La Alberca – Salamanca bus

La Alberca has a scheduled bus to Salamanca every day of the week, including Saturday and Sunday, with Autocares V. Cosme. It is the only way to reach the Sierra de Francia without a car, and with the Sunday timetable the visit can be done in a day from the city. The town hall publishes the timetables on its website, warning that they are not binding and must be checked with the company: call 923 120 800 beforehand, especially on public holidays.

Published timetables

According to the town hall's table:

• Monday to Friday, working days: departures from La Alberca to Salamanca at 7:30 and 15:15; from Salamanca to La Alberca, at 13:30 and 18:00.
• Saturdays: from La Alberca to Salamanca, at 8:45; from Salamanca to La Alberca, at 14:00.
• Sundays: from Salamanca to La Alberca, at 10:00; from La Alberca to Salamanca, at 19:20. In winter time, when the clocks change, the Sunday return is brought forward an hour and leaves at 18:20.

In Salamanca the buses leave from the bus station on Avenida Filiberto Villalobos; its phone number is 923 220 187. The town hall does not publish fares or journey time: ask the company when you book or at the ticket office.

How a visit without a car fits

The timetable is designed for residents who go down to Salamanca, so not every day works for a return trip. Sunday is the good day for an excursion: you arrive mid-morning on the 10:00 bus and have the whole afternoon until the return. From Monday to Friday, if you arrive on the 13:30 there is no return until 7:30 the next day, so on weekdays the plan without a car is for one night or more. Saturday is the same: the return bus leaves in the morning, before the outbound one arrives.

Other lines from La Alberca

The town hall publishes two more lines, running a few days a week. To Béjar, with Autocares Viagon (923 485 508), on Mondays and Fridays: it leaves La Alberca at 7:10 and returns from Béjar at 13:30. To Ciudad Rodrigo, on Tuesdays and Thursdays: it leaves at 8:45 and returns at 13:30. Neither allows you to come from elsewhere and go back the same day.

What to see on foot from the stop

La Alberca is toured on foot: the old town and Plaza Mayor, with the tourist office at number 11, and the Camino de las Raíces, a waymarked 8 km loop that starts from the village. With a night, the PRSA-10 goes down on foot to the Las Batuecas valley. For lunch near the square, La Catedral; to sleep a hundred metres away, the Hotel Doña Teresa. The Peña de Francia, on the other hand, is out of reach without a car.