I took a high-speed train from Barcelona to Madrid for $34, and it's the only way I'll travel around Spain from now on

When I booked my trip on the Trainline app, I received a printable ticket instead of an electronic version.

I visited Renfe's website and the instructions confused me — it said I'd need a physical ticket but a mobile option was acceptable. To be safe, I printed my ticket at the Barcelona-Sants train station.

Luckily all the information I needed was on my phone, and the printing process took less than a minute.

The main security line at the Barcelona-Sants station was packed. But since I still had about 40 minutes before departure, I wandered a bit and discovered another security entrance with no wait.

I went to the front and put my bags through a scanner. I was allowed to bring my coffee with me through security, which I appreciated.

When I was through, a staff member told me my train was already boarding, so I followed them to a line of passengers.

After a quick ticket check, I went down a set of escalators and spotted a staff member directing people to their carriages on the high-speed, Renfe AVE train.

Signs beside each door made it easy to locate the right carriage, and I boarded with a lot of time to spare.

I was surprised that there wasn't space for my backpack in the nearby luggage area, and I was too short to reach the top shelf.

But the luggage rack in a neighboring carriage was nearly empty, so I put my bag there.

I expected a train to be relatively quiet at 11 a.m. on a Thursday, but most of the seats were occupied before I found one.

Thankfully, the seats were spacious with plenty of legroom. Even when passengers reclined in front of me, I was still pretty comfortable.

There were also two bathrooms at the end of each carriage.

My train, unfortunately, didn't depart at 11 a.m. as scheduled, so I decided to buy a coffee from the bar carriage to occupy myself.

Hot and cold drinks, a variety of snacks, and pastries were available in the carriage.

I bought a surprisingly tasty black coffee for $2.70.

If you don't want to roam around for snacks and drinks, a refreshment cart also came through my carriage during the trip.

I had to input my ticket number into an online form to access the train's complimentary Wi-Fi, but connecting to it seemed impossible.

After a frustrating 15 minutes of waiting for a connection, I gave up.

I made another attempt about 45 minutes later and finally connected on my phone, but it dropped frequently.

The train's lack of Wi-Fi wasn't a problem for me because I'd already downloaded content on my phone and generally enjoyed gazing out the window.

A movie was also playing on the TVs in the carriage, which was nice.

The entire train ride took about two hours and 45 minutes, and we arrived at the Madrid station on time even with the delay.

I had to catch a bus at the Madrid Atocha train station to reach my final destination, but I was immediately confused about where to go.

After following passengers toward the main hall, I went up the escalators and realized I was heading in the wrong direction. The signs posted around the station weren't helpful to me.

After I followed signs to a blocked-off metro exit, I finally stumbled across a more helpful sign with a bus symbol that led me to the bus station.

The high-speed train between Madrid and Barcelona only took an hour longer than flying would've. But without the commute to an airport or having to arrive long before the departure time, my travel day felt much shorter.

I also didn't have to deal with the hassles of checking my luggage or limiting my liquids in a carry-on bag.

If you plan weeks ahead, you might be able to find a plane ticket for about the same price (most range from about $30 to $70). But the train was also the cheaper option for me because I only planned my trip a few days in advance.

I'll definitely be choosing the train from now on.