Is it better to travel between Barcelona and Valencia by train or by bus? We'll travel to Valencia from Barcelona on Saturday and return on Monday.
When we arrive in Barcelona, we will stay at a hotel near the airport and plan to travel to Valencia the next day. Three days later, we will return to the same hotel in Barcelona to catch our flight back to Seattle.
Thank you for your advice.
The train would be quite a bit faster--as little as 3 hours vs. 4 hours or longer on a bus, if you were simply traveling from downtown Barcelona. However, the bus company ALSA has a few direct buses from BCN airport to Valencia that take as little as 3 hr. 50 min. and avoid the need to get to the train station in downtown Barcelona and switch to an express train. Not having to make that connection in Barcelona might make up most or even all of the difference in travel time. Those BCN-to-Valencia buses are not cheap, however; don't expect them to be substantially less expensive than the express trains. The bus fare for February 18 is about 34 euros.
The ALSA buses I've taken (no experience with this route) have been very comfortable. If you happen to be traveling with non-carry-on luggage, it may be easier to manage on a bus; you should be able to store it under the bus.
In Valencia the bus station isn't particularly close to the Joaquin Sorolla train station used by most of the fast trains. The location of your hotel could make a difference here if you don't like to spend money on taxis.
Neither buses nor trains are super-frequent between Barcelona and Valencia, so this decision might come down to which has a schedule more desirable for you.
Thank you for your replies. Here's what we did.
We stayed at the Barcelona Airport Hotel the day we disembarked from our Transatlantic cruise. It's a nice hotel with a shuttle service to the airport that leaves every half hour. Since we were flying home out of Barcelona in the morning we booked our stay there for the night before our departure. We were in Valencia for two nights so we left our larger bags at the hotel (they charge a fee) and used our day bag/backpack for the trip. We thought the hotel prices were reasonable and used our Chase points to book the rooms.
We purchased tickets for a day or two in advance online for the ALSA bus departing from the airport to Valencia. The tickets were around $43 per person one way. The trip was about three hours and 30 minutes, and the bus stopped for refreshments a little more than halfway. We purchased return tickets, also online, the day we arrived in Valencia. The return trip was a bit different in that we were on a double-decker bus and it did not stop until it reached the airport. We then took the shuttle to the Barcelona Airport Hotel and flew out the next morning.
The buses were reasonably comfortable but I think the train would have been more comfortable. If you're over 6' tall or large-framed you might feel cramped. We did have to put our day bags in the luggage compartment. We opted to use the bus to avoid having to travel from the hotel to the train station. The buses were full so buying tickets in advance if you're set on a particular departure time is recommended. The drivers did not speak English but many of the other passengers did so we could ask questions. Other bus lines are serving that route, so if the ALSA is full, you can try the others.
Other thoughts. We considered flying from Valencia back to Seattle but found the connections to be either too short or way too long. Also, the fares was more expensive. Valencia is a delightful city and definitely worth a visit. We spent two nights there and wished we had stayed three.
Thanks for reporting back! At some point, possibly next year, I may need this info.
