We are a family of three adults (I'm the Aunt!) and two children (13yrs and 11yrs) flying to Madrid from Atlanta on Friday 25 May. We plan to travel by train that same Friday from Madrid to Barcelona (5 nights), train from Barcelona to Seville (3 nights), bus from Seville to Granada (3 nights) and bus from Granada to Madrid (4 nights). I have checked the Renfe, loco2, GoEuro, ALSA, tripadvisor and seat61.com websites and have tentatively selected our train/times and bus/times, if available.
Our Delta plane lands at 8:30 am, we have no checked baggage and plan to take the Expres Aeropuerto bus from Terminal 1 to Atocha train station for the 12:30 AVE train (Preferente class) to Barcelona. We have never been to this airport or train station before and will be using the ATM, etc, and can use the first class lounge if we are not running late. ***Is 4 hours sufficient time from our plane landing to get on our departing train? the train before departs 11:30, but in case our incoming plane is late, I am worried we would not make that connection.
The current schedules have a Preferente promo+/first class semi-flexible ticket for our Madrid/Barcelona journey, but ONLY a Preferente/first class flexible (full fare) ticket for our Barcelona/Seville Wednesday 30 May (direct 5h32minutes - we do not want to fly because we seldom travel by train and want to relax in comfort with amenities). This combo totals over 1500euros for the 5 of us. If we took the Preferente promo+ to Barcelona, and a TURISTA+ flexible to Seville, the total would be about 230 euros less. ***Is Turista+ really as comfortable as Preferente for such a long trip? does the Preferente service only provide drinks with the meal or at any times during the trip? :)
A Renfe Spain Rail Pass (4 journeys), first class, totals 1200 - 1400 euros for the five of us, depending on if we buy the passes direct or through an agent. This would be a cost savings, especially if we were to book all Preferente full fare flexible tickets, and if were not able to individually book the direct Barcelona/Seville ticket (as the non-direct Preferente ticket is even more expensive!).
-Does each rail pass have to be purchased separately when using the Renfe website?
-Does each of the 5 tickets, each corresponding to a rail pass, need to be booked separately? If booked separately, how do we ensure that we are seated together (especially the children!).
-Do all journeys on each pass need to be booked at that same time, or, can the first journey be booked online, and then the next journey online at a different time?
-If we can not get seats together when booking online, can we get seats together, in person, at the train station the same day - or would this be risky trying to get 5 preferente tickets on our preferred 12:30 Madrid/Barcelona train only a couple hours before it departs? (I have a MacBook Pro with chrome and safari browsers, which I read are not necessarily compatible with the Renfe website, any experience?)If we decide the Renfe Spain Pass does not meet our needs, and since it is still 90 days before we travel,*** is it common for additional routes and/or promo and promo+ Preferente or Turista+ fares to be announced? For example, the Barcelona/Seville timetable is incomplete (and only Preferente full fair available now for the direct train). Is it wishful thinking a promo fare will come up by next month - I understand 30 May is probably included in the upcoming timetable changes.
IF I get promo or promo+ Turista class tickets from Barcelona to Seville, instead of Preferente/Turista+, are the seats comfortable enough for almost 6 hour journey? Are they roomier than standard airline seats? Are there electrical outlets at each seat & pull down table/trays in Turista class? Enough room by seats to store our carryons?
Thank you very much in advance for taking the time to read through, and hopefully answer some of my questions. Cheers!