Public transportation in Andalucia: how to travel around southern Spain

Public transportation in Andalucia helps you move around towns and cities in southern Spain at the best value for money!

If you don’t feel like driving in Andalucia, and you already have come by plane, then you need to know some information about the public transportation in Andalucia.

There exist direct connections between southern Spain and almost each European airport, as well as it is incredibly easy to reach Morocco from Andalucia. This Autonomous Region also features high-quality transports that allow the connections with other regions of Spain, and within the region.

Public transportation in Andalucia: bus between cities

The bus transportation in Andalucia is extremely developed, due to the region’s orography, mainly mountainous, that makes it difficult to build railways to connect Andalusian cities one with the other.

Various companies provide trips that connect Malaga, Seville and Granada with the main cities of Europe and Morocco. However, if you are thinking about doing so, remember that it usually costs more and it takes longer than flying. In fact, low-cost airlines such as Ryanair and Vueling often sell flight tickets that are even cheaper than bus tickets!

Buses are great, especially if you want to move around Andalucia or reach another Spanish city. The leading company offering this service is ALSA, whose fares connect smaller cities, towns and bigger cities such as Malaga, Granada and Seville with Madrid through a six-hour-long ride, and Costa del Sol, Malaga, Seville, Cordoba, Jaen and Almeria with Alicante, Valencia and Barcelona. The cost of one-way ticket ranges from 25 to 40€, depending on the time and route you choose.

Smaller cities are usually directly connected with the nearest big town through intercity daily fares, which usually stop by the estación de autobuses (bus station) located in almost every town and city.

Public transportation in Andalucia: bus within cities

City buses are usually modern and comfortable, and allow travellers to move from one part of the city to the other at relatively low prices (around 1.30€/fare). The cities of Malaga and Seville also have a special bus line that carries travellers from and to the airport of Costa del Sol and San Pablo, in addition to providing tourists with the City Sightseeing Bus, a red bus that allows the tourists to discover the beauties of the cities thanks to a hop-on-hop-off system. The prices range from 18€ to 50€, depending on the type of tour you choose. 

Public transportation in Andalucia: train

Spain’s official train company is RENFE, which also runs services in Andalucia.

Among the daytime trains, you will mainly find AVE (High-Speed Spanish Trains) and InterCity. The first connects Madrid with Malaga, Seville and Cordoba in a two-hour ride, thanks to the average speed of 280km/h. Long-distance trains have first and second class, called respectively preferente and turista, which offer different levels of comfortabilities and commodities. InterCity is a limited-stop train that operates on the route connecting Madrid with Malaga, through Cordoba.

There are also overnight trains, classed as Estrella, which provide you with couchettes and sleeping compartments. More comfortable trains are Trenhotel, where you will also find bathrooms with shower in their compartments. And if you are yearning to take a trip on a luxury train, don’t miss out on the Touristic Trains, thanks to which you will have the possibility to discover Spain’s spectacular landscapes in a comfortable and luxury setting!

You can book train tickets online, which you can pay directly with your debit/credit card. A 20% discount is applied to return fares whose expiration date is within one year from the purchase. More discounts and offer can be checked out on the RENFE website.

Places to stay in Andalucia

You probably always wanted to relax surrounded by nothing but peace. If this is true, come and discover the best holiday homes in Andalucia, whose plenty of characteristics will leave you breathless!

You have just finished reading about the best and fastest public transportation in Andalucia.

Have you ever caught a train or a bus in Andalucia? How do you usually prefer moving when you’re abroad? Tell us in the comments!