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Andorra Planning

I planned to go to Andorra La Vella (ALV), Capital of Andorra from Barcelona. The Motto of Andorra is “virtus unita fortior” (united virtue is stronger). Andorra is a co-principality. They have two princes who jointly share the title of prince. Surprisingly, neither of the two princes are from Andorra. One prince is the President of France, Emmanuel Macron. The other co-prince is the Bishop of Urgell, who is currently Joan Enric Vives Sicília referring to Spain and France being the joint rulers of Andorra. This is the only country using Catalan as the official language. I visited Andorra in August 2023.

• Places in Blue above are the Places I Visited.
• Places in Orange are Places I didn’t Visit because of time constraint but are of Tourist Importance.
• In Purple above are transit points, here its Bus Terminals

Andorra Bus Trip Details:

I made my reservations on Flix bus for a round trip from Barcelona, Spain to ALV, capital of Andorra. The cost of round trip on Flix bus was 68€. For this payment I used Venture X Capital One Credit card. Additional review of this card could be found here. It takes 3 hrs to reach the capital of this mountainous nation from Barcelona, Spain.

Surprisingly, when I arrived to check in for my Bus Terminal in Sants, Barcelona I was told that the bus company which provides transport service is called DIRECT BUS and not Flix Bus. The bus arrived at the mentioned time at Sants Bus terminal in Barcelona.

I arrived to Barcelona on Flix Bus from Nice, France. Bus Terminal NORD in Barcelona was where Flix Bus dropped me off. I needed a transfer from NORD Bus Terminal to Sants Bus Terminal to catch my Bus to ALV. For this I used a subway train in Barcelona to reach Sants Subway Terminal from Arc De Triomf subway terminal, which costed me 2.40€.

After exiting the Barcelona- Sants subway station, I had to turn left to get to the ALV bus terminal in Sants-Barcelona.

Checking in for the Bus will be done at the Sants Mobus Kiosk by showing the Passport.

After check-in there is small waiting area and convenience store, where I relaxed till the bus arrived.

A DIRECT BUS also runs from Barcelon Airport Terminal 2 to ALV multiple times every day and vis-a-vis.

Accommodation:

I was staying in Barcelona when visiting this nation in Pyrenees Mountains between countries of Spain and France. Holiday Inn, Sant Cugat in Barcelona was the hotel I chose by using 18,000 IHG points per night+1.75€ in city tax for my stay. In this case i had earned the IHG points by signing up for IHG Premium Credit card. This Hotel is almost 1.5 hour by train from Plaça de Catalunya station in Barcelona. But this was the only points hotel available during the time of my stay in Barcelona.

Boots on the Ground:

Luggage Storage:

The storage lockers are located at the Bus Terminal in ALV as soon as we get off from the bus. It costed me 6€ for the smallest box available for storing my luggage for 1 day. I arrived in Andorra at 11:30 am and left by Direct bus at 18:30 Pm in the evening by spending just a few hours in Andorra.

Moving around Andorra is easy as the Local Buses in ALV go to most popular destinations in Andorra like Ordino, Canillo, Encamp and other cities.

Information on the buses is easily available at the terminal in city center.

Andorra La Vella:

Andorra La Vella and Escaldes- Engordany are 2 towns that are next to each other and could be seen on a city map together.

La Casa de la Vall:

Casa de la Vall is a historical house in the Capital and was the former headquarters of the General Council of Andorra. The entrance fee is 5€ and more information could be found here. The audio tour narrates the history of the country and describes the governance of this country in the olden days. New General Council building that could house all the 28 members has been build right next to this Casa.

Caldea:

It’s a Spa in Escaldes- Engordany with jacuzzis to relax in the thermal waters. More information and prices on the Spa could be found here.

Ordino:

Bus trip to Ordino costs 3.55€ and there is a yellow bus that goes to Ordino every 15-20 minutes. The bus number that goes to Ordino is L6. Tickets could be purchased in the Bus terminal or also on the bus. I wanted to point out that there is rest room in the terminal that could be used by the passengers. As the restrooms use is paid for in Europe, I wanted to mention about the Free restroom available as you get off the bus in Bus Terminal in ALV.

Miniature Museum in Ordino:

The entrance ticket for the miniature museum is 7€. The artwork of Russian, Ukranian and Chinese artists is in display at this museum.

Postal Museum in Ordino: 

At the postal Museum in Ordino, one could see the evolution of the postal service in Andorra. More information could be found here. On display is more than 50,000 stamps that are issued in Andorra. Also, we can learn on how the postman delivered mail in Canillo using Skies.

Canillo:

L4 bus would take people to Canillo. The round-trip ticket cost is 3.55€.

After getting off in Canillo, I had to go to the tourist office to get a separate bus ticket to see “Mirado Roc del Quer” viewpoint.

This viewpoint gives breath taking views of the Pyrenees mountains and the valleys surrounding this place, that could be etched into one’s memory forever. This is a must-see place in Andorra, but I missed seeing this because of time constraint. The Bus trip to the mountain top costs 15€ and it takes around 2.5 hours to go and see this attraction. More information on this viewpoint could be found here.

Conclusion:

I would like to go back at some point in time to enjoy all the beautiful experiences this country in Pyrenees Mountains has to offer. Going to the top of the mountain in Canillo was in my plans that I could not fit in. That is something I would definitely do on my next visit.