Flights, Hotels, buses & trains
GOT THE TRAVEL BUG?
Whether you're looking to explore other parts of Catalonia or even outside Spain, the process of booking your transportation is made much easier via a few insider tips and tricks.
Before completing your booking, be sure to check prices for buses, trains, and flights to see which option is best for you in the end! The price and convenience can fluctuate dramatically based on demand and time of year.
Flights
There are lots of airlines that fly out of the Barcelona airport and Girona airport.
A great search engine to look for flights is www.kiwi.com or edreams.com - if you don't have a specific destination, you can also just put in your available dates and it will show you the cheapest destinations/flights for those dates!
Another great search engine is kayak.com - it compares prices from dozens of airlines to get you the best price and the most convenient route.
You can often save money by booking directly with a discount airline, such as Ryanair, Easyjet, Vueling, and Iberia. However, beware of baggage size and extra/hidden fees!
Buses
There are buses from that go from Barcelona to almost every small town in Spain. This is a cost efficient way to get to Madrid, Costa Brava, or hiking spots that you can't get to by train.
We recommend that you buy your tickets at the station (Barcelona Nord) rather than online, as students have had trouble getting the confirmations to print. But be sure to check the bus schedules & rates before heading over to the station!
Location: Estació d’Autobusos Barcelona Nord, C/ Alí Bei, 80.
Trains
Trains in Catalonia have a seperate section of the Renfe website called "Cercanias" and can be researched under that tab.
FYI: International train tickets need to be bought at the station or with a Spanish credit card because they do not accept U.S. credit cards on the website.
The Renfe website is quite complicated to navigate, but well worth the effort if you're looking to take a train out of the city!
The main station in Barcelona for regional trains is Barcelona - Sants. It is from here that the High Speed Train (AVE) departs from.
Check out the Renfe Spain Pass to travel 4, 6, 8 or 10 times within a month throught Spain for a fixed price! This is the perfect way to discover all Spain, specially if you choose to do one of these routes:
World Heritatge Cities: Toledo, Cuenca, Segovia & Avila.
Route of the Cathedrals: Burgos, Salamanca, León & Zamora.
Ancient arabic route: Córdoba, Málaga & Granada.
Gold Century Route: Aranjuez, Campo de Criptana, Almargo & Albacete.
Hotels
There are many search engines that work well to find hotels in Catalunya, Spain, and beyond! We recommend the following:
In warmer months, you may also wish to look for camping options. For example, in the Costa Brava you can rent a bungalow with 6-8 beds near the beach for a very reasonable price.