Santiago to ???

[cloud]

When I finish the Camino, I want to travel in Spain...perhaps to Seville or perhaps Barcelona...can anyone advise possible routes/modes of travel I can take to either of these areas?

[joe]

You can book flights from Santiago airport to Barcelona and Madrid, not sure of the costs. But once you're in a major city you will easily be able to catch a cheap flight to many other big cities in Spain.

From Santiago, you can carry on walking to Finisterre and Muxia! I plan on doing that because you get another compostela at each of them! Also they are on the coastline so you can get some pretty amazing sunsets if you're lucky.

[BHinSanDiego]

If you have the time you can also take the train, all things being equal I would stay away from the bus for the simple fact I'd hate to be couped up in a seat for who knows how long after experiencing the freedom of the Camino. On the train at least you can get up and walk around.

[cloud]

Is the train system pretty good in Spain? Do they leave Santiago for pretty much everywhere? Thanks for the tips!

[BHinSanDiego]

The trains are a great way to travel, I took the train from Madrid to Pamplona, very comfortable. Here's a link to the Spain train system.

Renfe

Ultreya,
Barry

[HuskyNerd]

Hi Cloud ~
I agree with BH about the train -- it's a super system in Spain. I especially like the late night train from Santiago that allows an arrival in Madrid first thing in the morning. The sleeping cars are thoughtfully appointed and last time I did this I got a great night's sleep and was ready for Madrid museums after a nice, sunny Madrid breakfast. Trains from Madrid connect everywhere in southern Spain. The only downfall of the Spanish rail system is that Sr. Franco put it on a different gauge than other trains in Europe. This means a transfer at the French or Portuguese border. In addition to the Renfe site it's nice to have a Spanish rail map, like this one Iberian Railway map.
--Sandy

[geraldkelly]

One important point about RENFE is that they have adopted the "low-fares" model. That means that if you book online in advance you often get a much cheaper price than if you turn up on the day and buy a ticket.

I suppose we should be grateful for small mercies but I remember when I was a poor student back in the 1990s travelling around Spain on the trains and thinking it was great value for money.

Another point is that the buses are pretty good too and generally much cheaper. A couple of years ago I got a train from Madrid to Granada and it cost me €75. The bus would have cost €20 and taken half an hour longer. A couple of months ago I went from Burgos to Madrid. The woman in the tourist office told me the bus is actually faster than the train (and much cheaper). So, shop around!

[ClaireB]

Wow, that looks like a much better booking system - I tried to book my overnight train from paris to Burgos through the Rail Europe website and it was a complete disaster! You don't actually get a booking until they email you for payment a few days after you book the time. I thought I had booked a bunk on the train but a few days later they emailed me saying my fare option wasn't available so I re-booked and they then told me they weren't able to book that particular date until May, then it suddenly disappeared from all the other booking websites I had been watching - I'm assuming it was sold out...

skyscanner is a great site for comparing airfares if you want to do it that way - I ended up getting a direct flight from paris to Leon for the same price as the train fare would have been and the flight is 8 hours shorter...