I am studying in Spain this summer, and traveling around for about 2 weeks after the end of the program. How is the bus system there? I know it is cheaper then the train, but how do they compare in regards to quality and efficiency. Is it better to just pay the extra and take the train? Thanks for the advice!!

hi,

spanish bus companies are very efficient and the buses/terminals themselves are beautiful compared to what i've seen in the us. the majority of them are produced by mercedes-benz. i think you will be pleasantly surprised by the difference.

last year some family members visited from sevilla and we drove to florida..we decided to fly back to dc as noboby wanted to drive back. there were no air tickets to be found so our only option was to bus it back. wow, were they shocked!!

we rode greyhound back and they were absolutely miserable not to mention frightened! it stopped frequently, people were loud and rude, the bus terminals were filthy with horrible food, there were no television sets with movies, no radio channels, not to mention the buses were dirty and ugly-looking with uncomfortable chairs.

so, yes there is a definitely a difference between the bus lines in spain and in the us. by the way, there is also a company out of madrid that travels north that has first class bus tickets...leather seats, a waitress with drinks and snacks, and the paper is offered. i do not know the name of the company off hand but the link below should help. there is also an enormous difference between the rail system here and in spain...BIG difference as well. here's a link with all the bus companies for the country just scroll all the way to the bottom:
Bus Companies of Spain

have fun travelling around!!

There is no 'bus system' per se in Spain (like Greyhound/Trailways in the U.S.).
Guapetona writes: I'm sure she means the MotorCoaches themselves, not the bus stations. Newer bus stations are very nice; but if you are travelling Sevilla-south toward Jerez, Cadiz, or el Puerto de Santa Maria you will have to take a 'local' bus from the older San Antonio(?) bus station, not the the newer, nicer Plaza de Armas station. There are numerous MotorCoach companies: I think the one Guapetona was referring to is Continental-Auto that operates Madrid - Santander from Madrid's Avenida de America station. We took their 'Business Class' bus to Santander in year 2000 and were quite satisfied. Seats are three abreast (two on the right, one on the left, allowing for wider seats and aisles). They may have discontinued that non-stop, first class service, but they still serve that route. They served soft drinks free and charged 100 pesetas (about 50-cents) for San Miguel Special Export (beer). Other bus companies also ofer that class of service: We took Alsa's 'Supra' service from Santander-Bilbao. On Alsa the beer was free!

Bus services in Spain are generally more frequent and more direct than much rail service. As far as quality and efficiency are concerned: buses in Spain are air conditioned, modern, comfortable and restroom equipped (smoking is prohibited). Last summer, I took Secorbus/Socibus Madrid-el Puerto de Santa Maria, and DAMAS Sevilla-Huelva and ALSA bus Santander-Barcelona. On the latter route, we were pleasantly surprised at the quality of the restaurant (near Zaragoza) where we stopped for dinner. It was excellent! There are others that are not so nice. In '98 I took a Eurolines Bus Sevilla-Lisboa - the place where it stopped for dinner was not so nice. Luckily, I had decided to 'brown-bag' it for that trip. Bus rides in excess of 8-hours can be a bit tiring but they have 'meal' stops and short 'smoke' stops.
I'd say: Go with the bus!

Good advice from both posters! The great majority of buses in Spain are motor-coaches as Eddie pointed out ergo very comfortable, etc.
Bus schedules throughout Spain are frequent and efficient.
Nothing - nothing - nothing like what serves as a bus system in the US - city nor greyhound.

We found the buses and stations to be far above the US situation. Many are express types with few stops. Often there are seat assignments and they were punctual to the minute. This can work to your disadvantage! We were just a few minutes late getting to the station in Carmona but the bus was already gone. But not to worry, buses are frequent, we only had to wait 20 min for another. We took a bus from the station in Seville at Pl. San Sebastian near the Pl. Espana. Buses go from here to Malaga, Ronda, Carmona, etc. It was an older station, but clean, and attractive, with unique "spanish" style. It was in a nice area, so different from bus station areas in the U.S.