Getting between cities in Spain for visitors from abroad: how the train, the bus, the hire car and the car with a driver work, and how to choose
Spain is easy to cross by train between its big cities, with a high-speed network that requires a named ticket and luggage screening, and harder when the destination is a village, a hospital or an industrial estate: there the train does not reach, or drops you at a station far from the centre. The intercity bus covers what the train does not, with advance tickets and concession timetables. A hire car gives freedom in exchange for tolls, parking and a valid driving licence. A pre-booked car with a driver fixes the price before leaving and takes you door to door, with luggage and group, at any hour. The choice depends on the distance, the time, how many travel, how much they carry and where they are really going.
Written by Ridelta - Taxi y VTC · reviewed on 27 October 2026
How does the train work in Spain for someone who does not know it?
There are two different trains under the same name. High-speed rail links the big city with the provincial capitals and these with each other in times that compete with the plane, and it works like a small flight: the ticket is in your name and tied to a specific train and time, luggage goes through a security check before the platform and the doors close a few minutes before departure. The conventional train, regional or medium distance, stops at more stations, costs less, often lets you board without a seat reservation and reaches mid-sized towns that high-speed rail does not touch. Visitors from another country usually know only the first and discover the second when they need it.
The detail that surprises most is where the station is. In several mid-sized cities the high-speed station was built outside the built-up area, several kilometres from the centre, and from there you need a bus, a taxi or a transfer to reach the hotel, the hospital or home. The conventional station, by contrast, is usually in the historic centre. It is worth checking on the map exactly where the chosen train stops before buying, because a fast journey between two stations can stretch out if the last leg to the real destination is not sorted, and late at night that last leg does not always have public transport.
What do you need to know about the intercity bus?
The intercity bus in Spain runs on concessions: each route is operated by a single company authorised by the administration, with published timetables and stops, and there is no competition between several firms on the same line as in other countries. The practical consequence is that you look up which company covers the route rather than comparing several, and that on sparsely populated routes there may be one or two services a day, none on public holidays. The ticket is bought in advance on the operator's website or at the bus station counter, and on many lines the seat is numbered and the driver checks the name.
It is the transport that reaches where the train does not: villages of the province, mid-sized towns without a high-speed station, whole districts. Luggage travels in the hold and is handed over on boarding; bicycles, large items and pets depend on each company's conditions. The bus station of the arrival city is almost always in or near the centre, which sometimes compensates for the longer journey compared with the train. For anyone who does not speak the language well, it is worth having the exact name of the destination stop written down, because a scheduled bus stops in many villages and the driver announces little.
Is hiring a car worth it for getting between cities?
Hiring a car in Spain requires a valid driving licence; one from another European Union country is accepted as it is, and one from outside the Union usually needs to be accompanied by an international driving permit or a translation, depending on the agreement with the country of origin and the hire company's conditions. The road network has toll-free dual carriageways, which link most capitals, and toll motorways, signposted with a different letter, where the toll is paid at a booth or by electronic tag. Hire companies charge extra for an additional driver, drop-off in another city, fuel not replaced and damage, and the insurance excess is a figure to read before signing.
It pays off when the journey is a tour, not a trip: several mid-sized towns and villages in a few days, with stops where there is no public transport. It pays off less for going from one big city to another, where the train is faster and the car has to be parked at the destination, with historic centres closed to traffic, low-emission zones that require a sticker and paid car parks. For anyone who has just stepped off a long flight, driving for several hours on a network they do not know, with a lane side that may not be the one in their country, is also a safety question worth weighing honestly.
When does a pre-booked car with a driver make sense?
A pre-booked car with a driver is the service booked beforehand, with origin, destination and time, whose price is known and accepted before getting in: in Spain the regulation on chauffeured hire vehicles requires that prior contracting. It does not replace the train on a long trip between two big cities, where the train wins on time and price for a single traveller, but it solves what the train and the bus leave open: the last leg to a village, a hospital or an industrial estate, a pickup at an hour when no public transport runs, luggage that does not fit in a carriage and a group that, sharing the per-car price, pays less than in individual tickets.
For visitors from abroad it has one more advantage that is not about price: there is no need to understand concession timetables, find the right station or sort out the final leg in another language. The driver receives the exact address, waits with a name board at the meeting point of the airport or station and takes you to the destination, with luggage in the boot and an invoice in the name of whoever asks for it. It is worth booking ahead in high season and checking that the platform operates in both the pickup area and the destination area, because coverage by province is what counts, and reading its help page on waiting and change policies before confirming.
How do you choose by distance, time, luggage, group size and final destination?
Distance ranks the options: between two big cities linked by high-speed rail, the train is almost always the first choice for one or two people; over medium distances without high-speed rail, the conventional train or the bus compete with the car with a driver depending on the time; over short distances, to a village or an outlying district, the car with a driver or the taxi do what public transport does with changes. The hour trims the list: in the small hours and late at night intercity public transport barely runs outside the big cities, and the car, your own or with a driver, is left on its own.
Luggage and the number of people tip the balance towards the car: the per-car price is shared and nobody drags suitcases through a change, whereas the per-person ticket favours whoever travels alone and light. And the final destination decides the last leg: a station in the centre of a big city is sorted on foot or by metro; a hospital on the outskirts, an industrial estate or a village in the province is not, and there it is worth having the transfer arranged before arriving, not looking for it on the platform. An honest comparison adds up the whole journey, door to door and for everyone travelling, not only the main leg.
How do you combine the train and a transfer with a driver?
The most effective combination for visitors from abroad is usually the train for the long leg and a car with a driver for the ends: a transfer from the airport to the station of the arrival city, the high-speed train to the mid-sized town nearest the destination, and a second transfer from that station to the village, the hospital or the accommodation. Each leg is booked with the details of the previous one: the arrival transfer with the train number, so that the driver follows the real delay on the board and adjusts the pickup, and with a reasonable margin between the train and the next connection if there is one.
For the combination to work, the transfer must wait for the train and not the other way round: that is why it is booked with the train number and not just a time, and why you read in advance what waiting the platform includes and what happens if the train is cancelled. Both transfers should also be in areas where the platform operates, which is checked on its coverage page, and the meeting point at the station should be clear: at high-speed stations, pickups by vehicles with a driver take place in signposted areas, not at the taxi rank. With that sorted, a journey between any two points in Spain can be organised from the sofa in your home country.
Frequently asked questions
Can I board a high-speed train without a ticket bought beforehand?
No: the high-speed ticket is in your name, tied to a train and a time, and access to the platform goes through luggage screening. On regional and medium-distance trains there is more leeway, but it is worth buying beforehand too.
Do I need an international permit to hire a car in Spain?
With a licence from another European Union country, no. With one from outside the Union, it depends on the agreement with your country and the hire company's conditions; the safest thing is to carry the international permit or an official translation.
How do I get to a village the train does not reach?
With the bus of the operator covering that route, if its timetable fits, or with a car with a driver booked from the nearest station or airport. Check first that the platform operates in that province.
Is the train or the car with a driver cheaper for a group?
It depends on the distance and how many travel: the train charges per person and the car per vehicle. For four people with suitcases over a medium distance, the shared per-car price usually comes close to or below the sum of tickets and connections.
What happens if my train arrives late and I have a transfer booked?
If you booked with the train number, the driver follows the actual arrival and adjusts the pickup. The included waiting and what happens with a cancellation are published by each platform on its help page.
Sources
- Ministerio de Transportes y Movilidad Sostenible · transporte terrestre: ferrocarril y transporte regular de viajeros por carretera (concesiones) (consulted on 27 October 2026)
- Dirección General de Tráfico · permisos de conducir extranjeros: validez en España, canje y permiso internacional (consulted on 27 October 2026)
- Comisión Europea · Your Europe: derechos de los viajeros y reconocimiento del permiso de conducir dentro de la Unión Europea (consulted on 27 October 2026)
- Ley 16/1987, de Ordenación de los Transportes Terrestres: arrendamiento de vehículos con conductor y contratación previa (consulted on 27 October 2026)
How we write, where the figures come from and how we correct an error: editorial policy.
Timetables, concessions, tolls and hire conditions belong to their operators and change; this piece explains how each means of transport works and a rule for choosing, not a timetable or a price. The trips, times and prices of each area are on its province's site.