blanca — Most visitors for this region
the US daily. As an alternative for British andenter via Alicante airport. With the Costa Brava well
European travellers there are fantastic countrywideserviced by roads and Alicante airport offering great
train, coach and ferry links and great access forcar hire opportunities many people prefer to access
those who prefer to travel by car.the rest of the region by road, though RENFE,
This article breaks down the main Spanish travelEurolines and Alsa offer excellent rail and coach
options by region.alternatives.
Northern Spain — The easiest way to accessCosta Calida — Murcia is the main airport for
this region is by plane from one of the main UKthis region, though Alicante airport is also accessible
airports flying directly to Bilbao or from the US toaffording visitors and residents an extra opportunity
Malaga with transfer to Bilbao. It’s possible toand advantage. From Murcia there are a number of
connect with Iberia flights for connections across themajor train services including direct links to Madrid. In
North and throughout Spain. Alsa and Eurolines haveterms of roads, again the Costa Calida is a region
sophisticated coach networks and it’s possiblewith an excellent network of major roads and routes:
to travel all the way across Europe to Bilbao or Santhe N340 runs from Alicante through Murcia to the
Sebastian and then pick up local coaches or railCosta del Sol, the A7 hugs the coast and local,
connections. You can also sail from the UK port ofnational and international coach lines service the area.
Plymouth to Santander with Brittany Ferries, or youIn the port town of Cartagena a passenger terminal
could take the P & O route from Portsmouth towas built in 2003 which now serves as a destination
Bilbao.for some of the major cruise liners on their way to
Castile and La Rioja — The cheapest way toand from destinations around France, Greece and the
access these regions is possibly to fly to one of theBlack Sea Coast.
main Spanish hubs — Barcelona, Bilbao orCosta de Almeria — You’re spoilt for
Madrid for example, and then either drive or getchoice when it comes to airports serving this region,
connecting flights. You can connect with Iberia foryou can fly to Alicante or Murcia and travel by road
flights to Logrona in La Rioja or Valladolid in Castile.or rail into the region or you can fly direct to Almeria
Castile, Rioja and Navarre are serviced by anairport. The cheapest flights are often to Alicante.
excellent road network which makes getting aroundRENFE have mainline train services from Almeria to
simple and again, Alsa coaches will connect you withthe city of Granada, Eurolines, Alsa and Enatcar all
major and minor destinations across the regions andoffer coach services across Costa de Almeria. The
the entire country.major routes in the region are the N340 which runs
Aragon, Navarre and the Pyrenees — Asfrom Costa Calida through the town of Almeria and
these regions are easily accessible by car or coachon south to the Costa del Sol, the A92 which
from Madrid it may be best to get a cheap flight toconnects with Granada and the A348 which connects
Madrid and then drive the E90 to the heart of theAlmeria with the Alpujarras. In terms of sea access,
region. You could consider getting a connecting flightTransmediterranea have ferries from the port of
to Zaragoza in the middle of the region which is aAlmeria to Northern Africa.
good jumping off point for explorations in thisCosta del Sol and Andalucia — If you
stunning part of Spain. Alternatively access to thiscan’t get a flight to this region of Spain you
region can be made by rail or coach. Eurolinesmust be doing something wrong — or maybe
coaches will connect you with Pamplona or Zaragoza;just hoping to travel during peak season! The main
Eurostar rail will take you from the UK to Paris andairport is Malaga and nearly every single airline you
from Paris you can catch an overnight high speed railcan think of flies from almost every single UK and US
link to Madrid…from Madrid the options are varied,airport you can think of! If you can’t get a
from local rail and coach connections, car hire, andflight and you’re in the UK you might consider
local flight connections with Iberia.driving to the Costa del Sol! In which case your best
Costa Brava and Costa Dorada — As webet would be to sail from Plymouth to Santander or
move east to the beautiful Northern Catalonianfrom Portsmouth to Bilbao and then travel the 900
coastal regions of the Costa Brava and Costaor so kilometres south. If you start off in Bilbao
Dorada, so accessibility increases. Barcelona airport isyou’ll need the A68 and A1 to Burgos, or
the main airport for these regions and it welcomesfrom Santander take the N623 to Burgos —
cheap UK and US flights. You can then connect tothen from Burgos travel via the N1 to Madrid. From
Girona in the Costa Brava region or Reus in theMadrid head to Granada, from Granada head for
Costa Dorada region. Barcelona itself has anMalaga…phew! Alternatively get a Euroline coach all
underground train network for access throughout thethe way from the UK to Estepona or Malaga or
city, and if you want to travel further afield thetravel from Paris on the fast night train to Madrid and
Spanish rail service RENFE has many mainline and localconnect with the AVE fast train to Cordoba which in
services servicing both regions. The main coastal roadturn connects up with regional Costa del Sol services.
in Costa Brava is the A7, with the A2 taking youCosta de la Luz and Gibraltar — You can either
west away from Barcelona and the C32 taking youfly to Gibraltar or Jerez in the region or make use of
south from Barcelona into the Costa Dorada.the many cheap flights to Spain that land in Malaga.
Barcelona has a port with ferry services to Genoa,There are ferry services between Tarifa and
Rome, Mallorca, Menorca and Ibiza.Algeciras in Spain and Tangiers in Morocco, bus and
Central Spain and Madrid — Centralrail services across Europe and through Spain to the
Spain’s main airport is Madrid and it welcomesCosta de la Luz and strong road links with the E15
direct flights from all the major UK and US airportsserving Gibraltar from the mainland.
and some of the smaller ones as well. As Madrid isWhatever your final destination you should be able to
such a major city you can imagine it acts as anfind cheap flights to some of Spain’s main
important travel hub for the whole of Spain. Coachairports and then use local and regional travel services
and rail networks and main auto routes all radiateto access your destination of choice; as I hope
from the city. Madrid has two main stations withI’ve shown, the whole of Spain is incredibly
trains departing for regional and internationaleasily accessible.