By air
It is the quickest and often the cheapest way. Direct flights from most European airports, with airlines such as Iberia, Vueling, Air Europa, Ryanair, easyJet, Volotea and many national carriers, serve the main Spanish cities. The main Spanish airports are:
| Airport | City and area served |
|---|---|
| Madrid-Barajas Adolfo Suárez | Madrid and central Spain, the country's largest |
| Barcelona-El Prat | Barcelona and Catalonia |
| Palma de Mallorca | Majorca and the Balearics |
| Málaga-Costa del Sol | Málaga, the Costa del Sol, Granada |
| Alicante-Elche | Costa Blanca and Murcia |
| Gran Canaria, Tenerife South and North, Lanzarote, Fuerteventura | Canaries |
| Valencia, Seville, Bilbao, Ibiza, Menorca, Santiago | their cities and islands |
| Girona and Reus | Costa Brava, Costa Dorada and, by bus, Barcelona |
By sea and road
Ferries link Italy with Barcelona (Grimaldi Lines from Civitavecchia, Porto Torres, Livorno and Savona), the UK with Santander and Bilbao (Brittany Ferries), and Morocco with Algeciras, Tarifa and Almería. By car, Spain is reached from France via the motorways along the Mediterranean and Atlantic coasts or through the Pyrenees.
By train
Spain has Europe's largest high-speed rail network, over 4,000 km, linking Madrid with Barcelona, Seville, Málaga, Valencia, Alicante, Valladolid, León, Galicia, Asturias and many other cities. Since 2021 the network has been open to competition:
- Renfe with AVE and Alvia trains, and the low-cost Avlo brand;
- Ouigo, the low-cost brand of French railways;
- Iryo, part-owned by Trenitalia, with Frecciarossa trains.
Thanks to competition prices have fallen sharply: booking ahead you can travel between Madrid and Barcelona for under 20 euros (see Madrid-Barcelona trains). For short trips there are regional trains (Media Distancia) and Cercanías suburban networks (Rodalies in Catalonia). There are also luxury tourist trains such as the Transcantábrico and Al Andalus.
Buses and domestic flights
Long-distance buses, with companies such as Alsa, are comfortable and cheap and reach places the train doesn't. Domestic flights connect the mainland with the islands and the most distant cities; between the Canaries and within the Balearics you fly or take the ferry.
By car
Toll autopistas (AP) are fewer and fewer, as many became free when concessions ended; autovías (A) are free. Speed limits are 120 km/h on motorways, 90 on rural roads and 50, 30 or 20 in towns depending on the street. Big cities have low-emission zones (ZBE) restricting the most polluting vehicles. Car hire is good value, especially in the south and on the islands.
Ferries to the islands
The Balearics are linked to Barcelona, Valencia and Dénia by Baleària, Trasmed and Grimaldi; between Ibiza and Formentera fast ferries run every half hour. The Canaries are linked to Cádiz and Huelva by Fred. Olsen and Naviera Armas, though almost everyone flies. Ceuta is reached from Algeciras, Melilla from Málaga, Almería and Motril.
In the cities
Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Bilbao, Seville, Málaga and Palma have metro systems; almost all cities have good bus networks and many have trams. Taxi and ride-hailing apps are widespread. See also before you go and maps.