August has this habit of leaving some in the sand and others looking at the clock. But summer doesn't have to wait for vacation. Sometimes you only need a train, a Friday and two days ahead to fit the heat and freedom into a weekend.
With iryo, the journey becomes part of the experience. Spacious seats, its own cuisine and a personalized service that invites you to relax are the ingredients so that reaching your destination without the fatigue of the road will completely change the way you start the weekend. Leave on Friday afternoon and return on Sunday night without taking a single day of vacation.
The iryo network connects Madrid with more than a dozen destinations in Spain, but this summer there are two corridors that are gaining prominence in their own right: the South and the Levante. Malaga, Seville or Valencia are today a handful of hours by train, close enough to consider a last-minute trip without distance being the excuse not to do so.
Malaga capital is already, in itself, a complete weekend: the historic center can be visited in one morning between the Alcazaba, the Cathedral and the terraces of Calle Larios, and museums such as the Picasso or the Pompidou fill an afternoon with culture without leaving the center. But what makes Malaga special as a short destination is what is around it.
The Costa del Sol begins practically at the doors of the station, with urban beaches such as Malagueta or Palo for a quick swim. A little further away, Marbella or Nerja await you for a day trip between cliffs and coves. The most active can reserve a morning for the Caminito del Rey, less than an hour from the city.
In the middle of August, Seville is enjoyed at a different pace: early in the morning and late in the afternoon, when the heat subsides and the city comes back to life in its streets and terraces. The Barrio de Santa Cruz, the Cathedral, the Giralda or the Setas de la Encarnación concentrate a good part of the route and a glass of manzanilla on any terrace near the Plaza del Salvador is almost an obligatory stop.
Do you have time to leave the center? Cross the bridge to Triana and enjoy its market and ceramic workshops. Or, if you prefer the distant past, the ruins of Itálica await you just outside.
Valencia has the advantage of bringing together in a few kilometers what other cities share at opposite ends: urban beach in Malvarrosa or Cabanyal, the futuristic architecture of the City of Arts and Sciences, and an old town, Carmen, which can be explored on foot without haste, stopping at every corner.
On the outskirts of the capital, the Albufera Natural Park offers a very different landscape from that of the city, with boat rides at sunset among rice fields, just twenty minutes from the center.
There is no trick or cardboard. Traveling by high-speed train is gaining hours on the clock. The main advantage of doing it with iryo is the flexibility to change schedules on the same day without complications, something that several of iryo's rates include for free. It doesn't matter if the plan changes at the last minute or if you feel like squeezing in the last day before returning to the office on Monday.
Don't you want to complicate your life with connections to your destination? iryo Conecta allows you to link the train journey with other means of transport – plane, rental car, taxi or even commuter trains – to comfortably reach points further away from the coast or inland, without wasting time in planning.
When the trip itself is enjoyable, the weekend begins before reaching the destination. The latest generation Frecciarossa trains that iryo operates with are designed to make the journey feel comfortable from start to finish, with the possibility of eating something from its locally inspired Haizea menu, or simply taking advantage of the time with good connectivity. And if something unforeseen arises during the journey, the iryo crew members solve any problem.
But saving time does not have to be expensive in any area. The trains that iryo operates are made with 94% recyclable materials and run on 100% renewable energy, making the train the most sustainable means of transportation to move around. Nor in economic terms, with options from the Initial Rate, the most competitive, to the Infinite Bistro Rate, which includes a spot menu, seat selection and flexibility in reimbursement.
With Malaga, Seville or Valencia just a drive away, summer doesn't need a whole month to enjoy. Sometimes a good weekend is enough.
