Moving to Spain - the Easy Way? Chapter Eight

MOVING TO SPAIN – THE EASY WAY? Chapter Eight – trains, buses and planes. 

John and I don’t drive, so we are fast becoming experts on Spain’s public transport system if only from sheer necessity.  Please don’t stop reading this chapter just because you think it is irrelevant, as I hope to convince you that it is worth leaving the car behind at times, and indeed there may be times when it is essential to do so.

We have had the pleasure of being driven on many of Spain’s roads, so we have seen how good the roads are in most areas and how empty they can be especially in inland areas.  We have also seen the amount of traffic on the N332  (the Costa Blanca’s coast road) even at the end of February, and we can imagine how crowded it must get during the summer holidays.  At the time of writing a dual carriage-way is in the process of being built, so long-term it should be a lot better, though it may very well be even worse in the short-term.

One thing car drivers need to be aware of is how strict Spanish drink driving laws are compared to the UK.  No doubt there will be occasions when you want to go out and enjoy a few glasses of wine with your meal, so it is worth knowing about local buses and trains, as well as having the number of a reliable taxi company.

I can’t give you a definitive guide to buses, as the only ones we have used on a regular basis are the ones between Yecla, Jumilla and Murcia, but I can let you know some of the quirks we have discovered, so that you have been forewarned before boarding your first Spanish bus.

Drivers rarely sell you a ticket, as most tickets have to be bought at the bus station where you board the bus.  You need to check the ticket carefully, as it often gives a specific time for your journey.  We have seen a driver refuse to let somebody on his bus because their ticket didn’t have the correct time on it.  You can of course buy a ticket in advance.  When we intended catching the early bus from Jumilla to Murcia, we went to the ticket office the night before and asked for two tickets for the 7.15 bus the following day.  When you are getting a bus so early, it saves you having to queue and it also gives you an extra ten minutes in bed, which was my reason for doing it.

We also found out that, even if there isn’t a bus station nearby, there may be a local shop where you are expected to purchase your ticket before the bus arrives.  While we were waiting for the connecting bus in Garrucha, on our way back to Almeria, John spotted a couple of men holding tickets.  We asked where they had bought them and John just had time to dash to the shop to buy our tickets before the bus turned up.

In some places there will be a seat number printed on your bus ticket, and you are expected to take the seat allocated to you.  Spanish people are very patient and therefore, if you have taken their seat, they will stand there looking at you until you vacate it and move to the correct one.  Sometimes we spot people on buses who are obviously used to this system – you can recognise them by the way they stare at their ticket then peer up looking for numbers above the seats, even though none exist.

We have discovered that bus drivers have good memories.  Although they only give a cursory glance at your ticket when you board their bus, they seem to know how far everybody’s ticket takes them.  We witnessed one driver stop his vehicle in the middle of a town on the Costa del Sol, and walk back down the bus until he reached a young man.  The young man was clearly being told that his ticket took him no further than that, and eventually he shrugged his shoulders and got off the bus.  Don’t say you haven’t been warned.

Whatever you do, don’t assume that other people waiting at the bus stop know more than you do.  We were on holiday in Benalmadena, and planned to catch the bus to Marbella , so we walked down to the coast road.  There was a group of elderly people waiting at the nearest bus stop who were chatting to each other in Spanish, so we asked them whether this was the stop for Marbella. They nodded, which reassured us, as there weren’t any timetables at the stop for us to check.  They were obviously locals, who knew all the buses.

The Fuengirola bus pulled into the stop and one of the Spanish men called over to the driver “Marbella?”.  The driver shook his head as he shut the door of his bus and drove off.  We saw another bus approaching, which had Marbella on the front, but this one didn’t stop.  By now we weren’t so convinced.  These might be Spanish people, but were they locals who knew the buses or just holidaymakers like us? 

When the next bus stopped, I went up to the door to ask the driver where the Marbella bus stopped.  He pointed back along the road and told us that we had to go to the previous stop, which was a good ten minutes’ walk away.  Great.   I broke the news to John, and then told the Spanish group that we were all standing at the wrong stop.  As we hurried back up the road, I glanced back and saw that another bus had stopped there and a man from the group was clearly asking the driver whether he went to Marbella.  We suspect that they never made it there.

There is some good news and some bad news about Spanish buses.  The good news is that the prices are very reasonable.  The bus from Jumilla to Murcia, which takes just over an hour to get there, costs us less than 5 euros, as does the bus from Murcia to Alicante airport at El Altet. 

The bad news is that timetables can be – how shall I put this? -  a bit flexible.  I have already warned you about the concept of “approx”, where a bus ticket states that the bus is due at 10.00 “approx”, which could mean any time from 10.00 until whenever it arrives. Sometimes this can be useful, as my next experience shows. 

Being organised, we had checked bus times in advance on the internet, so we went to the bus station in Jumilla to catch a bus that we had seen was due at 11.30.  Luckily we had decided to get there a bit earlier in case there was a queue to buy tickets, as when we arrived John noticed that a different bus time had been written on the board and the bus now left at 11.00 instead of 11.30.  If the bus hadn’t been late that day we would have missed it, and there was a big gap before the next bus was due, so we wouldn’t have been very happy about it.  

On the whole the buses in the area are fairly punctual, and I must admit that I would rather have to wait 10 minutes for a bus in sunny Spain than 5 minutes for a bus in cold, wet south west London.

Trains in Spain usually cost more than buses and, although the long-distance trains are a lot quicker, some of the local ones can be quite slow.  Be aware too that in some towns the train station may be on the edge of the town rather than in the centre, so it may be more convenient to catch the bus.  As with the buses, you usually need to buy your ticket before boarding the train.  It is worth doing this, because you may very well be charged more by the conductor if you buy your ticket on the train. 

When you are in a hurry to get from the UK to Spain or vice versa, the plane is the obvious choice, however I would highly recommend going by train at least once, just for the experience. 

We travelled by Eurostar to Paris the day after I had celebrated my 60th birthday, and from there we went on the Trenhotel to Barcelona.  We paid just over £100 each for our private 2-bed Gran Clase sleeper, which had its own toilet and shower.  Dinner with wine and breakfast were included in the price, which we thought was a reasonable deal.   

Having spent the day walking around Paris, the first thing we wanted to do on boarding our train was to have a lovely warm shower.  We hadn’t even had time to get dressed again before there was a knock outside, so John wrapped a towel around himself and opened the door.  We were being advised by the steward to go to the restaurant carriage as soon as possible if we wanted to be sure of getting a table, otherwise we might have to eat a lot later.  John was amazed to see at how quickly I could get ready when I was hungry and didn’t want to wait for dinner!

We assumed that there would be two sittings, and that we might be asked to move once we had finished our meal, however that was not the case.  The menu gave us a wide choice, with meat for John, plenty of fish dishes for me, and also some vegetarian choices.  The wine list was also extensive, and we were able to choose whatever wine we wanted.  We enjoyed a delicious dinner, which was a lot tastier than airline food, with plenty of wine flowing and time to relax and enjoy the experience.  We finished with coffee and liqueurs before returning to our cabin, to find that the beds had been made up, ready for us to fall into them.

If you are going to take the Trenhotel, we would advise using the earplugs that you will find in the toiletries bag they provide you with, especially if you are a light sleeper. John did not sleep too well as the train rattled its way noisily through the French countryside, although my sleep wasn’t disturbed too much.

We woke up to find that we had crossed into Spain and, as our train continued south, we went to the dining car for breakfast.  After enjoying the continental breakfast, we returned to our cabin, to find that our beds had been tidied away for us, so we could sit in comfort until the train drew into Barcelona station.

For the latest prices and further details on the Trenhotel, if you want to travel by train from Paris to either Barcelona or Madrid, look at http://www.seat61.com/Spain.htm.

A final few words about planes, which I must admit I have rather neglected in this chapter.  Living in Jumilla, we have a choice of two airports, both within easy reach.  Alicante is the major airport and is less than one hour’s drive away, whereas San Javier is a smaller airport the other side of Murcia and commercial aircraft are restricted to afternoon flights as it is also a military base.  A new international airport is being built at Corvera, which will also be convenient for Jumilla, when it eventually opens. 

Spanish airports are usually easy to get to, although some of them may be located a fair distance from the city that they are named after.  San Javier, Murcia’s current airport, is a good example of this.  I can’t say too much though, as we usually fly from London Gatwick in the UK, which is in the depths of Surrey rather than in the heart of London.

One thing to be aware of when you are living in Spain is that if you want to fly anywhere else in Spain, apart from Madrid, you will probably have to fly via Madrid.  Having said this, because we are talking of such a vast country, it may very well prove to be both quicker and cheaper than travelling there by bus or train.

My advice is always to get to the airport early wherever you are flying from.  If it is London, you will need to allow what seems like hours to get through security.  If you are flying from Spain, you will usually get through security fairly quickly.  However you can then spend your time looking for last minute goodies to take back (though if you are sensible, you will have visited a Spanish supermarket before heading for the airport and will have already packed your goodies in the cases that are going into the hold).  Alternatively, you can spend a few euros on some Spanish wine and food before boarding your plane.

 Key Points: ·        You will usually need to buy tickets at the ticket office, or from the ticket machine, before boarding a bus or train.  ·        It may very well cost you more if you wait to buy tickets on the train.·        Check your bus ticket carefully: if it has a time printed on it, the ticket will only be valid on the bus that departs at that time.  If it has a seat number, you must sit in the allocated seat.·        Expect the bus to be late, however don’t rely on that, as it may leave on time, or you may even find that the timetable has changed and it will go earlier than expected.·        If you see “locals” at a bus stop, don’t assume that they know more than you do.  You may find out too late that they are tourists too.