Travelling from Spain without flying
You can leave Spain without boarding a plane, and get further than you'd expect. These are the routes that genuinely work, and the ones that don't.
Why consider it
Fewer emissions, no airports, no baggage limits and you arrive in city centres. The trade-off is time: it's almost always slower, and sometimes more expensive than a low-cost flight.
France by train
There are direct high-speed connections between Barcelona and several French cities, and from there the whole French network opens up. Barcelona to Paris is around six and a half hours. From Madrid you need to change in Barcelona.
Portugal
Lisbon and Porto are well connected by coach from Madrid and from Galicia. Rail links are more limited than they should be, so the coach is usually the better option.
Morocco by ferry
Tarifa to Tangier is about 35 minutes by boat. It's the fastest way out of Spain to another continent and one of the most underrated: you can have breakfast in Cádiz and lunch in Morocco.
Italy
This is the reasonable limit. Barcelona to Milan by train is around twelve hours with changes. There are also ferries from Barcelona to Genoa and Civitavecchia, which run overnight and save you a night's accommodation.
What isn't worth it
Anywhere beyond Italy or Germany. Reaching eastern Europe or Scandinavia overland from Spain takes two or three days. As an adventure it has its charm; as a way of getting there, no.
Prices
Long-distance coaches are the cheapest option. International trains vary enormously: booked two months ahead they can cost half. Don't expect it to beat a low-cost flight, because it rarely does.
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