Some studies have shown that people enjoy the travel planning process as much as the travel itself, so I should be downright giddy right now because I’m headed to Spain in a few months. The first stop will be Marbella on the southern coast for a conference, then I’ll be traveling around the oh-so-Spanish Andalucia region for at least a week after, mostly Spain by train.
The Andalucia train trips will be relatively short ones, heading to cities like Granada, Seville, and Malaga. But then eventually I have to make my way to Bulgaria for another commitment, so when I return I may end up traveling by rail between Barcelona and Madrid depending on the flight deals.
It has been quite a while since Americans fanned out and traveled across Europe by train, but this summer might be closer to normal. I feel like I need to plan ahead and get some tickets in hand, so I’m diving deep into the research to get ahead of the summer rush we might see again. I’m sharing what I’ve uncovered here for the sake of others who might be planning some train travel in Spain now that we can move around relatively safely again.
Skip to the end for what you’ll need to bring and show to enter Spain as a traveler, but know that you’ve got to fill out and download the Health Control Form. The form is available at the official Spain Travel Health Website. You can find latest details about the form at Natvisa.com.
Bullet Trains in Spain
While Spain may lag some of its neighbors in GDP wealth and employment levels, it leads Europe in one area of infrastructure: bullet trains. The AVE trains from Renfe can claim the longest high-speed rail route in Europe, the fastest high speeds in Europe, and the fastest average speeds. While Japan and China may come to mind first, Spain actually has the largest high-speed rail network in the world, with around 2,000 miles of track served by fast trains.
The AVE trains can reach speeds of 350 kph (217 mph) and speeds often hit 310 kph/193 mph. So when deciding whether to travel around Europe by train or plane, the train is the easy choice on these routes. You’ll get there faster, in more comfort, with no luggage fees, and you’ll end up where you want to be instead of an hour outside of town.
These trains are not all that expensive either unless you go first class all the way. The route from Madrid to Seville, for instance, will only take you two hours and 32 minutes to cover its 390 kilometers and if you plan ahead, tickets start at just $72 to $94 depending on departure time. There are usually at least a dozen departures a day. First class is actually not a big step up in price, running 20% to 50% more.
The popular route between Barcelona and Madrid can dip as low as $42 for the roughly three-hour trip if you leave in the afternoon. To put this in perspective, driving that distance would take you at least twice as much time–a minimum of 6.5 hours–and would cost you more in fuel than that that economy class train ticket. This route tends to cost more in first class than the others though thanks to all the business travelers who have a more liberal budget to work with.
Other bullet train routes in Spain operated by Renfe and AVE include ones to Valencia, Alicante, Cordoba, Granada, and Malaga. Eventually the lines will include the city where the Camino ends up: Santiago de Compostela.
These trains extend beyond Spain as well. It’s actually possible to travel by high-speed rail from Barcelona to Paris, covering 516 miles in roughly 6.5 hours, no pulling over for gas or a bathroom break.
Traveling Andalucia, Spain by Regular Train
It’s not all about fast trains in Spain though because unlike a lot of countries that ripped up tracks in the age of the automobile, Spain still has an extensive rail system that reaches a long list of cities. In the interior and on the coast, if there’s a Spanish city or town you’ve heard of, there’s a good chance it has a train station.
Think of Madrid as the heart and then a series of veins and arteries going in and out. You can get all the way out to the arms (Vigo, Girona) and the feet (Cadiz, Almeria) if you’re staring out there.
I’m going to be in the far south, first heading to Marbella for a Travel Bloggers Exchange conference (TBEX). As luck would have it, this is is the most populous municipality in the Iberian Peninsula without a railway station, the only city in Spain with more than 100K people that doesn’t have one. There’s a station a half-hour away though, then a bigger one in Malaga, so I just have to get myself to one of those to start traveling around.
Where can you go by train in Andalucia? I’m salivating at the prospects actually. The problem is going to be narrowing it down. People say this is the most Spanish part of Spain, with a lot of Moorish elements thrown in for good measure. There’s the fortress city of Granada, the cultural city of Seville, the Spanish desert where many westerns were filmed, plus Cadiz, Malaga, and Cordoba.
Fortunately, it won’t set me back much to explore multiple places. And while these trains are often regular ones, not super-fast ones, they’ll get you there just as fast as a bus will, with the ability to walk around, order a drink, or get a snack, usually with Wi-Fi available too. (Upgrade to business class and you’ll have an outlet also.)
How to Buy Tickets When Traveling Spain by Train
If I had a Eurail pass, I could take advantage of that here, traveling multiple days for less than $200. That’s one option if you don’t have your whole itinerary planned out and want to have some flexibility.
It can cost a bit more to do that though than if you just book the individual tickets yourself online in advance. Everything is computerized and set up in English now, so you can even go through your favorite research site like Omio or Rome2Rio to figure things out and then book from there.
I’ll probably use the service SaveATrain.com though because they run frequent sales to get you to book with them. Right now, without discounts, I’m looking at less than $20 from Malaga to Granada (2 hrs, 16 minutes), $40 from Granada to Seville (with a stop in Cordoba, so maybe I’ll spend a night there), and as little as $13 from Seville back to Malaga (2.5 hours), where I have a cheap flight to Bulgaria. I’ll probably pick those tickets up in advance and then work out whatever else may need to be added later.
You can just wing it and buy tickets at the station, of course, if you want to spontaneously travel Spain by train. That’s a little risky to do in the summer though since there are more tourists in Europe. On a Friday you’ll also be competing with locals going away for the weekend or returning home. You could pay more too since prices tend to rise as the departure day gets closer unless a route is half-empty and they need to fill seats.
July 2022 update – I’m adding this section after my trip to show that photo above, in a regular cabin, and lay out what I paid for my tickets. I bought them in advance and paid $37 for Granada to Cordoba, $16.45 for Cordoba to Sevilla, and $30 for Sevilla to Malaga. There was a small service charge from the online booking agency included in that.
The distance for the third leg was much more than the first, but if I remember right the cheapest tickets were early morning or late evening and I picked the most popular time instead for leaving Granada. The price can fluctuate depending on the day, the time, and how far ahead you book. I saw tickets to Barcelona and Madrid for not much more if booked far enough out in non-peak periods.
Entry Restrictions and Rules for Spain
As mentioned in the beginning, you may need a visa to enter Europe depending on where you’re from, but that’s not an issue for most people reading this, including Americans and Canadians.
Check the current health restrictions though as they tend to change depending on the state of various variants and their risks. As I write this, vaccination proof is required for most people outside the EU, which now includes Brits. You also have to fill out the official Health Control Form. You get a QR code you need to present at the airport or ferry terminal on arrival. As of early July, masks were still required on public transportation in Spain, which includes Spanish airlines Iberia and Vueling.
Photos by Tim Leffel and the Flickr account of Renfe/AVE.
