University of Salamanca and La Covatilla: arriving for the start of term from Barajas, day trips to La Alberca and Béjar, and going up to ski without a car

What does the start and end of the academic year set in motion at the University of Salamanca?

The University of Salamanca, founded in the thirteenth century, occupies buildings scattered across the old town, around the Patio de Escuelas and the Plaza Mayor, and campuses in other parts of the city, such as the Unamuno campus next to the hospital. Its faculties, its Spanish courses for foreigners and its exchange programmes bring thousands of students every year from outside the province and from outside Spain, and the province page notes the effect: at the start and end of the academic year thousands of people arrive and leave with luggage and flights from Barajas, and in those weeks it is best to book the airport transfer well ahead.

Anyone arriving for the first time discovers that the old town has restricted traffic and that a flat on Calle Libreros or beside the Plaza Mayor has nowhere to stop a car with the boot open; the driver drops at the nearest access point the council's rules allow and helps with the luggage that far. Salamanca station, with a direct train to Madrid-Chamartín, is the other gateway for anyone coming from other Spanish cities, and to it the province page adds the advice to book with the train timetable at hand; from Santa Marta de Tormes, where many students live, the university is a short run across the Tormes.

How does a student get from Barajas to their flat in Salamanca without a car?

The public option combines metro or Cercanías from the terminal to Chamartín and the train to Salamanca, or the bus from the terminal to the Estación Sur and another intercity coach to Salamanca bus station; it is the cheapest for one person with a rucksack, and it is also the one that demands the most changes with two large suitcases, an instrument or a bicycle, and the one that does not work when the flight lands at night. A transfer with a driver collects in arrivals with a name sign, loads the luggage and drops at the entrance of the flat, the hall of residence or the college, at a fixed price per car, with a little over two hours on the road via Ávila and the Guadarrama.

What makes that price reasonable for a student is sharing it: the car takes several passengers with their luggage and the amount is the same, so three or four people arriving on similar flights, an exchange group or parents accompanying their child split it. You can book for someone else, with their flight number and a phone number, from any country; the invoice goes to whoever pays. The knowledge-centre pieces on booking for someone else and on getting between cities for those arriving from abroad are written precisely for this case, and the help page says what happens if the flight is delayed or cancelled.

How do you go up to La Covatilla without your own car, and what should you know about the snow?

La Covatilla is the ski resort of the Sierra de Béjar, at the southern tip of the province, run by Béjar town council, and it is reached by a mountain road that starts in Béjar itself. No bus goes up to the slopes, so without a car the only way is a transfer: from Salamanca it costs from 116,32 € per car, along the A-66 to Béjar and the climb afterwards; from Guijuelo it is 33 km, and from Ciudad Rodrigo there is a published route page too. The province page sums it up: its season depends on each winter's snowfall, and after snow chains may be needed on the final stretch.

That is why a booking to La Covatilla has two steps others do not: checking on the resort's page that it is open and which runs are working, and saying when booking how many skis or boards you are carrying, so the car has a roof rack or enough boot space. The driver confirms the state of the access road the day before and, if the final stretch is closed or needs chains the vehicle does not carry, you are told before setting off rather than being left in Béjar. For a group of friends or a family from Salamanca, the usual arrangement is one car up in the morning and back when the slopes close, booked as two services or as one with waiting, as they prefer.

Which car-free day trips leave from Salamanca: La Alberca, Béjar, Alba de Tormes and Ciudad Rodrigo?

The classic day trip is La Alberca, the best-known village in the Sierra de Francia, the first rural village declared a historic site in Spain and the gateway to the Peña de Francia and the Las Batuecas valley; it is reached on winding mountain roads, 77 km and about 77 min from Salamanca, or 48 km from Béjar. The bus has few departures and does not go up to the Peña, so the transfer with waiting, with the driver standing by while you visit the village and go up to the sanctuary, is the way to do it in a day. Béjar, with its old quarter and Candelario next door, is reached on the A-66; Ciudad Rodrigo, walled and with a parador, on the A-62, and both have a route page with a price from Salamanca.

Alba de Tormes, on the riverbank and holding the tomb of Saint Teresa in the Carmelite convent, is the short outing: 23 km from the capital, half an afternoon with the driver waiting and back to the Plaza Mayor along the same road. For a group of students or a visiting family, the tour is booked as a single service with the stops and the time at each, and the calculator gives the full price before confirming; if a visit runs long, you tell the driver and the return adjusts. The opening hours of monuments and the sanctuary are published by their managers and change with the season, and the platform does not guarantee them.

How do you book with luggage, skis or a group, and what happens during the September fair and Holy Week?

You book on the website with pickup, destination, date and time, the number of passengers and any special luggage: extra suitcases at the start of term, skis or boards for La Covatilla, a bicycle or an instrument. With that information the car assigned has the boot space or roof rack needed, and the price is fixed before confirming; the province page advises it expressly for anyone arriving at the university with several suitcases. For groups larger than one car, several vehicles are coordinated with the same time and destination, and the knowledge-centre piece on groups and events explains how it is organised.

Two dates change the old town. The Virgen de la Vega fair, around 8 September, coincides with the students' arrival and fills the centre with concerts and road closures, with late-night returns to Santa Marta, Carbajosa or Villares as the most sought-after service; and Holy Week closes streets as the brotherhoods pass, so the pickup point must be outside the route. On both it is best to book days ahead and give the exact address of the accommodation, because the driver stops at the nearest access point the council allows; what the platform does not promise is a car at any hour on those nights.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• Universidad de Salamanca · centros, campus y cursos internacionales (consulted on 27 October 2026)
• Ayuntamiento de Béjar · estación de esquí Sierra de Béjar-La Covatilla (consulted on 27 October 2026)
• Ayuntamiento de Salamanca · acceso al casco histórico, Ferias y Fiestas y Semana Santa (consulted on 27 October 2026)
• Aena · aeropuerto Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas (consulted on 27 October 2026)