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Air travel
Spain's Iberia Airlines, which is state-operated, covers all air transport within Spain and from Spain to points abroad: its subsidiary, Aviaco covers
solely Spanish domestic routes.
The Spanish airports open to international traffic are: Alicante, Almeria, Aviles, Barcelona, Bilbao, Fuerteventura, Girona, Granada, Ibiza, Jerez de la
Frontera, Corunna, Lanzarote, Las Palmas, Madrid-Barajas, Malaga, Melilla, Menorca, Murcia, Palma de Mallorca, Reus (Tarragona), San Sebastian, Santander,
Santiago de Compostela (Corunna) Seville, Tenerife-Norte, Tenerife-Sur, Valencia, Vigo, Vitoria and Zaragoza.
Flight times from Madrid to other Spanish cities are:
To Barcelona - 55 minutes
To Bilbao - 50 minutes
To Seville - 50 minutes
To Valencia - 30 minutes
To the Canary Islands - 2 hours and 30 minutes
To Palma Mallorca - 1 hour
Railways
The Spanish state-operated railway network consists of a total of 13,000 kilo of tracks, covering the entire country. The state-run company RENFE covers an
ample number of domestic lines that connect all the regions on the Iberian Peninsula.
Spanish trains, the most inexpensive in Europe, have two classes. RENFE has established a series of special prices and discounts that make travelling by
rail in Spain that much more convenient. The most interesting offers are the following: The so-called "Dias Azules" (Blue Days) are dates that do not
generally coincide with holidays, the eves of holidays or the most common holiday periods. There are many such dates throughout the year on which it is
possible to travel by rail with a 50% discount.
The "Tarjeta Joven" (Youth Card) allows the bearer, whose age must be between 12 and 25, to travel with a 50% discount on all tickets providing that
travelling dates coincide with the "Blue Days".
The "Tarjeta Turistica" (Tourist Card), reserved for non-residents of Spain, independent of their nationality, allows unrestricted circulation, without
kilometre limitation, on any RENFE line, without having to pay supplements. This card may be for either first or second class travel and its price varies
depending on the duration of travel time requested, which may be 3, 5 or 10 days.
The "Euro- Railpass" (Eurail Pass) is also a discount ticket reserved for visiting guests. It can be purchased in the country of origin and provides
unlimited travel rights on any date, on any line, without supplements. Its price also varies according to duration, which can be 15, 25, 30, 60, or 90 days.
Besides the regular trains and sleeper cars, RENFE has recently inaugurated the AVE, a high speed train linking Madrid and Seville in a time of three hours,
as well as series of special trains, of particular interest to the tourist. The most outstanding is the so-called "Expreso Al.Andalus" (Al Andalus Express),
which departs from Seville each week and for 5 days tours the beautiful cities of Seville, Cordoba, Granada, Malaga, and Jerez de la Frontera. The price of
the ticket includes the visits to these cities, meals at the finest restaurants in each one, "fiestas" and typical shows plus dinner and lodging on a truly
special train that includes a discotheque, video room, bars and the luxury and comfort of the finest hotel. Another tourist train with similar
characteristics is the "Transcantabrico" which tours the north of Spain.
Road Travel
Spain has a road network measuring 317,000 kilometres of which 2,000 are relatively recent motorways.
The most important motorways are: the Mediterranean coastal road from the French border to Alicante, and the one linking the Cantabrian region with
Cataluña. The use of the Spanish motorways usually requires paying a toll, which can be calculated on the basis of the type of vehicle in question and the
distance to be travelled. There are numerous petrol stations along the way and bars, restaurants and commercial establishments.
Sea Travel
The shipping company Transmediterranea, also state-operated, links the peninsula with the Balearic Isles, the Canary Islands and northern Africa. There
are also private companies based at specific points along the coast that specialise in short routes.
Transmediterranea operates year-round, with daily service to the Balearic Isles and northern Africa. Service to the Canary Islands is weekly. The most
important ports are those of Barcelona, Valencia, Palma de Mallorca, Malaga, Cadiz, Las Palmas in Gran Canaria, Tenerife. The main office of Transmediterranea
is at Pedro Muñoz Seca, 2, 28001 Madrid, Tel: (91) 4310700.
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