Booking Train Tickets - Loco2 vs Renfe

Cynthia,

Is this a case of Loco2 being wrong, or Renfe being it's squirrelly self? And which to use to make sure I get a valid train ticket?

If you look at the Renfe website, you will see that it only lists 4 trains traveling this route (Madrid >> Granada) per day.

Also note that the total travel time is, 3h. 50mins. to 4 hours, which means that Renfe is only listing the trains with the least amount of transfer time (in this case train to bus at Antequera)

In contrast, when you look at the Loco2 website, it lists every possible train traveling from Madrid to Antequera, but then there is a very long connecting time (which in turn makes the total travel time over 6 hours),
because Renfe is only linking the train with the bus 4 times per day at this time.

I'd suggest booking your tickets directly with Renfe. Use PayPal instead of your credit card.

Here are a few helpful websites:

• How to buy Renfe tickets online
• Tripadvisor's article on buying Renfetickets online

Hope this helps ;-)

Why such drastic differences in price?

Consider that there are direct coaches that don't require you to change, are more or less the same length of journey time, and are cheaper.

I did check into both flying and taking a bus. Flights cost more and I'm not keen on sitting on a bus for 4-5 hours. I love train trips and It just seems more enjoyable, even with the bus connection between Antequera and Granada.

Priscilla, thanks for looking. It's the difference in prices between the two sites that's throwing me. Loco2 has a 11:30 trip that's 4 hours long for €64. Renfe has 4 different 4-hour trips for just €27. €27 just seems too cheap to be true. Even if you search for Madrid- Antequera, the cheapest AVE tickets are €52.

Cynthia,

It's the difference in prices between the two sites that's throwing me. Loco2 has a 11:30 trip that's 4 hours long for €64. Renfe has 4 different 4-hour trips for just €27. €27 just seems too cheap to be true. Even if you search for Madrid- Antequera, the cheapest AVE tickets are €52.

It appears that Renfe is running a special on this route, thus the low price of €27- €30.

I've never used Loco2 and I see that the price for this route is way more expensive.

I'm not keen on sitting on a bus for 4-5 hours. I love train trips and
It just seems more enjoyable, even with the bus connection between
Antequera and Granada.

It may be too late for you, but for the benefit of others, it may be more sensible to take a different route to avoid the long trek on this route (Madrid < > Granada).

We took this route: Madrid >> Córdoba >> Granada >> Sevilla >> Madrid. You could also take this one: Madrid >> Sevilla >> Granada >> Córdoba >> Madrid.

I'd suggest booking your ticket(s) on the Renfe website and enjoy the savings! ;-)

Have a wonderful trip!

Priscilla

It may be too late for you, but for the benefit of others, it may be more sensible to take a different route to avoid the long trek on this route (Madrid < > Granada).
We took this route: Madrid >> Córdoba >> Granada >> Sevilla >> Madrid. You could also take this one: Madrid >> Sevilla >> Granada >> Córdoba >> Madrid.

Thanks for the suggestion. I looked at routing us both those ways, but I didn't want to wind up in Seville during April Fair with the crowds, and making a stop in Córdoba before Granada threw off the timing for a couple of other things we wanted to do.

So wish me luck with the Renfe site. :)

Cynthia,

Just read the articles I linked on my previous post from yesterday and this one here
and you should be fine.

BTW, it's easier if you pay with PayPal when booking on the Renfe website.

If you have any issues, post again and I or others here will try to help you.

Edit to add...

Did you already book your Alhambra tickets?

Did you already book your Alhambra tickets?

Yes, got those as soon as I figured out our itinerary .

I was successful in getting the train tickets. The tutorials seem a bit outdated since the current Renfe web pages look different. But with a combination of the tutorials and Google Translate, purchasing went pretty smoothly. I was even able to use a credit card. I did try registering first and finally gave up because it kept telling me the password was invalid; I have no idea why.

A data point for those trying to buy on Renfe: I was using Safari on a Mac. The credit card was Barclays Arrival Plus, which is a true chip and pin card like the ones used in Europe. Went right thru, albeit slowly.

I did check into both flying and taking a bus. Flights cost more and I'm not keen on sitting on a bus for 4-5 hours. I love train trips and It just seems more enjoyable, even with the bus connection between Antequera and Granada.

I'm not much of a coach user myself normally, but for a number of journeys in Spain there are direct coaches that offer more comfort and space, convenience, and even luxury than the train journey. Personally I'd pick one of these over an indirect train every time, but of course ultimately it is your choice. Only really when there is a direct AVE does the train always win out for me.

Hi Cynthia,

I was successful in getting the train tickets.

It's great to hear that you were able to get your train tickets.

It's good that you've already booked your Alhambra tickets too.

You'd be surprised at the number of people who arrive to Granada without Alhambra tickets and are understandably disappointed & upset about not being able to visit the Nasrid Palaces and Generalife.

Enjoy your trip!

Lol. Well, went to get the rest of our tickets today. Renfe allowed me to register today, which saved some typing. And it's nice that I can pull up all the tickets under my account. But Renfe decided, I guess, that if it was going to let me register, it wasn't going to let me use my credit card directly. Had to go through Paypal today, which worked just fine. Crazy website! lol

I haven't bothered to get tickets for a day trip from Sevilla to Jerez yet. It's an MD train. Are we just as well to get those at the station? Or do prices change, trains sell out, etc? I can determine what time in the morning we need to leave for Jerez, but I'm just not sure what time we'd want to head back to Sevilla.

I just checked the Renfe website and found MD fares of 11.10 euros for today and all the way out to early June, so you're OK to wait to buy the ticket in Spain. As far as I know, you cannot reserve a seat on a Media Distancia train, so those trains cannot sell out.

Interesting point: A round-trip on the MDs would cost only 8.90 euros (less than the one-way fare), so when the time comes, you may as well guess your preferred return train and spring for the round-trip ticket. You'll save some pocket change even if you end up buying a return ticket on a different train.

Note that there are a few ALVIAs making the Seville-Jerez run, and their fares do vary (from 9.95 to at least 19.90 euros), but they save you less than 15 minutes, so it's not a significant time loss to stick with the MDs.