Travel by Train from London to Spain including Ibiza, Majorca, Minorca & the Canary Islands
By Barry Sheppard

To visit Spain by train

Travelling from the UK to Spain couldn't be easier. Leave by train on the afternoon Eurostar from London to Paris and then the highly recommended 'trainhotel' from Paris to Madrid or Barcelona. Trainhotels have comfortable bedrooms, a restaurant and a café bar. Some of the top of the range rooms even have private toilet and shower facilities. The following morning jump on a fast train from Barcelona to Valencia or Alicante or from Madrid to Malaga, Seville or Granada. Reasonable fares start at £59 return, London to Paris plus £100 for the journey from Paris to Madrid or Barcelona including a sleeper compartment.

1st class compartments are similar, but have only two seats / beds. 'Gran classe' compartments are similar to 1st class ones, but with a compact toilet and shower en suite.

London to Spain by ferry

London to: Algeciras Alicante Almeria Antequera Barcelona Benidorm Bilbao (by sea) Bobadilla Canary Islands Girona Granada Ibiza Las Palmas Madrid Majorca Malaga Minorca Pamplona Ronda Salamanca San Sebastian Santander (by sea) Segovia Tarragona Tenerife Toledo Valencia Valladolid Zaragoza

London to Madrid

The Puerta del Sol at night, Madrid - an easy trip. Take an afternoon Eurostar to Paris from London and then hop on the trainhotel to Madrid. Have a slap up meal in the restaurant car or a drink or two in the bar before retiring to your sleeper for the night ahead. You'll be awoken by snow capped mountains in Spain as well as the royal palace just north of Madrid. Fares start at £59 return for Eurostar and £100 return for the trainhotel which includes accommodation in a 4 bed tourist class sleeper.

Train times London to Madrid: Travel from London to Paris by Eurostar, leaving London Waterloo at 13:41 and arriving in Paris (Gare du Nord) at 17:23. Cross Paris by métro or walk to the Gare d'Austerlitz. Metro line 5 links Paris Nord & Paris Austerlitz direct, just follow the signs 'M5 direction Place d'Italie'.

Then travel overnight from Paris to Madrid on the trainhotel 'Francisco de Goya' which leaves Paris (Gare d'Austerlitz) each night at 19:43 and arrives in Burgos at 05:20, Valladolid at 06:22 and Madrid (Chamartin station) at 09:13 next morning.

On board the trainhotel Francisco de Goyal has tourist class 4 bed sleepers ('Turista'), first class 1 & 2 bed sleepers ('Preferente'), and 'Gran Classe' 1 & 2 bed sleepers with private toilet and shower. All sleepers have comfortable beds which convert to seats for daytime hours. All compartments have a washbasin, and a basic toiletry bag is supplied. There's luggage space in the recess above the door, projecting over the ceiling of the corridor. The compartment door has both a normal lock and a security lock which CANNOT be opened from outside (even with a staff key). Passengers travelling alone can book a bed in a 4-bed or 2-bed compartment and share with other civilised sleeper passengers of the same sex, this is quite normal. See the photographs above and the picture gallery and amazing virtual tour on the Elipsos website. Reclining seats are not recommended for overnight travel. The trainhotel is entirely non-smoking.

The trainhotel consists of a restaurant and a café-bar, serving dinner, breakfast, drinks and snacks. The First Class fare includes a light breakfast in the restaurant car, the Gran Classe fare includes a 3-course evening meal with wine in the restaurant car plus breakfast served either in the restaurant or your own compartment. A starter in the restaurant car costs about 5 Euro, a main course 14 Euro, a half bottle of wine 7 Euro. Continental breakfast in the café-bar or restaurant costs just 4 Euro - you enjoy your coffee and croissant as the trainhotel adds to your glorious journey by including fantastic sunshine to whizzing through the rocky hills North of Madrid, with glimpses of mist-filled valleys and mountain peaks in the distance. Look out for the walled city of Avila on the right about 1 hour 20 minutes before Madrid, and for the Spanish royal palace at El Escorial, on the hill to the left of the train about 40 minutes before Madrid.

The train is run by a consortium of the French and Spanish railways called Elipsos. The train is fitted with adjustable axles and is called 'Talgo' - in the early hours of the morning the axles are changed in a special shed from standard French track gauge to Spanish track gauge. You will need to book in advance for the trainhotel - they are very popular. First class and Gran Classe passengers can use the VIP Club lounge at Madrid Chamartin.

Train times Madrid - London: The trainhotel 'Francisco de Goya' leaves Madrid Chamartin every night at 19:00, Valladolid at 21:20 and Burgos at 22:21, arriving Paris (Austerlitz) at 08:27 next morning. Cross Paris by metro (metro line 5 links Paris Nord & Paris Austerlitz, just follow the signs 'M5 direction Bobigny Pablo Picasso'. Eurostar leaves Paris (Gare du Nord) at 10:19 and arrives London Waterloo at 11:55.

Children under 4 go free, as long as the parents have sole use of a compartment. You can save about 6% on the trainhotel fares by paying in Euros at voyages-sncf.com. Slightly higher fares apply mid-June to mid-September & at Easter.

London to Barcelona

Hop on an afternoon Eurostar from London to Paris, then take the overnight 'trainhotel' from Paris to Barcelona. Enjoy a leisurely dinner in the restaurant car or a drink in the bar before retiring to your sleeper for the night - and wake up in Spain. Fares start at £59 return for the Eurostar plus £100 return for the trainhotel, including a bed in a 4 bed tourist class sleeper. That's city centre to city centre with 2 nights' accommodation. There's also a London-Paris-Barcelona daytime option, although it's not as convenient as the trainhotel.

Train times London to Barcelona: Travel from London to Paris by Eurostar, leaving London Waterloo at 15:11 and arriving in Paris (Gare du Nord) at 18:53. Cross Paris by métro to the Gare d'Austerlitz. Metro line 5 links the Gare du Nord & the Gare d'Austerlitz, just follow the signs 'M5 direction Place d'Italie'.

Travel from Paris to Barcelona overnight on the trainhotel 'Joan Miro', which leaves Paris (Gare d'Austerlitz) daily at 20:32 and arrives in Figueres at 06:24, Girona at 06:54 and Barcelona (França station) next morning at 08:24.

The trainhotel has tourist class 4 bed sleepers ('Turista'), first class 1 & 2 bed sleepers ('Preferente'), and 'Gran Classe' 1 & 2 bed sleepers with private toilet and shower. All sleepers have comfortable beds, which convert to seats for the evening and morning part of the journey. All compartments have a washbasin, and toiletries, towels & mineral water are provided for each passenger. There's luggage space in the recess above the door. The compartment door has both a normal lock and a security lock, which can't be opened from outside (even with a staff key) so you're safe. Passengers travelling alone can book one bed in a 4 bed or 2 bed compartment and share with other passengers of the same sex - which happens often. The train also has 1st class reclining seats, but these are not recommended for overnight travel. The train is entirely non smoking.

The trainhotel has a restaurant and a café-bar, serving dinner, breakfast, drinks and snacks. There are various classes of travel - first class includes a light breakfast or Gran Classe which includes a 3 course evening meal with wine in the restaurant car and breakfast served in the restaurant car or your own compartment. Starters cost around 5 Euros, main course 14 Euros and half a bottle of wine about 7 Euros. A continental breakfast in the cafe bar or restaurant is about 4 Euros. Credit cards are accepted on board.

Train times - Barcelona to London: The trainhotel 'Joan Miro' leaves Barcelona at 21:05, Girona at 22:17, Figueres at 22:47, arriving Paris at 09:00. Cross Paris by metro and a Eurostar leaves Paris (Gare du Nord) at 10:19 arriving London Waterloo at 11:55.

London to Cordoba & Seville

Jump on a Eurostar from London to Paris and then the trainhotel from Paris to Madrid. Then take the 186 mph 'AVE' (Alta Velocidad Española) from Madrid to Cordoba or Seville in just 2 hours. The Madrid-Seville high speed line is most enjoyable, travelling through scenic mountains, instead of the further conventional line. AVE trains from Madrid to Seville run every hour or so and are extremely punctual. In fact, your ticket will be refunded in full if the AVE is more than 5 minutes late.

Train times London to Seville - Travel from London to Madrid by Eurostar and overnight trainhotel. After arriving at Madrid Chamartin station, take one of the frequent suburban trains to Madrid Atocha Station, taking 10-15 minutes. If you prefer a taxi will cost 8-9 Euros.

Travel from Madrid to Cordoba and Seville by high-speed AVE train, leaving Madrid (Atocha station) at 11:00 and arriving Cordoba at 12:44 and Seville at 13:30.

Train times Seville to London - Travel from Seville and Cordoba to Madrid by high-speed AVE, leaving Seville at 14:00 and Cordoba at 14:44, arriving in Madrid (Atocha station) at 16:30. Daily, there is also a 15:00 from Seville, 15:44 from Cordoba, arriving Madrid Atocha at 17:30. Take a frequent suburban train to Chamartin station.

On the AVE, 'Club' class (premier 1st class) consists of bays of two power-recline armchairs and a table on one side of the aisle, semi-compartments of four armchairs around a table on the other side of the aisle. 'Preferente' (normal 1st class) has conventional open-plan seats, as does 'Tourista' (2nd class). Drinks and food are included in the 'Club' and 'Preferente' fare.

London to Almeria & Granada

Train times London to Granada. Take Eurostar to Paris and the overnight trainhotel to Madrid, as shown in the London to Madrid section above. Travel from Madrid to Granada or Almeria by air-conditioned articulated 'Talgo' train, leaving Madrid Chamartin at 16:47 (and Madrid Atocha at 17:02) and arriving Granada at 22:50.

Train times Granada to London. Travel from Granada or Almeria by air-conditioned 'Talgo' train, leaving Granada at 08:00 or Almeria at 07:15 and arriving Madrid Atocha (for the city centre) at 13:52 and Madrid Chamartin at 14:06.

HOW TO BOOK

Buy tickets - online at www.raileurope.co.uk.

UK residents can easily buy tickets for both the Eurostar and the Paris-Madrid trainhotel online at www.raileurope.co.uk. There's no booking fee, and tickets can be sent to any UK address. Bookings for the trainhotel open 90 days before departure.

To see the cheap fares, treat London to Madrid as two separate journeys, one London to Paris, the other Paris to Madrid. Book the trainhotel first, from Paris to Madrid and back. When the journey results appear showing the Elipsos trainhotel, click the word 'options' to switch between the different types of sleeper and reclining seat. For reclining seats, select '1st class' and it usually defaults to seat. For 4 berth tourist class sleepers you must select '2nd class' then '4 berth sleeper'. For 1 or 2 bed sleepers, select '1st class' then 'Double cabin' or 'Single cabin'. For 'gran classe' sleepers select '1st class' then single or double sleeper 'with shower'.

When you've booked the trainhotel, click 'add another ticket' and book the Eurostar from London to Paris and back as a separate journey. Don't forget that on your return journey, your departure date from Paris to London will be the day after your departure date from Spain to Paris. For a one-way trip, remember that on Eurostar it is usually cheaper to book a return ticket and throw away the return half. Tickets are sent from a UK office and usually arrive in a couple of days.

Fares on www.raileurope.co.uk are the same as those on www.voyages-sncf.com, but shown in pounds. You should get a better exchange rate if you buy in Euros at www.voyages-sncf.com, although you'll then be dealing with SNCF direct in France.

Buy tickets - online at www.voyages-sncf.com. The fares on www.voyages-sncf.com are the same as those on www.raileurope.co.uk but by paying in Euros you'll get a better exchange rate. You can also choose to pick up tickets in Paris or have them sent to addresses in other European countries. Bookings for the trainhotel open 90 days before departure.

In order to have your tickets posted to a UK address you will need to select 'Great Britain'. If you want all the cheap fares to show up, you must then select 'payment online in euro's, as they may not show up otherwise. Alternatively, tickets can be posted to addresses in many other countries including most European countries, but not the USA, Canada, Singapore, Australia or New Zealand.

Again, to get the best fares, treat London to Madrid as two separate journeys, one London to Paris, the other Paris to Madrid. Book the trainhotel first, from Paris to Madrid and back. When the journey results appear showing the Elipsos trainhotel, click the word 'options' to switch between the different types of sleeper and reclining seat. For reclining seats, select '1st class' and it usually defaults to seat. For 4 berth tourist-class sleepers you must select '2nd class' then '4 berth sleeper'. For 1 or 2 bed sleepers, select '1st class' then 'Double cabin' or 'Single cabin'. For 'gran classe' sleepers select '1st class' then single or double sleeper 'with shower'.

When you've booked the trainhotel, click 'add another ticket' and book the Eurostar from London to Paris and back as a separate journey. Don't forget that on your return journey, your departure date from Paris to London will be the day after your departure date from Spain to Paris. For a one-way trip, remember that on Eurostar it is usually cheaper to book a return ticket and throw away the return half. Tickets are sent from France, but normally arrive at UK addresses in a couple of days.

Buy tickets - by telephone & in person: You can book through a number of UK agencies, including Rail Europe on 0870 5 848 848 (lines open 08:00-21:00 Monday to Friday, 09:00-18:00 on Saturdays and 10:00-17:00 on Sundays, £6 booking fee applies) or Ffestiniog Travel on 01766 512400 (8% booking fee) There is also a Spanish Railways agency in London which can book trains to and within Spain: www.spanish-rail.co.uk or telephone 020 7224 0345 (lines open 09:30-17:30 Monday-Friday, £10 booking fee applies.

Alternatively, it can be cheaper to buy the London-Paris Eurostar online at www.eurostar.com, selecting the option to pick up tickets at the station. Then book the Paris to Spain trainhotel online at www.voyages-sncf.com as shown above, leaving 'France' selected, which (except for the very cheapest special fares) allows you to pick up tickets on the day of travel at the ticket office at any main station in France, including Paris Gare d'Austerlitz.

About the Author

Publishing pro and established author/filmmaker Barry Sheppard has written and published many books with hundreds of reviews in newspapers, TV and radio and has written over 140 articles on train travel. He is now concentrating on writing eBooks/articles on writing, video, publishing and starting his own television station.

He also runs the website www.traintraveller.com