Advantages & Disadvantages of Traveling by Train in Spain

The trains in Spain are fast, efficient and relatively cheap. Unfortunately, their coverage is not great with many routes poorly served, if at all. When planning your journey around Spain, don't assume that traveling by train will always be quicker or cheaper. On this page you will find the advantages and disadvantages of traveling by train in Spain (as opposed to traveling by bus) as well as information on some of the poorly served routes. At the bottom of the page there is a price comparison of bus and train travel in Spain.

Read information about Booking Train and Bus Tickets in Spain or cut straight to the chase and book your tickets using these links:

• Book Train Tickets in Spain (book direct)
• Book Bus Tickets in Spain (book direct)

These sites also have full timetables and prices for all routes in Spain. For specific travel information between dozens of Spanish cities, see:
How to Get from City to City in Spain

Advantages of Traveling by Train in Spain

• Train Travel in Spain is Cheaper Than Other Countries A long distance train can be half the price of a similar journey in France or Germany.
• The Train Can be Very Quick Some routes, in particular the Madrid-Seville route, can be exceptionally fast.
• Eurail & Inter Rail Passes Can Make Train Travel Cheaper The discounts offered by Inter Rail & Eurail can be excellent - but choose your ticket wisely.
• Easier to Book than Bus There is just one main train company, unlike with the highly fragmented bus system, so chances are you will be able to book your train from the main station.
• Trains Have Toilets Spanish buses don't (though they stop every 3-4 hours).

Book Train Tickets in Spain (book direct)

A good resource is this Interactive Map of Train Routes in Spain from Rail Europe, a company that does cheap rail passes for the whole continent. They have maps for most of Europe: European Train Routes.

Disdvantages of Traveling by Train in Spain

• Not THAT Cheap Train travel is cheap in Spain, but it is not as cheap as taking the bus. Look at the table at the bottom of the page for a price comparison.
• The Train is NOT ALWAYS Quicker Depending on whether you are traveling on a direct train or not, sometimes you'll pay extra and get there later than if you had traveled by bus.
• It isn't Easy to Know Which Train Company to Use Though most trains are run by Renfe, there are several companies running a number of Types of Trains in Spain so knowing who to use can be difficult. For example, the Renfe website says that there are only two trains per day from Barcelona to Sitges; looking at a different part of the same site shows you that there are a number of Cercanía trains that run to Sitges. Both run by the same company, but you need to know which type of train to use. How are you supposed to know which type of train you need? Psychic powers would help.

  In this respect, traveling by bus is easier. Despite there being numerous bus companies, Movelia.es tells you exactly which one to use.

• Lines at Train Station Ticket Offices Can be Horrendous In many ticket offices in Spanish train stations you take a ticket with a number on it and wait until your number appears on the screen - if they didn't use this system, the line would disappear out the door! A half-hour to an hour wait is quite common. The problem is not restricted to large cities - in Salamanca on a Wednesday evening I took a ticket and found there were forty people in front of me, with just three booths open. Lines in buses stations are never as bad.
• Many Routes are Served Poorly or not at all by Train See below for more details
• Sleeper Cars are Very Expensive and the standard seats at night time do not recline and can be very hot. Exceptions are the Bilbao-Barcelona and San Sebastian routes, which have free beds.
• Inter Rail & Eurail Passes are Far from Perfect You have to pay a reservation which brings the price up and forces you to stand in line. Read more about Inter Rail and Eurail Passes in Spain

Routes Where the Bus is Better than the Train

All of the points made on this page can be used to decide if you would rather take a train or a bus when traveling around Spain. However, there are some routes where traveling by bus is much better than traveling by train, either because there are few or no trains or because the bus is quicker than the train. See this page on Routes Where the Bus Is Better Than the Train.

Train & Bus Price Comparison

The major routes are largely quicker by train, but you often have to spend considerably more money. Less traveled routes can vary a lot more. Always check both train times and bus times before booking your ticket.