See Spain for Less: How to Travel by Rail and Road

In 21 st century there are numerous ways that you can travel. Planes are not the only way to see the world and it’s nothing bad if someone is afraid of flying, because they are not limited to travel because of that. On the contrary traveling by buses and train sometimes is most efficient and the cheapest way of transportation, especially in Spain where you have many buses and train options. You can find out where to buy tickets, how much this costs, and what alternative is the best for you.

Buses Win for Local Exploration and Savings

Traveling by bus is often the cheapest way of traveling in Spain. Of course it takes longer to get to your destination in comparison to traveling by train, but the main plus is that buses are traveling also from and to smaller cities, so you can see beautiful and less know places thanks to them. Often also bus stations are closer to the city center so if you want to go to specific place only for one day choosing a bus may save you stress with getting to the center or from center to bus on time. The most important thing is to buy tickets in advance. The earlier you will buy them the cheapest they will be. Ticket prices depends on the place of origin and the chosen destination. Route from Cuenca to Madrid costs around 15-20 euro, and it takes 2,5 hours to get to Madrid. But the main disadvantage of traveling by bus is that the routes are shorter, so it might be impossible to go to further destination using national carrier.

Things to know before traveling by bus

But If you decide that you want to go for a trip by bus the most recommended app is avanza. This is an official page of a carrier so it’s safe and checked, so you won’t get scammed. Beside buying normal ticket for one route you can also check the option for multi-trip voucher. Thanks to this you can travel for one route ( for example Cuenca-Madrid) even cheaper. The voucher has different options: for one month (which rice equivalent is like 20 tickets with a 50% discount), 10 trip-pass ( that costs 106 euro and you can use it for a year), the rest of the tickets require Spanish residency. And in order to buy the passes online you need to have a DNI number, which you give in registration process. Still it’s a great option for people who want to travel to specific destinations.

Rail Travel is High-Speed Simplicity

Train are undoubtedly the options for those who want to travel all over Spain. Due to long-distance routes and high-speed trains, travel is comfortable and efficient, and tickets are cheaper than flights, which can be more cost-effective in terms of time. From this perspective, airports are usually quite far from the city center, and you need to arrive at the airport two hours in advance. For this reason, the most cost-effective option for traveling around Spain is definitely the train. However, purchasing a ticket involves different issues than a bus ticket. Not only do you need to buy your ticket well in advance, but also at the right time. Prices fluctuate constantly; a train scheduled to depart on the hour can be 15 euros more expensive than one departing five minutes later. Therefore, when planning your trip, it’s worth carefully checking ticket prices for specific days and times to find the best deal.

Purchase of train tickets

When purchasing a train ticket, we have more alternatives. Besides the official carrier websites, the most frequently used apps are Renfe, Trainline, and Omio. All of them are intuitive to use, and the ticket is sent both by email and located in the app, so you can be sure it won’t be lost. However, when purchasing a ticket, I recommend checking all these websites because Omio, for example, doesn’t show all train routes. You can find tickets for the exact same train at completely different prices between different apps. Train ticket prices vary greatly. You can travel to Madrid from Cuenca for 15 euros or 70 euros depending on the day of the week and time of day. Therefore, you need to be careful not to overpay. Despite this, train travel is quick and pleasant, and the only downside is that each train has a weight limit for luggage, which can make traveling difficult. Also, due to luggage, you should arrive at the platform at least 30 minutes in advance as luggage will be checked and X-rayed.

Traveling don’t have to be expensive

Traveling is exciting. Ultimately, it doesn’t matter what you’re traveling with—whether it’s a first-class seat on an Airbus or a regular train seat in second class. The most important thing is sightseeing and experiencing new places. That’s why it’s worth knowing ways to save time, stress and money and apps that will help make the experience easier.