Have priced renfe.com, raileurope.com and raileurope-world.com for 11/26 for two.
Raileurope- $88/ each person / each leg = app $360
Raileurope-world- $128 total
renfe- only one train after 1 p.m.- not an option
Have read very mixed reviews about raileurope-world.
Don't want to fall for "if it sounds too good....", but don't want to pay $232 for the same seat.
Anyone personally used or know about raileurope-world?
Thank you in advance.
What dates are you looking at? If Renfe is only showing one train you may be looking before all the trains are loaded into the schedule. Generally Renfe has the best price with their promo fares, and there should be trains nearly hourly.
We paid €33 each from Madrid to Sevilla with a promo fare. Cordoba should be less.
Big !?
There are about a dozen journeys after 1 p.m. from Madrid to Cordoba showing on the RENFE site.
(Irrespective of the fact that all but www.renfe.com are agencies charging you extra for their services.)
I went to the Renfe site and see trains every half hour on 11/26 at fares as low as 25 Euro each way. I think you are doing something wrong.
I also think it is important to understand that Rail Europe, etc are travel agents who resell train tickets at a significant mark up. I don't doubt that you would get a ticket, but why pay triple the price and deal with a middle man? To charge $128 is outrageous.
The Renfe site works well and in my opinion is usually the best option. (I'm not sure if I'd call Raileurope a "scam" but it does seem to take advantage of travelers who are unfamiliar with the train system in my opinion). One major tip is to make sure you are selecting the correct train station out of Madrid because I had a similar problem until a Rick Steves helper here pointed this out for me - it should be Puerta De Atocha (other stations labeled Atocha come up higher on the Renfe list of Madrid stations and then just list one trip a day, but select Puerta). I bet lots more departure options will appear then. Also, use Paypal. I could never get my credit card to work on that site.
If you find you are unable to navigate the RENFE well enought to purchase your Spain rail tickets from them, there is still another site which typically offers lower prices than Rail Europe. That site is www.petrabax.com. I have successfully used them for several years.
Go to www.seat61.com It is the most amazing site that explains rail travel throughout Europe. They recommend www.capitainetrain.com for residents of USA to use. I have always used Rail Europe but not anymore. You can save money by taking the suggestions from these websites.
RENFE is not the most user friendly site, but now that they accept PayPal for payment, there is absolutely no reason not to use them. Any other site is re-selling tickets and will have at least some markup. And the renfe site will show the most up-to-date availability. Posters here have noted that sometimes RailEurope will show availability for a train that renfe has fully booked. It isn't until you actually try and purchase the tickets that RailEurope will tell you that, whoops, there really aren't any seats available.
As noted, you were most likely entering the wrong Atocha station and that's why you got only one train (the other is a commuter rail station).
Rail Europe-World is not for people who reside in North America, but you can use it if you live in S. America, Asia, etc.
It sounds like Rail Europe's US site still has not been able to integrate Spain's advance-discount fares, so I'd look at www.petrabax.com, another US company.
Or try to use Renfe and pay with PayPal, but don't spend too much time on it if it doesn't work.
