Why do I see Renfre train schedules on raileurope-world.com but not raileurope.com for Madrid to Granada, and why do these schedules differ from the schedule on renfre.com? Also on raileurope the train from Madrid to Grananda is a Regional and another Regional, on the Renfre sit it is an AVE train and then a bus.n I cannot figure out if the raileurope-world is for real or not, it costs a lot more. The trains do appear to leave from different stations in Madrid and the times are different between the sites, can this be? It doesn't make sense that it won't show up on the Renfre site itself even though they are Renfre trains.. Help! Brian
Posted by
Seattle
4637 posts
Train schedules for all Europe are easiest to read on Deutsche Bahn website: http://www.reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en
When you are trying to buy ticket, go to the national website which for Spain is: http://www.renfe.com
How to use that site is very well explained here:
http://www.seat61.com/Spain-trains.htm#How_to_use_www.renfe.com
Posted by
Rick Steves' Europe
16893 posts
raileurope-world is a for-real ticket agent for residents of certain parts of the globe, outside of North America. They're affiliated with the North American ticket agent raileurope.com, but may still have different databases and managers.
Past June 10, train schedules are not fully published through all various sources. During the time of construction on the Granada line, different sources (including the recommended DB schedule site) have been using some different notations in how they do or don't acknowledge the long-term but temporary replacement buses serving part of the route from Antequera-Santa Ana.
If your ticket is currently for sale at www.renfe.es, they go ahead and book it, and plan to pay with PayPal for more reliable success than some US credit cards. If booking through RailEurope.com, they need you to enter each leg of the booking request separately, e.g. to and from Antequera-Santa Ana, and Renfe may work the same way.
Posted by
California 🦋
5210 posts
Brian,
As explained by the others, it's best to book your train tickets directly on the Renfe website for best prices.
There are 4 trains traveling the Madrid to Granada route per day. The railway around Granada is presently under construction, this is the reason why
you will travel by AVE train from Madrid to Antequera Santa Ana, then you will transfer to a bus ( provided by Renfe) which will take you the rest of the journey to Granada (train station).
When you book your tickets via Renfe, you will choose Madrid Puerta de Atocha as your departure, and Granada as your destination.
There is no need to book your tickets separately.
If you want to avoid the long trek, you may consider spending an overnight in Córdoba then taking a train or a bus to Granada from there.
Make sure you book your Alhambra tickets 3 months in advance for best time selection.
Enjoy your trip!
Posted by
Windsor, Ontario, Canada
4044 posts
There are reasons of choice and price to be leery of RailEurope, advocated by the forum moderator and sold through Steves. www.seat61.com provides several alternative sources for Renfe tickets.