Santiago de Compostela Airport
The Santiago de Compostela airport (code: SCQ) is not a big airport, but offers the services that are needed for most travelers. There are shops, cafés/restaurants, a bank, and rental car services (AVIS, Hertz, Europcar, and Atesa).
You can find useful information about all Spanish airports at the Aeropuertos Españoles y Navegación Aérea Web site.
Iberia, Spanair, Ryanair, Vueling Airlines, and Air Europa all fly to/from Santiago de Compostela Airport.
Ryanair flies daily from Stansted Airport (STN) in Britain to Santiago and also from Hahn Airport (HHN) in Frankfurt, Germany
How to Get to Santiago from the Airport
Taxi — Most people choose to take a taxi to travel the 10 km from the airport into town. A ride to Old Town will cost about €15; if your hotel is in Old Town, the taxi will probably drive you to the door (remember that Old Town has no regular car traffic, but taxies have access).
Bus — There are buses that go from the airport to Santiago. These buses arrive from Lugo and have a regular stop at the airport before ending up at the Santiago bus station, which is a 15-minute walk from Old Town.
Car Rental — If you decide to rent a car, expect about 15 minutes to drive into town. Because parking in Santiago de Compostela can be difficult, ask the car-rental office about parking by your hotel.
NOTE: Hertz and Europcar also have offices at the train station, a 10-minute walk from Old Town; if you want to minimize the parking hassle, try to pick up your car from the train station when you need it.
By Road
The entire Atlantic Corridor is linked by motorway or dual carriageway. From the north of Galicia (Ferrol and A Coruña), Santiago is accessed by the Atlantic Motorway (A-9).
From the south of the Autonomous Community (Vigo, Pontevedra, Rías Baixas), you can also take the A-9 Motorway which extends southwards, by means of the Porriño dual carriageway, to the Portuguese border (Tui), thereafter crossing the neighboring country (via Porto and Lisbon).
From the Castilian plateau, there are two possible routes: (1) Via the north, by means of the Northwest Dual Carriageway (formerly the N-6), which links with the aforementioned A-9 Motorway, 20 km from A Coruña; or (2) via the south, by means of the Rías Baixas Dual Carriageway, which crosses the province of Ourense, and links, just before Vigo, with the A-9 again. You can also exit the dual carriageway at Ourense and travel to Compostela along the N-525 road.
From the Bay of Biscay corridor, you can enter Galicia via Ribadeo, the first locality after Asturias. A road in excellent condition (N-634) later links with the Northwest Dual Carriageway and, a few kilometers further on, with the A-9.
By Rail
Two daily trains link with Madrid (Talgo and Expreso). On a daily basis, only a single transfer is needed to reach Barcelona, Hendaya, and Paris, and almost all national destinations of importance.
