Madrid to Barcelona?

Question

We will be travelling to Spain next year. Rather than do one of those tours where you get to spend an hour somewhere and its time to move on, we are going on our own, and focussing on 2 cities, Madrid and Barcelona. We may do some day trips out of each to nearby towns as well.

Any recommendations on travelling from Madrid to Barcelona?

I know there are trains, or even low priced airlines.

I thought it might be interesting to make a day of it, and go by bus between the cities and stop off for an hour or so in a couple of towns on the way (I know, just what I didnt want for my trip, but for 1 day, it might be fun). Any suggestions on how to do this? Would there be any tour buses that do something like this?

Answer 1

Madrid

Answer 2

You may be able to find a tour bus that will make a stop in Zaragoza. That's what I did this past summer... we left Madrid in the morning, spent a while in Zaragoza, then arrived in Barcelona that evening. I did it with a tour group though, so I'm not sure if you could charter one on your own.

But good luck and have fun on your trip! It's amazing over there!

Answer 3

I'm afraid that by bus Madrid to Barcelona is going to take the better part of a day, anyway, so stopping anywhere in between won't really suit your purposes, unless you plan to spend a night.  You can do this by train, anyway.

The train trip is about 5 - 8 hours, depending on the type of train and number of stops, so a road trip would take longer.  

Check out the Renfe web site.

From Madrid, i could recommend a number of great daytrips, as well as a couple from Barcelona.

The biggest city between the two is really Valencia (on the trains, that's kind of a detour, but a good one)

No, you're really not compromising by saying that about stopping for a couple of hours...being like a tour.  Personally, I would never do one of those, no matter HOW little I knew my way around.  I kind of like risking getting lost, you have such an adventure finding your way back again.  And you're travelling on your own terms.  Besides, I could never follow a stuffed parrot on a stick like some stupid sheep.  Not into being herded around.  Need ideas, help choosing an itinerary?  email me.