Who This Itinerary Would Appeal to
This suggested itinerary is for those who didn't come to Spain for a suntan, but are interested in the diversity of Spain - from old Castilla (where the Spanish language originates from) to Galicia and Asturias, where it's bagpipes and cider rather than flamenco guitars and sangria.
This itinerary is self-guided. If you'd rather have everything arranged for you, see this list of Spain Tour Packages, with itineraries ranging from two to 81 days!
Read more about what to do in north-west Spain in this North-West Spain Guide.
Budget
For details on how much money you need in Spain, see this article on How Much Money You Need in Spain.
Journey Summary
- Cities and Towns Visited on This Itinerary:
- Total Travel Time:
- By Bus 22h (Total Price: 88€)
- By Train 22h45* (Total Price: 90.50€)*
*It is not possible to do your entire journey solely by train. Where necessary, the relevant bus time and price have been added to the total.
- Longest Journey Time:
- By Bus Salamanca to Santiago de Compostela and A Coruña to Oviedo are both six hours. There are no trains on these routes.
- By Train Leon to Madrid takes four hours. The bus is slighly quicker.
Travel Details:
Below are the times and prices for traveling by bus and train. All train tickets can be booked through Rail Europe. Not much of this itinerary is served by trains.
Typically, buses can be half the price of the train, with journey times approximately 30% longer, although on itinerary route the times are more or less the same. The bus is much better value than the train, but it can be quite difficult to book. The Spanish bus network is split up into a number of different companies - I have indicated below which bus company to book with. For most bus timetables (but, frustratingly, not all), see Movelia. Movelia allow you to print tickets, which saves time as you can go straight to the bus with your print out, but as Movelia has not yet integrated all bus companies into its network, this service cannot be relied upon.
- Madrid - Segovia
- By Bus: 1h15 (6€ with La Sepulvedana
- By Train: 1h15 (5.50€) Book this ticket (book direct)
- Avila - Salamanca
- By Bus: 1h30 with Auto-Res (price: 6€)
- By Train: 1h (8€) Book this ticket (book direct)
- Santiago de Compostela - A Coruña
- By Bus: 1h (4€ - use local buses)
- By Train: 1h (3.50-5€) Book this ticket (book direct)
- A Coruña - Oviedo
- By Bus: 6h (19€ with Alsa)
- By Train: No train
- Oviedo - Leon
- By Bus: 1h45 (7.50€ with Alsa)
- By Train: 2h30 (6.50€ - note: there are some quicker trains (saving 40 minutes) that are three times the price) Book this ticket (book direct)
- Leon - Madrid
- By Bus: 3h30 (19.50€ with Alsa)
- By Train: 4h (22€ - note: there are some slower trains that are oddly more expensive) Book this ticket (book direct)
- Avila can be missed out, but with a very irregular bus service between Salamanca and Segovia (and no train) it is quicker to go via Avila (bus to Avila and then train on to Salamanca), but don't miss out an exploration of Avila itself - four hours is enough.
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