Starting on December 15, the TGV is kicking off a brand new Paris to Barcelona bullet train route, meaning in a little over six hours you’ll be whisked from Paris’ Gare de Lyon to the heart of one of Spain’s most vibrant cities. It’s such a big deal, French president François Hollande and Spanish prime minister Mariano Rajoy held a joint press conference (in Madrid ironically) to celebrate this new milestone of Franco-Spanish relations.

Board with a chocolate croissant in the morning and arrive just in time for tapas and cava at your favorite bar before you even finish flipping through your guidebook. Even better, gone are the train changes or other inconveniences when crossing the border between France and Spain. The journey will be hassle-free with no need to move from your seat until you pull into the station (unless like us, you may need to get up for another glass of wine). The route will also use duplex trains, so travelers will get excellent views of the gorgeous countryside from the top level ensuring a perfect Instagram moment.

So, what about the price? This is where Cheapos will get really excited. Tickets are starting at only €59 for one-way fares! When you factor in free carry-on luggage, no airport transportation costs, and an easy arrival in the center city, it’s an easy choice when it comes to the “train versus plane” argument.

If prices stay this low, we expect many Cheapos will be reporting back to us about this exciting new route.

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Not so with AVE which will get you from Madrid to Barcelona in about three hours. I can see you doing the math and wanting to say, “But a flight between the two cities would still be faster!” I don’t think so when you factor in all the hassle involved with security and general “hurry-up-and-wait” time at the airport.

As for the costs, once you add in baggage fees, booking fees, boarding fees and transportation fees into the city, those “budget flights” can become much more expensive. (Read more about this in our post on choosing whether to fly or take the train.)

AVE train tickets and times

That AVE train ticket between Madrid and Barcelona will cost you around €115 one way and around €200 if you want to travel business class. Depending upon which flights are available this could be a bargain or not. Last-minute deals can sometimes be found for AVE, so it’s worth keeping an eye on the site for discounts.

To give you a comparison and demonstrate just how fast and fabulous AVE is, a slower train, Estrella, takes almost nine hours to get from Madrid to Barcelona. This trip, however, costs just €44 one way and would be great for travelers who welcome a slower travel experience.

Other routes on the AVE

You could also travel from Madrid to Seville on AVE in just 2 hours and 30 minutes at a slightly lower price of €80 one way.

Madrid to Valencia to see Las Fallas? You can do it in under 2 hours for €80.

Or how about Madrid to Malaga? Just 2 hours 30 minutes for about €90 one way.

AVE also connects Madrid with Albacete, Valladoloid and Huesca.

The ride from Barcelona to Madrid

I took AVE from Barcelona to Madrid recently and it was very comfortable. There was a bar where some riders spent most of their time plus roomy seats and tables for laptops or books.

Unfortunately I was traveling alone with tons of stuff and did not want to haul all my bags with me to the bar and was worried about having something taken. This is a consideration when you do your packing for an AVE trip. I’d recommend keeping valuables in one bag and putting the other bags on the luggage rack.

Overall it was a much more comfortable trip than on a cramped airline and I recommend it. The best part is definitely that you end up in the city center, not miles away, as is the case with airports.

Buying tickets

There are many departures daily on AVE between Madrid and Barcelona. While you could try to buy tickets online on the RENFE site, it’s probably easier to just go to your nearest station a day or two before and buy your tickets there.

Also in our guide: If you’re planning a trip to either cities, be sure to stop by our hotel guides for Madrid and Barcelona. Our editors have visited and inspected affordable hotels in both cities’ centers and have written reviews (with photos) of their favorites.

Your experience on AVE?

Have you taken the AVE or Estrella train between Barcelona and Madrid? Have you flown between the cities? Tell us about your experience in our comments section.

The post The AVE Train from Barcelona to Madrid: Better than flying? appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

With the journey time slashed to 3 hours 36 minutes, it is no surprise that cross-border excursions are suddenly in vogue as folk on both sides of the border want to try the new Allegro service. To meet the new demand, train frequency on the Allegro link from Russia to Finland will double with effect from next Sunday.

Accommodation in Hamina, Finland

Throw in the new St Peter Line overnight shipping service to Helsinki, which started operation last year and this week moves to a new terminal in St. Petersburg, and one might well wonder why anyone still takes the bus from St. Petersburg to Finland.

Bus links

The bus takes longer than the train, but it’s cheaper, and we really think it can make sense. The Allegro train is great if speed is of the essence, and the ship is fine for those wishing to sleep on an overnight voyage to Finland.

But between St. Petersburg and Helsinki lies one of Europe’s most profoundly interesting areas, a region where Russian, Finnish and even Swedish interests have delicately intertwined to create very distinctive histories, politics and cultures.

A visit to Hamina, Finland

The scheduled bus takes about eight hours and stops along the way in the cities of Vyborg and Hamina. The latter is a superb introduction to Finland.

Hamina is an old fortress town, a place that in the past has been variously Swedish and Russian. Being little more than half-an-hour by bus west of the Finnish-Russian border, it is a popular spot with Russians making short forays into Finland for shopping. Yet Hamina’s picture-perfect octagonal square is a fine piece of early 18th-century design and a great spot to linger.

Where to stay

We stopped in Hamina last week and stayed at Pormestarintalon Pihakammari, a super little garden house in a peaceful setting behind the graceful wooden villa that for many years served as home to Hamina’s mayors. Our stay came towards the end of a long journey exploring remote Karelia, and after some wilderness days sedate Hamina was a happy re-engagement with civilization.

How to get there

For travelers coming from St. Petersburg, there is a convenient direct bus to Hamina at 3:40 p.m., which arrives in Hamina at 7:40 p.m. The one-way fare is €30. For those continuing the next day, after the overnight stop that Hamina deserves, to the Finnish capital there are frequent onward buses–generally hourly.

Fares and schedules for bus services in Finland (including many cross-border services to and from Russia) can be checked online.

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High-speed links from Madrid

AVE trains run on dedicated tracks built to the regular European track gauge rather than the slightly broader Iberian gauge traditionally favored in Spain and Portugal. This growing network of new routes makes it possible to speed between major Spanish cities in just a few hours.

The fastest trains from Madrid to Málaga (321 miles) now take just 2 hours and 28 minutes. Some services link Madrid with Barcelona (388 miles) in just 2 hours and 38 minutes. So with a little planning you can enjoy a Catalan breakfast in Barcelona, stop off for a leisurely lunch in Madrid and still arrive in Málaga in time for an early evening swim in the Mediterranean.

South to Andalucía

The Despenaperros Pass. Photo: © hidden europe

Not everyone favors such speed. Take the modern high-speed line south to Andalucía and it slices through the Sierra Morena like soft butter. You’ll hardly notice the hills.

But if you have a few hours to spare why not take the old rail route that runs through the gorge at Despeñaperros. This is truly one of Europe’s finest rail routes, and a creative way of linking Barcelona or Madrid with southern Spain. En route you will run through some incredibly wild terrain as the train traverses Despeñaperros, so swapping the arid red plains of La Mancha for the fiery lushness of Andalucía.

The García Lorca

Not many trains follow the old Despeñaperros route, but you can identify them in the timetable as services that stop at both Alcázar de San Juan and Linares-Baeza. There are half a dozen daily services in each direction.

One in particular is worth highlighting. The García Lorca is Spain’s most interesting train, every bit as eclectic as the poet and dramatist after whom it is named. The train leaves Barcelona around 8 every morning bound for Andalucía carrying through carriages for many of the principal cities of southern Spain: Málaga, Almería, Córdoba, Seville and Granada (Almería and Granada are served only on alternate days). The entire run from Barcelona to Málaga takes over 13 hrs, but it is a magnificent transect through Spain of which Despeñaperros is the highlight. The Despeñaperros route is also served by the twice daily Talgo services from Madrid to Almería and by all through trains from Madrid to Jaén.

Beyond Despeñaperros Gorge

Cast back to before the construction of the railway and Despeñaperros was the haunt of banditti who would waylay innocent travelers as they went south to Andalucía. It is a little tamer nowadays, but still the most exciting rail route to Andalucía.

South of Despeñaperros, you emerge into a land of dense olive groves with huge oleanders on the platforms of railway stations. Suddenly there are lush colors and Moorish architecture, and scenes outside the carriage window that seem taken directly from paintings by Murillo and Velázquez.

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