Stubborn Travel

This article is my personal and honest experience of taking three Alsa buses during Semana Santa in April, 2023, alongside a roundup of what people say online. It is not affiliated with Alsa in any way.

Getting around Spain on holiday

I was in Andalusia for Semana Santa in April 2023 (more on that here), and had three cities on my itinerary: Sevilla, Granada, and Cordoba. I needed a way to get around between them.

Now trains are by far my favourite mode of transport, but in this instance, the train tickets were 2-4 times more expensive than the bus tickets, and didn’t save on much time.

Even now, when I look on train operator Renfe, I can’t find a train ticket for less than €47 from Granada to Sevilla. That’s looking over a month in advance and on a week day. The shortest journey takes 2.5 hours, while the longest takes nearly four.

This same journey with Alsa buses costs between €12-16, and takes three hours. The other journeys we needed had a a similar trend. And when you’re saving over €30 per journey, it quickly adds up – especially if you’re multiple people.

One issue though. If you search online, Alsa appears to have a terrible reputation. Did I want to risk traveling with them during the already hectic Semana Santa?

Alsa Buses: the complaints

Trustpilot has over 1,280 reviews of Alsa buses, and average 1.4 out of 5 stars. Ouch. But I wanted to understand what they were really about. Because when I take a €12 bus for a three-hour journey, I really only care about a few things:

• Will the journey be safe?
• Should I be concerned about my bag?
• Is it likely to be very delayed or cancelled?

With these requirements, I took to going through the reviews. I found some of them a bit harsh.

For example, in the following review, the customer gives one star because the ticket machines are ‘rubbish’, there are long lines, and you need to show documentation of who you are, even when you pay by cash. In my experience, a lot of European travel companies want ID when you travel, and I always buy my tickets in advance. So this Alsa review didn’t really bother me.

Other ones mention the drivers are rude for not speaking English, which again feels unfair. Another gives a one-star review because a driver zoomed in on a phone ticket without asking first. Some complain that it is too loud on the buses.

Others, however, seemed concerning. Many say that Alsa buses were cancelled with little or no notice. Some say the Alsa buses left with the stations never showing their departure bay. One review mentions bed bugs on the seats.

Many also comment that the customer service is totally useless. Some complain about the lack of bathrooms and/or WiFi. And it’s not just Trustpilot… their bad rep follows them throughout the internet.

That said, it’s really not just bad reviews. A lot of people also say that their trips were totally unaffected, efficient and clean. A lot of Spaniards use them for commuting. Their Facebook page is a mix of happy and disgruntled customers. Reddit forums on Alsa reviews are also generally positive, as well as YouTube videos that review and recommend them, like the one below.

So perhaps, it is just the rule that disgruntled customers are louder than happy ones.

To Alsa or not to Alsa?

So all the information weighed up, I decided it was worth the risk due to the saving. I decided to:

• Not try journeys that were too long
• Not plan anything too close to the arrival, in case there were delays or even cancellations
• Book tickets online and print them out, to avoid any misunderstandings
• Use the bathroom before, in case the ones on the bus weren’t working
• Not expect WiFi

So, what happened?

We took three Alsa buses during Semana Santa (Holy Week), which is known for a huge increase in travel.

• Seville to Granada, 3 hours, €16
• Granada to Cordoba, 2 hours 45 (+30 min delay), €9.50
• Cordoba to the Airport of Sevilla, 1 hour 50, €13 euros

I actually bought the wrong type of ticket at first, so I also had to be in touch with their customer service to fix the mistake.

The Alsa Bus Review

After three journeys totalling around ten hours, these were our honest findings:

• 3/3 journeys went ahead. We got from point A to B safely and with our luggage. There are no luggage tags, so I’d always recommend keeping valuables on you.
• 3/3 journeys had clean buses, with comfortable seats and air-conditioning. The Alsa buses were actually much nicer than I expected.
• 0/3 journeys had WiFi that worked.
• 0/3 journeys (between 2 and 3 hours) made any stops.
• 1/3 journeys had a 30-minute delay, during which they did not update the passengers on what was happening, or when we were likely to leave. The others went ahead within ten minutes of the scheduled time, and arrived on time.
• 1/3 bathrooms definitely weren’t working. For the other two, I can’t comment, as I always used the bathroom at the bus station before leaving (after reading reviews that they were often out of order).
• 3/3 drivers were professional and friendly.
• 3/3 Alsa buses used the seat reservations we booked.
• Customer Service solved my problem quickly, efficiently, and in English. They gave me a refund for a block of tickets I’d bought by accident.
• The staff on the bus itself didn’t seem to speak English. I speak Spanish, so it wasn’t an issue, but someone with questions might struggle.
• The leaving bays for each bus was clearly marked, although we asked staff just to double check.
• The English version of the website still displays some information in Spanish.

We travelled in the daytime, so I can’t comment on night travel. I also did journeys within Spain, so I also can’t say much about their international routes.

Would I recommend traveling on Alsa buses?

Based on my personal experience, paired with the price, I definitely would. But I would also say:

• If you don’t speak Spanish, load an online translator in case you have questions.
• Don’t schedule anything too close to the arrival, in case there are delays.
• If you have any doubts about where the bus is leaving from, check with the staff at the bus station. I usually do this anyway, just in case.
• Have the customer service information handy in case you need it. This is now one of the menu items on their home page.
• Get your ticket online and have the QR code handy.
• Use the bathrooms before boarding and don’t expect WiFi.
• Try to have a Plan B, if possible. Easier said than done, but makes all travel less stressful.

Again, this is based on my personal experience. As you can see, I recommend cautiously, weighing in some of the really bad reviews. But for me, I can only say that for the price, it seemed a great deal. When paying 10 euros for a three-hour journey, I don’t expect anything more than the basics, yet the buses were surprisingly comfortable, in my opinion.

Alsa, CSR and sustainability

I will also say that there is one more positive, in my opinion. Alsa buses do seem to make an effort to at least try to reduce their carbon footprint and support meaningful initiatives. You can choose to offset your journey through supporting a reforesting scheme replanting trees lost in a forest fire in 2020. They’re moving towards cleaner technologies, and some of their buses already run on electricity rather than traditional fuel.

They also have partnerships with a number of foundations. One of the main goals of their sustainability report is to improve the employability of people with disabilities, or who are at risk of exclusion. Especially for a lower-cost provider, it’s always great to see funds going to meaningful causes.

Have you used Alsa for your travel in Spain and beyond? What was your experience? I’d love to know in the comments.

And for more on our trip to Andalusia during Holy Week, check out the blog below.

Holy Week in Andalusia: travel tips for a great Semana Santa