Getting to Santiago: train, bus, car and plane

Since June 2025, Santiago has had an intermodal station — the Daniel Castelao — where train and bus share the same building, linked by a pedestrian footbridge. It's a marked upgrade on the old station, with a concourse almost three times bigger, and a dedicated 900-space car park is due to open in summer 2026. From there, the old town is a 10-15 minute walk.

By train

The Madrid connection is the busiest: around 18 AVE high-speed trains run daily in each direction. Duration varies quite a bit by service — the fastest run about 3 hours 15 minutes, while Alvia trains with more stops can take over 4 hours 30 minutes — so it's worth checking the specific timetable before booking. Prices are just as elastic: booked ahead, Turista class tickets start at €19-21, though the average fare sits more around €54-68, and Preferente can reach €138.

Within Galicia, Media Distancia and Avant trains are frequent and cheap: to A Coruña the journey takes 30-40 minutes and costs under €10, to Vigo between one hour and one hour twenty, and to Ourense around 30-40 minutes on the high-speed line.

By bus

Monbus is the go-to operator for getting around Galicia. To A Coruña there are more than 20 daily services, taking about 79 minutes from €8; to Lugo, departures roughly every three hours, with a 1-hour-55-minute journey priced €9-15.

For longer distances, ALSA connects Santiago with Madrid via 13-16 daily services — the first leaves at 00:30, the last at 23:45 — a journey of 7.5 to just over 8 hours, with fares from €19 booked ahead. It's slower than the train, but noticeably cheaper if booked early.

By car

Santiago is well connected by motorway to A Coruña, Vigo, Pontevedra and Lugo. The important warning is for once you reach the city: the old town operates as a Low Emission Zone (Zona de Bajas Emisiones) with very restricted access — of the roughly 69,000 private vehicles registered in the city, only 735 hold a permit to enter the centre, and that permit depends on specific grounds (residency, business, deliveries), not just your DGT emissions label. In practice, if you're driving, forget about parking next to the cathedral: the sensible move is to leave the car in a peripheral car park like Xoán XXIII, San Caetano or Belvís and continue on foot or by city bus.

By plane

Rosalía de Castro airport sits 12 km from the centre, with direct flights to Madrid, Barcelona, London, Amsterdam, Frankfurt and other destinations. Everything on airlines and getting from there to the centre is in our Santiago airport guide.