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The major Spanish cities, such as Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia and Bilbao, have a metropolitan subway system (Metro) that is easy to use. Due to the frequent bottlenecks aboveground, it is an excellent and economical transportation option.
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All Spanish cities have an extensive public bus system. Some cities offer combined transportation tickets that you can use on all the different modes of transportation (metro, bus and suburban train).
These trains connect the major cities in the country with the suburbs, bedroom communities or areas of influence. They are known for running on time and offering great capacity.
All large cities and many medium-sized towns and cities have a public taxi service. They normally stop on the road, but there are also special taxi ranks marked as such. You can also contact them be telephone (known as radio taxis). All of them operate with a taximeter and the fees for special services (airports, night-time service, holidays, etc.) must be posted in view of the user.
Most major Spanish cities have an airport. Furthermore, because of the high level of tourism in Spain, there are also many international airports. Service between the airport and the city is provided by taxis, special buses and, in some cases, suburban trains and even subways.
International Airports: Spain has 35 international airports: Alicante, Almeria, Asturias, Barcelona, Bilbao, La Coruña, Fuerteventura, Girona, Gran Canaria, Granada, Ibiza, Jerez, Lanzarote, La Palma, Madrid-Barajas, Málaga, Menorca, Palma de Mallorca, Pamplona, Reus, Salamanca, San Javier-Murcia, San Sebastián, Santander, Santiago de Compostela, Seville, Tenerife Norte, Tenerife Sur, Valencia, Vigo, Valladolid, Vitoria and Zaragoza. The airports of Madrid-Torrejón and Madrid-Cuatro Vientos, although they receive international flights, are not used by commercial airlines and are dedicated solely to air taxis and private planes.
The Spanish national airline is Iberia (www.iberia.es), which offers both domestic and international flights. The major international airlines fly to the major cities or most important tourist destinations in the country. Spanair (www.spanair.es) and Air Europa (www.air-europa.com) are the two largest local airlines after Iberia.
RENFE (www.renfe.es) is the national rail company. The network reaches all regions on the peninsula. Most of the trains have heating, air conditioning and snack bars. The high-speed train lines, known as AVE, connect Madrid-Seville, Madrid-Zaragoza-Barcelona, Ciudad Real, Puertollano and Málaga three times more quickly than by highway. The trains run on time.
Another option for traveling in Spain is with any of the bus companies that cover routes between countless Spanish and foreign cities and towns. To find out which ones operate in your city or province, contact your local government's citizen information department.
The Spanish highway system covers over 150,000 km. The radial highways connect each of the regions on the Iberian Peninsula, and great efforts have been made in recent years to improve and maintain them. Most are free, but some sections charge a toll. The speed limit is 120 km/h on highways and 50 km/h in cities and towns. You must have a valid international driver's license and insurance is required. Seat belts are required, even within cities and towns. For more information on the highway system, traffic safety and vehicle formalities, see the Traffic Department website (www.dgt.es).
Driver's licenses issued in the EU are fully valid in Spain. If you will be residing in Spain for over 6 months, you must notify the Provincial Traffic Office for inclusion in the database. Driver's licenses issued by the European Union Member States, pursuant to European law, are fully valid in Spain, except that minimum age for driving is that required to obtain the equivalent Spanish license (18 years old).
Driver's licenses issued by non-EU countries will be valid for the first 6 months of residence in Spain, as long as they are drawn up in accordance with Annex 9 of the Geneva Convention, Annex 6 of the Vienna Convention or in Spanish. International driver's licenses are valid if they are in accordance with Annex 10 of the Geneva Convention or Annex E of the International Convention of Paris. After 6 months, the holders must obtain a Spanish license and pass all driving tests, except when issued in Andorra, Switzerland, South Korea or Japan, in which case validation requires only a translation of the original license. In the countries in which a treaty has been established, validation of type A and B licenses (authorization to drive motorcycles and light vehicles) may be done without passing any tests. Other types of licenses may require passing theory and/or practical exams. The following list indicates the countries with which treaties have been established: Algeria, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Croatia, Ecuador, Morocco, Paraguay, Peru, Dominican Republic, Uruguay and Venezuela.
For more information on the procedures required in each case, visit www.educacionvial.dgt.es/tramites/conductores/hojas_informativas.htm
All of the major rental car companies are established in Spain. You can find them in the Yellow Pages (http://www.paginas-amarillas.es/) in the "automóviles y furgonetas (alquiler)" ("automobiles and vans (rental)") section.
If you decide to import your own vehicle to Spain either from the EU or from a non-member country, you must register it with the Provincial Traffic Office corresponding to your place of residence, where you will be informed of the required documentation. For more information, visit the Traffic Department website at http://www.dgt.es/index.html
In addition to local banks, some of the major international banks are also present in Spain. Their hours of operation, Monday to Friday, are from 8:00 am to 2:30 pm. Online banking and telephone banking are widely used. There is a very large network of automatic teller machines; Servired and 4-B offer the most terminals. Important: each of them charges a fee for withdrawing cash if the card does not belong to their network. Credit card payments are also very common. All major credit cards are accepted at most businesses, but payment by check is not commonly accepted.
| Bank | Website |
|---|---|
| BSCH | www.gruposantander.es |
| BBVA | www.bbva.es |
| La Caixa | www.lacaixa.es |
| Caja Madrid | www.cajamadrid.es |
| Banesto | www.banesto.es |
| Banco Popular | www.bancopopular.es |
If you are already a Spanish resident and you want to open a current account, all you need is your passport or your resident's card. If you are not yet a resident, you can open an account with the non-resident certificate issued by the police or your consulate, certificate of voter registration from the town council and your passport or identification card.
Since 1 July 2003, all transfers in euros within the EU are considered domestic transactions, so the fees charged cannot exceed those charged between banks in Spain for the same amount, although there is an additional fee for SWIFT transfers. Any transfer or deposit from a foreign bank in an amount greater than €12,500 must be reported to the Bank of Spain.
Although Spain has not yet reached the same level of Internet use as in Northern Europe, its use is more and more common and it is experiencing major growth. The reduced price of ADSL lines has led to massive stream of Internet users due to instant access to information. For more information on contracting Internet service in your home, see the Accommodation chapter.
Cellular telephones are very popular in Spain, especially among young people. The price wars have made these services inexpensive, although they continue to be more expensive than landline telephone service. Third-generation cell phones are entering the market very quickly, although their prices remain high.
Spain has both free-access and pay television channels. There are two government-operated channels and several private channels offering free access at the national level (Antena 3, Tele 5, Canal 4 and La Sexta are the most popular). Regional television channels are very popular in the regions in which they operate. A number of local channels have also started broadcasting in recent years, although they remain in the minority. Many buildings, especially in residential areas, have satellite dishes with access to television from around the world.
Spain is in the process of "digitizing" its television service. The National Terrestrial Television Technical Plan, approved by Royal Decree 944/2005, dated 29 July, establishes 3 April 2010 as the date for ending analog terrestrial television transmissions. For more information, www.televisiondigital.es.
On the other hand, the leading pay television platforms are Digital Plus: www.plus.es and the digital cable television company www.ono.es. For more information on pay television, see chapter 14.
