Travelling on the buses in Spain is much better than the rail...It can also be cheaper too..If your travelling out of Madrid, take the subway to the Mendez Alvaro station (bus Station)..They have everything you could need..I took ALSA & they were awesome & cheap..They took my ass to galicia in style man..First Class!! They'll hook you up with food and beverages, movies and a kick ass leather seat...Definitely the way to travel...Here's a good travel tip:
Get out of Madrid....There's much better & safer places to see off the beaten path...Explore!

Sure, bus transportation is great, and it is a good idea to explore areas beyond Madrid. It is. however, like telling someone to get their butt out of New York and go see the splendors of Saratoga Springs. The huge, loud, moving, shaking, busy (and sometimes unsafe) city is what it is, and Madrid should not be missed! I have to say, as someone who has lived in Madrid and visited often for over 25 years, it GROWS on you. You get used to the noise, the hassles, and learn to find the pleasures. And then, too, you hop on a bus (in my case, a plane!!) and get up to Galicia and enjoy the rural pleasures all the more, having been sated in urbania.

That's what ALSA calls its SUPRA Class. We have taken that across the north coast. Each bus company has a name for it: We took Continental-Auto Madrid-Santander and back on their Gran Clase: same configuration (3-across), roomy seats, stewardess, etc: 5.5 hours Madrid-Santander (you can't drive it much faster than that). Continental-Auto leaves from Avda. de America multimodal transportation center - much closer to the airport.

[This message has been edited by Eddie (edited 10-02-2000).]