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Cannot buy Seville to Granada train ticket after 7 April

Hi,

I am trying to buy train ticket for Seville to Granada on 8 April with Renfe website but it keep saying "The consulted train is not available for sale right now. Please try again later and sorry for the inconvenience.". Does anyone know what's going on? It seems that you cannot buy ticket to Granada after 7 April onwards? I found some information on TA say that train to Granada will be suspended for few months, is this true? If this true is bus is pretty much the only option for travelling to Granada?

Thank you very much in advance.
B.

Posted by
63 posts

Sorry I can't help you, but I do have a suggestion. a couple of weeks ago we took an ALSA bus from Sevilla to Granada. It takes the same amount of time and the seating is about as comfortable as RENFE. Best of all it's a whole lot cheaper, especially if you book online ahead of time. We paid about €10 per person, ridiculous

Posted by
2767 posts

I looked to see and I couldn't find it on rail europe or RENFE. However, it is listed on bahn.de. I'm not sure what's up. Buying tickets on renfe is a mess, so I see no help there. You could contact rail europe, but then the tickets cost more. As I see it, you have these options:
-wait a week or two to see if it gets listed
-wait until you get there and buy at the station
-reserve an ALSA bus. http://www.alsa.es/en/ and then you need to go to Andalucia regional service. Buy your ticket online, I've found the times more convenient than the train for getting to Granada (among other places not on the high speed line), and it's cheap.

I'd do the bus. It takes three hours (same as train), and there are 9 departures, from 8AM to 11PM.

Posted by
311 posts

Yes, on TA it was stated they are working on the Granada station and lines and most if not all travel will be suspended for at least 6 months. I thought it started in March but maybe it starts in April

Posted by
4535 posts

Frankly the bus is easier anyway. Almost hourly departures and you don't need to reserve in advance. Tickets are cheap and the time is the same as the train (if it were running).

Posted by
16027 posts

If the train isn't running, the buses will be more crowded than usual. Reservations would be a good idea.

Posted by
16893 posts

It's strange that I don't find this news published in other sources, including Renfe's Noticias and Avisos sections, but you already have the right advice for dealing with it.

Posted by
46 posts

Hello-I have read the same about the trains in and out of Granada at the time you are traveling. I booked my transportation for the same month as you with Alsa (buses) through their easy-to-use website. I paid with Paypal to make it convenient. Good luck and have fun on your trip.

Posted by
58 posts

I checked Granada to Ronda and same as OP got nothing after April 6. This is pretty disconcerting as we have all our hotel reservations and are going from Seville to Granada beginning of June and Granada to Ronda a couple days later. I think R. Steves should post an alert on on the website home page. It's pretty major to have no train service in or out of a major tourist city like Granada for an extended period!

Now trying to figure out bus connections. I looked at the Alsa site for Seville to Granada. Schedule is fine but note you have to enter passport # or NIF (national identification #?) on what appears to be an unsecure page. Mira, did you use your passport number for this? Also, when you get to the payment page, is it secure? Anyone else who has used this site: any comments on this?

Also, trying to figure out best way to get to Ronda from Granada by bus. Going back to Seville and then Los Amarillos bus line from there to Ronda is possible but not a good schedule. Would be quite long. Any alternative ideas would be appreciated.

RS staff: Any suggestions for bus Granada to Ronda? I thought there was a chime-in button. Is that gone?

Posted by
58 posts

I have partially answered my own question on better bus service to Ronda from Granada. It's better taking the Alsa bus to Malaga and then Los Amarillos bus Malaga to Ronda. However, I hit another snag. The Los Amarillos website says Malaga station "temporarily closed" when you try to buy tix. It's not that it's too early for June. It says that no matter what date you put in, next week or whatever. If the Alsa bus goes to Malaga, obviously the station is not closed. So I don't know why this message is coming up. (It also has nothing to with Ronda as the destination. This message comes up if you put in Jerez as the destination for example).

Anybody know what's up with Los Amarillos service from Malaga?

Posted by
4535 posts

Colleen - Entering your passport number is no problem. It has no value to potential identity thieves.

Posted by
2767 posts

Yes, I enter my passport number. I'm not sure if it would be of any use to a thief or not. I don't really see how, it's not like a SSN. I guess I just don't worry about it to that level. If you buy your ticket at the station, they tend to ask to see your passport, too, although I'm not sure if they note the number.

No idea about Ronda. You could look into the bus you mentioned to Malaga, then train to Ronda. I've never done that trip, but I know it exists, with a change. Not sure of timing and may take a long time.

OH! Bus from Granada to...somewhere else with good train connection to Ronda. I think Antequera has both bus and train - I've only been through it. Bus from Granada to Antequera (an hour?), then train to Ronda. Looking now I think that's what I'd do.

I was planning on going from Madrid to Granada on April 16 and then from Granada to Seville on April 18 so if I'm understanding correctly I will need to take the bus...is that correct? Are there any other train disruptions I need to be made aware of? Any news will be appreciated! Thanks!

Posted by
58 posts

I purchased Alsa tix today Seville to Granada. Thanks to all for the purchasing tips. A special thank you to boat9 for the original heads- up. This was a huge help in being able to change plans and not be blind-slided at the last minute.

A note for others trying to purchase on the Alsa site: My card was not accepted (got error message at the end). So I used PayPal and that worked well. Also the site does change to a secure one when payment is being processed.

Posted by
58 posts

For anyone interested: The Los Amarillos bus line website was working today. You can buy tix for Malaga to Ronda thru April 15. Yesterday it was not working properly as described in an earlier post I made.