Spain Guide
Getting around
Ferries and planes
Anyone heading from the Spanish mainland to the Balearic Islands will probably do so by ferry or catamaran express ferry (from Alicante, Barcelona, Dénia or Valencia). However, there's also an extensive network of internal Spanish flights, including to and between the Balearics, with Iberia (www.iberia.com), Spanair (www.spanair.com) and other smaller operators. These can be worth it if you're in a hurry and need to cross the entire peninsula, or if you can snap up a bargain web fare, but otherwise tourists rarely use flights to get around Spain.
The main exception has always been Europe's busiest air route, that between Madrid and Barcelona, though this is now facing stiff competition from the high-speed AVE train, which is comparable in overall centre-to-centre journey time, and often cheaper.