A bit of bus and public travel confusion

[Tammom]

I’m unclear on suggested busses. Are bus lines in Portugal and Spain private and/or government operated? And are the suggested services I see ticket agents or the bus lines themselves.

Is there a single place to find schedules for, and book, buses and trains?

Finally, are BlaBla car drivers verified By the service? It seems like a nice alternative.

 

[trecile]

I’m unclear on suggested busses. Are bus lines in Portugal and Spain private and/or government operated? And are the suggested services I see ticket agents or the bus lines themselves.

It would help if you told us what these suggested services are.
There are several different bus companies operating in Spain, and (to my knowledge) they aren't government operated. Some are national or international and others are regional.

Is there a single place to find schedules for, and book, buses and trains?

Rome2Rio.com gives options (train, bus, car) but then you usually need to book with the operator, such as Alsa. Rome2Rio usually also has a link to their parent company Omio, which is a booking site for trains and buses, though I don't think that the very local lines can be booked that way - you usually just pay the driver.

This site has good information about how buses work in Spain

Bus Spain - intercity buses, companies and bus stations

A list of bus companies in Spain offering intercity routes, bus rental and bus tours, list of the most important bus stations in Spain.

getbybus.com

 

[Tammom]

It would help if you told us what these suggested services are.
There are several different bus companies operating in Spain, and (to my knowledge) they aren't government operated. Some are national or international and others are regional.



Rome2Rio.com gives options (train, bus, car) but then you usually need to book with the operator, such as Alsa. Rome2Rio usually also has a link to their parent company Omio, which is a booking site for trains and buses, though I don't think that the very local lines can be booked that way - you usually just pay the driver.

This site has good information about how buses work in Spain

Bus Spain - intercity buses, companies and bus stations

A list of bus companies in Spain offering intercity routes, bus rental and bus tours, list of the most important bus stations in Spain.

getbybus.com

Thank you.

 

[snowbird]

I have questions about the bus/train too.

We are going together and my husband needs to leave early. I think he we could get to Leon or 2-3 days before Leon.

From Leon to Santiago, there is a train leaves at 5:09pm. I assume I don't need to purchase train ticket for him in advance, he can buy it on the same day. Am I correct?

The places 2-3 days before Leon, for example, Carrión de los Condes
Rome2Rio.com says there is ALAS bus "Once Daily", but when I search ALSA website, from Carrión de los Condes to Leon for next several days or further in July, it always says "no ticket available".

My real question is:
1. what's the bus schedule? Is it once once a day or several times a day?
2. do i need to purchase bus ticket in advance or can buy it at bus station before boarding?

Thanks,

 

[C clearly]

From Leon to Santiago, there is a train leaves at 5:09pm. I assume I don't need to purchase train ticket for him in advance, he can buy it on the same day. Am I correct?

I don't think this is a safe assumption. I don't have extensive experience on the the trains and buses in Spain, but it has happened that I had to take a later one that I had wanted, because some trains/buses have filled up. It depends on the day. So, whether you decide to buy in advance depends on how confident you are of the date/time you will need, and how flexible he will be. But I am guessing that buying a few days in advance would usually be enough. Also you can choose a higher fare that can be changed or cancelled.

when I search ALSA website, from Carrión de los Condes to Leon for next several days or further in July, it always says "no ticket available".

Perhaps the schedule is not available for July, but when I searched for April 18 as an example, I found this one daily bus. Perhaps you didn't have the date entered correctly

 

[snowbird]

THank you C Clear for the answers.

I searched again on ALSA and you are correct that there are ticket on Apri.18.
Look like it only has bus ticket Tuesday - Friday. I was searching for the weekend, that's why I couldn't find any.

Hope the bus is daily, not just Tuesday to Friday.

 

[C clearly]

Hope the bus is daily, not just Tuesday to Friday.

Don't count on it, as it doesn't look like it is daily.

 

[Former member 22438]

I’m unclear on suggested busses. Are bus lines in Portugal and Spain private and/or government operated? And are the suggested services I see ticket agents or the bus lines themselves.

Is there a single place to find schedules for, and book, buses and trains?

Finally, are BlaBla car drivers verified By the service? It seems like a nice alternative.

As far as I know, busses in Portugal are privat . I only have experiences in the northern districts as Viana do Castelo, Minho and Braga.

The trains you can find at the website CP.pt

If you browse for a regional busline say e.g. Viana do Castelo to Braga you will find several websites but I advise to look on the original site of the buscompany.

From Porto you can reach places like Barcelos , Tamel ( nearby Casa da Fernanda) Viana do Castelo and the northern Atlantic coast, Valença do Minho and even Vigo in Spain by train .

If you want international connections by bus e.g. Lisbon or Porto to Santiago or visa versa look at the ALSA website. Reservation at the website is advised although you can buy a ticket at the desk at the busstation but that does not guarantee that seats are available,especially not during the caminho high season.

 

[Vacajoe]

Love BlaBlaCar and there is a small amount of verification for its drivers, so that’s not an issue. The biggest problem is that they can cancel on you, leaving you without a ride. So if you use them, have a Plan B. And know they are not like a taxi/Uber/Lyft service: rides are usually scheduled days (if not weeks) ahead of time

 

[KathyRugg]

In Spain

I’m unclear on suggested busses. Are bus lines in Portugal and Spain private and/or government operated? And are the suggested services I see ticket agents or the bus lines themselves.

Is there a single place to find schedules for, and book, buses and trains?

Finally, are BlaBla car drivers verified By the service? It seems like a nice alternative.

In

Love BlaBlaCar and there is a small amount of verification for its drivers, so that’s not an issue. The biggest problem is that they can cancel on you, leaving you without a ride. So if you use them, have a Plan B. And know they are not like a taxi/Uber/Lyft service: rides are usually scheduled days (if not weeks) ahead of time

Spain, the official train line is RENFE (renfe.com). I have always had good luck with trains, they are clean, convenient and punctual. The high speed train is the one labeled AVE but the others seem fine to me, they just make more stops and have to travel slowly when they pass through cities.

If you get “none available” as a response to your search it may be because they don’t show further than 30 days out, in some cases. While it is possible to buy a ticket for the same day, it would give me peace of mind to get it at least a few days in advance. Beat of luck!

In Spain the official train line is RENFE (renfe.com).

 

[peregrina2000]

Spain, the official train line is RENFE (renfe.com).

Things have gotten a bit more complicated recently with the arrival of Ouigo and Iryo

See this thread. Ouigo is a joint venture with the French government, and Iryo is Italian. I haven’t tried searching for any of these high speed options, but would love to hear from forum members who have. @J Willhaus has described her ride on Ouigo, but I don’t think there have been many more posts. I’m also imagining that the arrival of three different options means that searching on a third party site like Rail Europe is the easier way to go, at least to find the train options.

 

[sarria2022]

I have the same problem. Want to Go from carrion de Los Condes sunday 30 of july. to León I’m afraid there never are buses un Sundays. Therefore my plan is to take a taxi from Carrión de los Condes to Frómista and train from there via Palencia

 

[Bradypus]

I’m also imagining that the arrival of three different options means that searching on a third party site like Rail Europe is the easier way to go, at least to find the train options.

Trainline is my favourite site for train searches. And it covers Ouigo and iryo too in a single search. I find it simpler to use than RENFE's own website. Helps that it covers France too.

 

[Friend from Barquinha]

I’m unclear on suggested busses. Are bus lines in Portugal and Spain private and/or government operated? And are the suggested services I see ticket agents or the bus lines themselves.

Is there a single place to find schedules for, and book, buses and trains?

Finally, are BlaBla car drivers verified By the service? It seems like a nice alternative.

Here's a good article on public transportation in Portugal. This talks about the regional and national bus systems; besides this, there are networks of municipal buses, but the muni networks tend to serve locals who travel from villages to bigger centers in the morning, and back in the afternoons (for schoolkids and workers). These networks tend not to be very useful for tourists and other travellers because of their quirky scheduling.

I believe government funding subsidizes all the bus services to some extent, but the regional/national ones are labelled as separate companies.

Rome2Rio is pretty good at covering all the possibilities.

Public transportation in Portugal

Whether you're commuting to work or taking a weekend trip, find out everything you need to know about public transportation in Portugal.

www.expatica.com

 

[snowbird]

Don't count on it, as it doesn't look like it is daily.

Thank you. I guess the only option is taxi if there is no bus on the weekend.

 

[snowbird]

I have the same problem. Want to Go from carrion de Los Condes sunday 30 of july. to León I’m afraid there never are buses un Sundays. Therefore my plan is to take a taxi from Carrión de los Condes to Frómista and train from there via Palencia

So it's true that there is no bus Fri-Sun.

I guess taxi is the only option. Good thing is Train from Leon to Santiago is daily.

 

[Camino Chrissy]

Trainline is my favourite site for train searches. And it covers Ouigo and iryo too in a single search. I find it simpler to use than RENFE's own website. Helps that it covers France too.

I love Trainline and it covers as well in Italy when I needed to use it last fall.

 

[Former member 94614]

this was the bus schedule in carrion a year ago. the “bus station” is the large bar at the intersection of some streets as you enter town on the camino, across from the statue of a pilgrim. the bartender will give you advice and sell you a ticket on the spot or otherwise help you make arrangements. a super nice guy! buen camino!

 

[David Hobson]

I have questions about the bus/train too.

We are going together and my husband needs to leave early. I think he we could get to Leon or 2-3 days before Leon.

From Leon to Santiago, there is a train leaves at 5:09pm. I assume I don't need to purchase train ticket for him in advance, he can buy it on the same day. Am I correct?

The places 2-3 days before Leon, for example, Carrión de los Condes
Rome2Rio.com says there is ALAS bus "Once Daily", but when I search ALSA website, from Carrión de los Condes to Leon for next several days or further in July, it always says "no ticket available".

My real question is:
1. what's the bus schedule? Is it once once a day or several times a day?
2. do i need to purchase bus ticket in advance or can buy it at bus station before boarding?

Thanks,

A long reply. I have used ALSA quite a lot, in common with some Spanish travel providers (trains mainly) they only offer tickets for sale a month or so before the travel date. Check dates nearer now to find prices and timings. I can use a senior qualification to get cheaper tickets which is easier to do on line, but tickets can be bought on the bus.
I have also used blabla cars twice. First time was brilliant, no problems at all. Good prices and good companions. Second time, driver didn't turn up at Malaga seafront at 7:00. So a day was wasted. Bank Holiday and no train tickets available.
So it's not perfect.
Buen Camino

 

[WGroleau]

I’m unclear on suggested busses. Are bus lines in Portugal and Spain private and/or government operated? And are the suggested services I see ticket agents or the bus lines themselves.

The MANY bus lines are private operations, but due to licensing issues, it is very rare to have two companies on a particular route.