Flights to Spain. Travelling around and exploring your new Spanish home.
The choice of flights to Spain is excellent allowing owners of Spanish homes to flit back and forth to Blighty cheaply and easily throughout the year. Sea routes to northern Spain are also a popular choice, especially for those wanting to bring their own car. After arrival, travel in Spain is easy, too. The roads are good, and public transport is efficient and comfortable.
Flights to Spain for Spanish homeowners
Spain has several international airports. The biggest is Madrid Barajas airport. Other mainland airports include Alicante, Barcelona, Granada, Jerez, Malaga, Murcia and Sevilla. The Balearic and Canary Islands are also well served with international airports.
The national flag airline is Iberia which covers both international and domestic flights. Other Spanish airlines are Spanair and Air Europa.
Return fares on scheduled flights to Spain have fallen in recent years due to increased competition and the introduction of no-frills airlines. It is worth shopping around for prices. Among those who offer flights to Spain are: British Airways, BMI Baby and EasyJet.
An economical alternative for owners of Spanish homes is to find seats on charter flights to Spain. These can often (but not always) be cheaper than scheduled flight to Spain, but offer the convenience of landing in regional airports in the UK. Monarch Air.
Ferries to Spain
Two ferry companies, Brittany Ferries and P&O, sail to Santander and Bilbao respectively up to five times a week from the UK.
Getting around. Road travel in Spain.
Frequent visitors soon discover that road travel in Spain means varying road conditions. Some roads are poorly maintained but the main routes are in excellent condition.
Driving is on the right hand side of the road. Speed limits (120km/h on motorway, 100km/h on dual carriageways, 90km/h on rural roads, 50km/h in town, and 20km/h in residential areas) are increasingly being enforced by police. Unless you own a Spanish home or have other assets in the country, you have to pay fines on the spot. Seat belts, in both front and back seats, are compulsory, and you should check out other driving laws in Spain .
Assuming you avoid driving fines, road travel in Spain is a fairly cheap option (see Cost of living in Spain page). Car rental is also considerably cheaper than in the UK.
UK driving licences are valid in Spain but after six months residence in your Spanish home, you need to apply for a Spanish driving licence.
Getting around. Bus travel in Spain.
Buses are not the most punctual method of travel in Spain, nor the most comfortable, but they are reasonably cheap.
In most cities, buses tend to run from 06.00 hrs until 22.00 hrs or midnight when an urban night bus system kicks in. Dedicated bus lanes have been introduced to speed up bus travel in Spain´s urban areas but with only limited success.
Getting around. Metro travel in Spain.
The large cities of Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia have their own underground train network which are efficient and comfortable. All offer cheap day returns and reduced price travelcards. Madrid´s network is open from 06:00 hrs until 01:30 hrs; Barcelona and Valencia´s from 05:00 hrs to midnight.
Getting around. Taxi travel in Spain
Relatively cheap and convenient in the towns and cities, taxi drivers operate to high standards and are heavily controlled. They display a green light when they are free to be flagged down. All taxis have meters, but fares are set for some journeys.
Spanish homes are more accessible than ever
Cheap flights to Spain´s regional airports have opened up the country in recent years and investment in infrastructure is continuing to improve the convenience, efficiency and comfort of most forms of travel in Spain. This means that regions once considered remote have become more easily accessible and are now receiving greater interest from buyers of Spanish homes.
