Kingdom of Spain
Area: 504,030 sq km
Population: 45,200,737
Population density: 90 per sq km
Capital: Madrid
Area: 504,030 sq km
Population: 45,200,737
Population density: 90 per sq km
Capital: Madrid
Spain country information
Passport & visa | Getting there | Cycling & maps | Cost of living | Accommodation | Food | Bike shops | Climate | Distances
Passport & Visa
| Passport Required? | |
|---|---|
| British | Yes |
| Australian | Yes |
| Canadian | Yes |
| USA | Yes |
| Other EU | 1 |
| Visa Required? | |
| British | No |
| Australian | No/2 |
| Canadian | No/2 |
| USA | No/2 |
| Other EU | No |
Passports
Passport valid for at least
three months beyond length of stay required
by all nationals referred to in the chart above
except:
(a) 1. EU nationals holding a valid national ID card.
Note: EU nationals are only required to produce evidence of their EU nationality and identity in order to be admitted to any EU Member State. This evidence can take the form of a valid national passport or national identity card. Either is acceptable. Passports held by EU nationals need only be valid upon entry to and exit from Spain. Possession of a return ticket, any length of validity on their document, sufficient funds for the length of their proposed visit should not be imposed.
(a) 1. EU nationals holding a valid national ID card.
Note: EU nationals are only required to produce evidence of their EU nationality and identity in order to be admitted to any EU Member State. This evidence can take the form of a valid national passport or national identity card. Either is acceptable. Passports held by EU nationals need only be valid upon entry to and exit from Spain. Possession of a return ticket, any length of validity on their document, sufficient funds for the length of their proposed visit should not be imposed.
Passport Note
Spain is
a signatory to the 1995 Schengen Agreement.
Visas
Not required
by nationals of EU countries regardless of purpose
and/or length of stay; 2. not
required by nationals of other countries referred
to in the chart above for stays of up to 90 days.
Visa Note
Nationals not referred to
in the chart above are advised to contact the
embassy to check visa requirements.
Getting there
Getting There by Air
The national airline is IBERIA
(IB) (website:
www.iberia.com
).
Approximate Flight Times
From London
to Barcelona is 2 hours; to Madrid is 2 hours
20 minutes and to Málaga is 2 hours 45 minutes.
From New York to Madrid
is 8 hours 35 minutes.
Main Airports
Madrid
(MAD) (Barajas) is 13km (8 miles) northeast
of the city. To/from the airport: Bus
and underground services depart to the city
regularly. Taxi service is available. Facilities:
Restaurants and bars, bank, several car hire offices,
hotel reservation and tourist information desks,
and outgoing duty-free shop.
Barcelona (BCN) (el Prat) is 3km (2 miles) southwest of the city. To/from the airport: Bus and rail services to the city depart regularly. Taxi service to the city is available (journey time - 30 minutes). Facilities: A bank, restaurant, bar, several car hire companies, hotel reservation and tourist information desks and duty-free shops.
Alicante (ALC) (Altet) is 12km (7 miles) southwest of the city. To/from the airport: Bus service runs to the city regularly. A taxi service is available to the city. There is a taxi connection between Alicante and Valencia Airport. Facilities: Duty-free shop, bank, bureau de change, car hire, tourist information and restaurant.
Málaga (AGP) is 10km (6 miles) southwest of the city. To/from the airport: Buses run regularly throughout the day. A train service runs regularly also. A taxi service to the city is available. Facilities: Duty-free shop, bank/bureau de change, restaurant and car hire.
Valencia (VLC) (Manises) is 8km (5 miles) west of the city. To/from the airport: An aero bus takes passengers into the city. Other buses travel to the city frequently throughout the day. Taxis also run. Facilities: Several car hire firms, bank/bureau de change, restaurant, bar and duty-free shop.
Spain boasts over 30 international airports, run by AENA (Aeropuertos Espanoles y Navegación Aérea) (website: www.aena.es ).
Barcelona (BCN) (el Prat) is 3km (2 miles) southwest of the city. To/from the airport: Bus and rail services to the city depart regularly. Taxi service to the city is available (journey time - 30 minutes). Facilities: A bank, restaurant, bar, several car hire companies, hotel reservation and tourist information desks and duty-free shops.
Alicante (ALC) (Altet) is 12km (7 miles) southwest of the city. To/from the airport: Bus service runs to the city regularly. A taxi service is available to the city. There is a taxi connection between Alicante and Valencia Airport. Facilities: Duty-free shop, bank, bureau de change, car hire, tourist information and restaurant.
Málaga (AGP) is 10km (6 miles) southwest of the city. To/from the airport: Buses run regularly throughout the day. A train service runs regularly also. A taxi service to the city is available. Facilities: Duty-free shop, bank/bureau de change, restaurant and car hire.
Valencia (VLC) (Manises) is 8km (5 miles) west of the city. To/from the airport: An aero bus takes passengers into the city. Other buses travel to the city frequently throughout the day. Taxis also run. Facilities: Several car hire firms, bank/bureau de change, restaurant, bar and duty-free shop.
Spain boasts over 30 international airports, run by AENA (Aeropuertos Espanoles y Navegación Aérea) (website: www.aena.es ).
Departure Tax
None.
Getting There by Water
Main
ports: Barcelona (website:
www.apb.es
), Cadiz (website:
www.puertocadiz.com
), Santander (website:
www.puertosantander.es)
, Valencia (website:
www.valenciaport.com
) and Vigo (website:
www.apvigo.com
).
Brittany Ferries (tel: 0870 366 5333, in the UK; website: www.brittany-ferries.com ) operates a service to Santander (on the north coast) from Plymouth (journey time - 18 hours). P&O European Ferries (tel: 0870 520 2020, in the UK; website: www.portsmouth-port.co.uk) operates a service from Portsmouth to Bilbao (journey time - 35 hours).
Note tour.tk: see Morocco section for information on travel to northern Africa
Brittany Ferries (tel: 0870 366 5333, in the UK; website: www.brittany-ferries.com ) operates a service to Santander (on the north coast) from Plymouth (journey time - 18 hours). P&O European Ferries (tel: 0870 520 2020, in the UK; website: www.portsmouth-port.co.uk) operates a service from Portsmouth to Bilbao (journey time - 35 hours).
Note tour.tk: see Morocco section for information on travel to northern Africa
Getting There by Rail
The quickest
route by train from the UK is through the Channel
Tunnel with connections from Paris to Spain. Eurostar
operates direct high-speed trains from
London (St Pancras International) to
Paris (Gare du Nord) and to Brussels
(Midi/Zuid). It takes 2 hours 15 minutes
from London to Paris (via Lille) and 1 hour 51
minutes to Brussels. For further information and
reservations, contact Eurostar (tel:
0870 518 6186, in the UK or +44 1233
617 575, outside the UK; website:
www.eurostar.com
); or Rail Europe (tel: 0844 848 4064,
in the UK; website:
www.raileurope.co.uk
).
There are direct trains between Madrid-Paris and Madrid-Lisbon, as well as Barcelona-Paris, Barcelona- Zürich or Milan, Barcelona-Montpelier and Barcelona-Geneva. These services are called Estrella, Talgo or Train-Hotel. On other international services to and from Spain, a change of train is necessary. However, work on the AVE (high-velocity train) route between Madrid and Barcelona is expected to be completed in December 2007, after which the French border connection is expected to be fully operational in 2010 and it will be possible to connect with the French TGV (high-velocity route) and the rest of the high-velocity routes in Europe. Motorail services run between Paris and Madrid. For more information, contact the Spanish Rail service (tel: (020) 7725 7063; website: www.spanish-rail.co.uk ).
There are direct trains between Madrid-Paris and Madrid-Lisbon, as well as Barcelona-Paris, Barcelona- Zürich or Milan, Barcelona-Montpelier and Barcelona-Geneva. These services are called Estrella, Talgo or Train-Hotel. On other international services to and from Spain, a change of train is necessary. However, work on the AVE (high-velocity train) route between Madrid and Barcelona is expected to be completed in December 2007, after which the French border connection is expected to be fully operational in 2010 and it will be possible to connect with the French TGV (high-velocity route) and the rest of the high-velocity routes in Europe. Motorail services run between Paris and Madrid. For more information, contact the Spanish Rail service (tel: (020) 7725 7063; website: www.spanish-rail.co.uk ).
Rail Passes
InterRail:
offers unlimited first- or second-class travel
in up to 30 European countries for European residents
of over six months with two pass options. The
Global Pass allows travel for
22 days, one month, five days in 10 days or 10
days in 22 days across all countries. The One-Country
Pass offers travel for three, four, six or
eight days in one month in any of the countries
except Bosnia-Herzegovina and Montenegro. Travel
is not allowed in the passenger's country of residence.
Discounts are offered on Eurostar and
some ferry routes. Available from Rail Europe
(tel: 0844 848 4064, in the UK; website:
www.raileurope.co.uk/inter-rail
).
Eurailpass: Options include a comprehensive Global Pass with practically unlimited travel in 18 European countries, the more limited Select Pass and Regional pass, or the single-country National Pass. For more details, contact The Eurail Group (website: www.eurail.com ).
Eurailpass: Options include a comprehensive Global Pass with practically unlimited travel in 18 European countries, the more limited Select Pass and Regional pass, or the single-country National Pass. For more details, contact The Eurail Group (website: www.eurail.com ).
Getting There by Road
The main
route from the UK is via France. The main motorways
to Spain from France are via Bordeaux or Toulouse
to Bilbao (northern Spain) and via Marseille or
Toulouse to Barcelona (eastern Spain).
Eurolines (tel: 08705 143 219, in the UK; website: www.eurolines.com ) runs regular coach services to Spain. Passes: Travellers can book a 15- or 30-day pass.
Eurolines (tel: 08705 143 219, in the UK; website: www.eurolines.com ) runs regular coach services to Spain. Passes: Travellers can book a 15- or 30-day pass.
Cycling & Maps
  |
Michelin Spain & Portugal We actually bought the France, Spain/Portugal and Italy Michelin maps before we left and put them all together in one book. Knowing which route we were going to take, we didn't need all the pages and/or the search section. We made one decent size book out of it! Spiral books are very handy for cyclists. Why? You can tear out the pages you need without ruining the rest of the book and put them in your map holder one at a time. Done with a page? Throw it out and loose weight/space while you go. |
Cost of living
all prices in Euros (€)
| drinks and snacks | food: local markets; restaurants; and stores |
||||
| water (mineral) |
1 litre 1 litre 300ml 1 litre |
0.60 0.95 tba 1.05 |
bread loaf-white |
550g 750g |
1.30 2.50 |
| local market food pizza-takeaway |
one serving one serving one serving med |
tba tba tba tba |
|||
| beer-local wine |
330ml 750ml |
0.60 3.95 |
|||
| tea coffee (cafe / bar) Nescafe instant coffee-ground |
25 bags per cup 125g 500g |
1.05 1.25 1.80 2.25 |
rice (white) pasta eggs tinned tomatoes |
kg |
1.30 0.50 1.85 0.85 |
| milk yoghurt / curd cheese Magnum icecream |
1 litre 200g kg each |
0.90 |
potatoes onions tomatoes green beans |
kg kg kg kg |
0.95 0.75 1.80 1.90 |
| chips salted peanuts dried apricots |
200g pack kg kg |
tba tba tba |
apples oranges bananas |
kg kg kg |
1.60 1.60 1.40 |
| cornflakes chocolate biscuits-plain biscuits-chocolate |
375g pack 100g block 200g pack 200g pack |
2.25 0.50 0.65 1.10+ |
pineapple (can) oil (corn) |
500g can 500ml |
1.15 0.65 |
| peanut paste jam |
500g jar 400g jar |
tba 1.90 |
|||
| accommodation | personal | ||||
| budget city hostel budget city hotel |
15-25 per dorm bed |
deodorant - roll-on |
50ml 150g bar 200ml each 100ml 5 pack each |
2.10 0.35 2.40 1.10 1.45 2.50 tba |
|
| eurocamping
1 star wild camping |
15+ tent + 2 persons |
||||
| internet | 4.50+ per hour | ||||
| *
tba = price to be announced * January 2009: at time of writing 1.00 USD = 0.79 EUR all prices have been taken from internet resources such as wikitravel, hostel world, leading supermarket chains, travel blogs, forums and of course our own travel experiences and purchases of everyday products in food markets, bazaars and local shopping facilities. They are only an indication and designed to give you a general impression of the cost of living in Spain. Items are geared towards the budget conscious traveller with an occasional craving for a bit of luxury. |
Source:www.exchange-rates.org |
Accommodation
For weary cyclists looking for cheap hotels, Madrid has a number of affordable options right in the city centre. Alternatively, you can expect to pay between €17 and €28 per night per person in a dorm room at Hostelbookers. Many offer free or cheap bike hire or if you are bringing your own wheels you can find a number that provide secure cycle storage. If you are taking part in a cycle tour in Spain you will find hostel self-catering facilities particularly useful for packing up a daily picnic to take with you.
You can find budget accommodation in Spain throughout the country. For a challenge, why not journey the length of the country from Santiago de Compostela to Seville – a popular pilgrim’s trail? Or take advantage of Barcelona’s novel cycle scheme, Bicing, to explore Barceloneta beach and the cycle-friendly green rings. There are cheap accommodation options in both the major cities, the smaller and medieval UNESCO towns as well as in the countryside or the mountains.
Bike shops
| Barcelona | Bike-Tech ***
|
| Our experience: great store, tonnes of parts, from Schwalbe to Ortlieb and Tubus. Everthing the touring cyclist needs. | |
| Malaga | CicloHobby C/ Lope de Rueda, 127 - 131 Puerto de la Torre, 29190 Málaga (España) Tel. 952 43 12 03 - 952 10 70 29 Fax: 952 43 81 45 website: www.ciclohobby.es |
| A Coruna | http://www.trekbicyclestore.com
|
| Alicante | |
| Malaga | |
| Ourense | |
| Sevilla | |
| Vigo | |
| Zaragoza | |
| Oviedo | |
| Malaga | |
