From Seville to the Beach: The Ultimate Guide to Getting to the Beach by Public Transport

Posted by on | Featured

Last Updated: June 2022

No car? No worries! Although Seville is not a coastal city, there are plenty of easy options to get you from Seville to the beach by public transport, and I’m going to tell you exactly how to do it.

The afternoon heat in the city on any given day during July and August (and sometimes May, June, and September, too!) is no joke. Yes, while Seville is a beautiful city to visit, the summers can be long and intense. And with high temperatures (sometimes both day and night!), it’s easy to understand why one of the most popular summer activities for both locals and visitors alike is a trip to the beach!

So whether you are living in the city or just visiting during the hottest months of the year, I’ve taken the guesswork out of it for you and created this guide to getting from Seville to the beach by public transport. May your summers in Seville be filled with sun, sand, and tinto de veranos on the water’s edge!

Planning your trip to the beach

How far in advance to book your tickets online?

Depending on what journey you are making, depends on how far ahead you should book the tickets:

  • Trains: Train tickets are released 62 days in advance (and 90 days in advance for the high-speed AVE train, although this service doesn’t operate between Seville and the beach town of Cádiz). So if you are heading to Cádiz, you’ll be able to book 62 days out.
  • Buses to the Huelva province: These are the buses operated by Damas and tickets are available for purchase 1 month prior.
  • Buses to the Cádiz province: These are the buses operated by TG Comes and they are available for purchase 2 weeks prior.

So you don’t need to go scrolling up and down, I’ve noted how far ahead you can buy the tickets for each option below. Also, even though you can’t buy the tickets further ahead you can still get an idea of timings during your trip planning stage by looking at current schedules (rather than your exact date or travel, in the case you are planning a trip awhile before).

Can you use a foreign card to book Spanish trains and buses online?

The short answer is YES you can. The long answer is that many people have reported that they have trouble booking trains directly on the local Renfe (train) website, as well as directly on some bus companies’ websites when using a non-Spanish card… not to mention the language barrier with some bus companies not offering an English option.

If you are using a foreign card, I recommend using Omio which is an international platform for a wide range of different transport options. It’s also a comparison site, so you can see all the options available for your journey – trains, buses, and even rideshare (Blablacar). I usually use Omio myself for booking trains and buses in Spain and abroad!

Most of these transport options below are available to be booked on the Omio website. In any case, I have provided the best option for buying tickets for each journey on a case by case basis so that you end up in the right place to book that specific journey.

Some useful words to help you navigate booking online

While Omio is available in English, some local booking sites are not so here is some vocab that will help you to make your booking.

  • Origen = Origin/starting point
  • Destino = Desination/ending point
  • Ida = Outbound journey
  • Vuelta = Return journey
  • Fecha = Date
  • Buscar = Search
  • Estación = Station
  • Tren/trenes =Train/trains
  • Autobus/autobuses = Bus/buses

Where are the bus and train stations in Seville?

Seville has three different places where buses and trains to destinations outside the city leave from.

Train: Santa Justa Station

This is the main train station in Seville and is located a little bit outside the city centre. Depending on where you are in the centre, it’s about a 20 to 30 minute walk, otherwise, the number 27 bus departs from Plaza del Duque de la Victoria, stopping along Calle Imagen (by Las Setas) and Plaza Ponce de León, and drops you right in front of the train station. Otherwise, a taxi will set you back about €10 to €15.

Bus: Plaza de Armas

This is the main bus station located by the river, just on the edge of the Arenal neighbourhood and within walking distance from the city centre. Buses to and from the airport also stop at this bus station. Most of the Alsa buses arrive at and depart from this station.

Bus: Prado de San Sebastián

This is a smaller bus station in the San Bernardo neighbourhood. Located next to Maria Luisa Park, it’s an easy walk from the city centre or you can take either the tram starting in Plaza Nueva or the metro from Puerta Jerez, both of which have stops next to the bus station. Most of the buses to the Cádiz province depart from here.

How to get from Seville to the beach by public transport

How to get from Seville to Matalascañas

The closest and most accessible beach from Seville by bus is Matalascañas beach. The most direct bus will have you laying out your towel and dipping your toes in the cool water within an hour after leaving. This is one of the most popular options for locals going to spend the day at the beach, especially on the weekends in summer when everyone is escaping the heat, so make sure you book your tickets online in advance.

How to get from Seville to Cádiz

If you prefer to travel by train, Cádiz – and its beaches! – is the place for you. This is one of the most popular beaches near Seville due to the easy journey to get there, and the opportunity to gaze out the window at the ever-changing landscapes.

Most people get off at the main Cádiz station, which is just a short stroll from the city centre and perfect if you want to Caleta beach or to look around the city. However some (not all!) trains also make an extra stop beforehand at Cádiz Estadio, another station located below the Cádiz football stadium, which is only a five minute walk from Victoria beach, a long stretch of beach that’s popular in the summer.

One of the beautiful calas near Conil de la Frontera
Photo Credit: Francisco Aguirre

How to get from Seville to Conil de la Frontera and surrounding beaches

The charming town of Conil de la Frontera has many beautiful surrounding beaches, many of them popular with sevillanos in the summer.

For the beaches in the town of Conil de la Frontera, Los Bateles and Fontanilla, you just get off at Conil de la Frontera’s bus station and from there it is a short stroll down through the town to the beach.

For the calas; sandy cove beaches nestled amongst the cliffs, you will need to change at the Conil de la Frontera bus station and take the local bus line 2, which, as well as stopping at the town’s beaches, continues along the coast. Get off at Urbanización Fuente Sol and from there you can walk to various different calas, the closest being Cala del Puntalejo and Cala Camacho, which are both within 5 minutes walk.

For the local bus, check out this website for more information about the current bus times. You pay the driver in cash, the ticket costs €1.25.

The beautiful beach at Los Caños de Meca
Photo Credit: anroir

How to get from Seville to El Palmar, Los Caños de Meca, Zahara de los Atunes and Atlanterra

If you want beautiful beaches, cool vibes and a relaxing summer’s day, I recommend jumping on the bus and heading to one of these great beaches. The bus runs along the Costa de Luz in the Cádiz province stopping at each of these beaches on the way.

While El Palmar and Los Caños de Meca are two of my favourite beaches near Seville, there is one catch: this bus only stops at El Palmar and Los Caños de Meca on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays during the summer season (roughly the months of June, July and August) and is extremely popular as well as being limited, so make sure you buy your tickets in advance!

During the week, outside the summer months, or if the bus is full, you can head to Conil de la Frontera (as per the information above) and get a local bus to your chosen destination (more information below).

Looking over the town and river at Punta Umbria, which is great to explore when you are not relaxing on the beach!

How to get from Seville to Punta Umbria

Popular with sevillanos in the summer, another easily accessible beach close to Seville is Punta Umbria, located next to the city of Huelva with a large stretch of golden sand and blue water.

Once you have arrived in Huelva, you will need to change for the local bus to Punta Umbria. These depart every hour on the hour from the Huelva bus station and the journey takes about 30 to 40 minutes. The bus is number 301 (you can see the schedule and route here) and you pay in cash to the driver.

Beautiful flowers in the town of Chipiona
Photo Credit: ***Bárbara***

How to get from Seville to Chipiona

At just over two hours from Seville and a return ticket costing less than 20€, a day trip to the beach in Chipiona is a great option for anyone visiting Seville in the summer. Beach lovers can hit the long coast of beaches hugging the town centre, or curious souls can wander around the sights of Chipiona, making this small fishing town a wonderful beach break for everyone!

Going from Seville to the beach with Blablacar

If you’ve got to the end of all this information and are now thinking that it all sounds like a lot of hard work and maybe you’re better off finding another way to cool off in Seville without leaving the city or, even worse, gritting and bearing the hot summer days and going sightseeing instead, don’t worry – there is one more solution!

Blabla car is a ridesharing service where people who are making a journey in their personal car publish their journey on the website/app, and then other users can book a seat in their car for the associated cost. People usually nominate a pickup point to leave from and drop you off somewhere fairly central in the final destination, which makes it an easy and cost-effective way to get to the beach in summer.

Tips for booking a trip with Blablacar

I use Blablacar all the time, usually as a driver but sometimes as a passenger too. I love it and it’s a great way to bring down petrol costs on long drives (and have some company, too!) and I have honestly not really had any bad experiences at all. In general, people who use a ride-sharing service seem to be friendly, open, and happy to meet new people. That being said, there are a few tips and tricks I wanted to share about a few things I’ve observed to make your experience with Blablacar better:

  • Book only a few days out: whether it’s more due to the nature of the app or Spanish culture I don’t know, but most people tend to both publish (the drivers) and book their journey (the riders) pretty close to the time. The best time to book is a few days out as you’ll see more options available for your date.
  • Only chat and pay within the app – no exceptions: If anyone asks you to confirm the booking and/or pay outside the app DO NOT ride with that person. It’s a question of personal safety – keeping everything in the app where it is monitored by the company means that the person’s intentions are most likely genuine.
  • Read the driver’s reviews: They are there for a reason, let them guide you and help you know you are booking with someone who is nice and a good driver!
  • Check if the middle seat in the back will be occupied or not: Drivers have to state whether the middle seat will be occupied or not. If it doesn’t bother you being squashed between two strangers on a hot sweaty summer’s day then no big deal, but if your comfort is of higher priority check to see if this is the case or not!
  • If you are bringing more luggage than you can fit at your feet/on your lap, make sure it’s okay with the driver before booking: This is common courtesy to the driver, they aren’t obliged to have luggage space for you and you never know what they may be travelling with.

How’d your beach trip go? Or do you have another recommendation that I’ve left off this list? Let me know in the comments below.

Disclosure: Some of the links on my website are affiliate links which means that if you purchase anything I recommend through these links, I may get a small commission, however at no extra cost to you! Please know that everything I recommend I have personally tried and tested or are platforms that I actually use myself.

Comments are closed.