Hi I will be stationed at h10 itaca hotel in Barcelona...which station I have to go to board a train to Madrid on 4 th October,Sunday...m confused looking at d different train fares in a couple of web sites...I would prefer taking high speed trains only..the rail Europe website shows 132£ for second class ticket and loco2.com shows 49.50€. Which is much cheaper...so is it the same ave renfe train or some other company...please guide me as to which train I need to board and how much does it actually cost.....?.
Posted by
Rick Steves' Europe
16893 posts
AVE offers significant advance-purchase discounts. If you're ready to lock in a reserved ticket that's not refundable or changeable, then go ahead to buy that at www.renfe.es. Rail Europe doesn't currently have access to those advance discounts, so they're selling the same regular, full-fare tickets that you could buy on the day of travel.
Posted by
LaGrange, Ga, USA
1178 posts
The AVE high speed train is about 2 1/2 hours. As the other poster said tickets can be as low as the forty euro range...if bought early enough. About 45 or so days out I think, but begin checking now if you know your schedule. Not redeemable and not changeable, so you are locked in. Also, if over 60 or so, with your passport as identification you can purchase the senior pass and get a discount of about twenty percent on the day of the purchase I think. The second class is more than adequate. There is a snack bar, drinks, sandwiches, etc on the train. Leave from the Sants station...Check out the site the man in seat 61 if you have difficulty on purchasing directly from the renfre site...it will work if you 'register' your card at the first instruction to do so.
Posted by
Chicago
565 posts
Do not buy tickets from Rail Europe. Go directly to the RENFE site and use Google translate to get your ticket. Use your PayPal account to pay for the ticket as the site doesn't accept out-of-country credit cards. The cheapest ones are non-refundable, so be sure that's ok with you.
All AVE trains to Madrid leave from Barcelona Sants station. Lines L3 and L5 on the Metro stop there.
Posted by
OP
29 posts
Thanx for ur suggestions..loco2 .com fare prices are in pounds....is it d same In renfe site also.
Posted by
Bloomington, IL, USA
9363 posts
RENFE is priced in euros. A year or so ago, I bought a 2nd class (turista) from Barcelona to Madrid for 39 euros, about 50 days out. The full fare at that time was 129.00.