Renfe Tickets

Heather,

If you want to book your tickets on the Renfe site, it's best if you pay with PayPal, not with your CC.

You may want to read this helpful article:www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g187514-c80518/Madrid:Spain:Buying.Renfe.Tickets.Online.html

Enjoy your trip!

If you can registered your Visa or MasterCard with their secure program, they may work. Otherwise, pay the small fee and use PayPal.

I think it's Verified by Visa and MC Securecard.

Even doing the Verified by Visa often does not work. It has more to do with the RENFE system than your credit card. In my experience, it is very hit or miss and even if you make it work at one moment, a second transaction might not work just minutes later.

Bottom line: use Paypal.

Try American Express. I went through all my usual cards Visa, MC that have worked in the past
and even couldn't get paypal to work. Tried my Amex and it worked. Then after I got my ticket
saw Renfe has a new partnership with Amex.

Better yet, skip the RENFE site aggravation and book with Raileurope. Easy, all credit cards accepted, no snafus.

I recently bought all my train tickets through RENFE for my trip in September. I specifically remember not entering passport info (I think I selected "otros" (others) for document info). I remember when I printed out the tickets my name wasn't on any of the tickets. Is this a big deal? And is passport info necessary?

Gabriel.
No one is going to ask your name and no one will want to see your passport.

For Ave trains you definitely need to show your passport. For Alvia's also.

Re: For Ave trains you definitely need to show your passport. For Alvia's also.

I have been traveling all over Spain by AVE and Alvia trains for several years - 10 or more? - and I have never been asked to show my passport when purchasing the tickets, clearing the security station during pre-boarding or when the conductors check my tickets during the actual trip. Are you suggesting this is something new that has been added since last November?

thanks everyone!

Even using pay pal is not working. When I try and log in through renfe the site essentially shuts down on me. I tried looking on raileurope but it appears prices are much more expensive.

grrr!

Has anyone booked Renfe tickets through Rick Steve's website. I thought I saw it somewhere on his site and looks like a good alternative. Any one tried it?

Heather,

Sorry to hear that you're having trouble with the Renfe site.

You may try booking your tickets via the captain train website: https://www.captaintrain.com/en

I've not used the captain train site before, but others here on the forum seem to like it & say that it's simple and easy.

I've only booked directly with Renfe in the past & didn't have any issues doing so.

Gabriel,

None of my Renfe tickets (purchased online or in Spain) have our names written anywhere on them, so you should be fine. ¡Buen Viaje!

Regarding Ann's comment:

For Ave trains you definitely need to show your passport. For Alvia's also.

We were in Spain last October (2015), and we did not have to present our passports, when purchasing tickets, or before boarding any trains ( AVE, ALVIA, AVANT or Cercanias) or buses.

**Actually, the only time I had to present my mom's passport (to prove her age), was when I purchased the, 'Tarjeta Dorada' (Golden card); the discount card for senior citizens (over the age of 60).

Yes fans842, the link from the RS site is to Rail Europe. If it's early and a train is not available, it allows you to enter your information and an email pops up me when the train goes on sale. We purchased all our French and Spanish trains through this site this summer and it was hassle free. Search, choose, pay, print, and with an optional protection plan for an additional charge.

Equally easy to use, and CONSIDERABLY LESS EXPENSIVE than Rail Europe is www.Petrabax.com. Another problem with the Rail .Europe site is that hey do not have available/show all of the trains on a particular route. If you are comparing websites and prices, RENFE is by far the most economical. It is denominated in euros; Captain Train is in sterling and Petrabax is in US dollars. Keep that in mind. Keep that in mind when you are comparing prices.

Equally easy to use, and CONSIDERABLY LESS EXPENSIVE than Rail Europe is www.Petrabax.com. Another problem with the Rail Europe site is that they do not have available, or at least often do not show, all of the trains on a particular route. Also, if you are comparing websites and prices, RENFE is by far the most economical. It is denominated in euros while Captain Train is in sterling and Petrabax is in US dollars. Keep that in mind when you are comparing prices.

I just did a random search Barcelona to Madrid on October 14 on Petrabax and Rail Europe. For the 8AM AVE Rail Europe was actually considerably less expensive than Petrabax (premier ticket on Petrabax $136. Same ticket same train on Rail Europe $119). I did not go beyond the basic fares and I'm sure there are service charges. But I would at least give both sites a look before booking.

Great news, I was FINALLY able to book via the renfe website. From all the sites everyone recommended they still had the best times/prices. I almost had a friend who is living in spain book all 6 tickets for us but using PayPal with a visa actually worked. I don't know what the trick was/is because I had done the same thing multiple times prior but it worked! I guess with renfe perseverance is key! Thanks everyone for your help!!

Yay! It's great to hear that you were able to book your tickets via the Renfe site ;-)

The Renfe site is definitely a nightmare but it can be done! We successfully booked tickets using Paypal (from Madrid to Cordoba, Toledo and Segovia). There were several attempts and error messages but eventually it went through! We did not provide passport info. We did reward ourselves with sangria.

The first comment above provides a link to a really excellent TripAdvisor article on how to navigate the site - it gives clear step-by-step instructions and helps troubleshoot. Whoever wrote that article deserves a medal! A comment on that thread said they were able to book with a credit after making an account with Renfe. We did not do this but is worth trying if you don't want to set up Paypal.

Persevere- don't settle for paying more through a third party website.
Good luck and viajes felices!!!

Sorry, I must have been mistaken about passport. I must have confused it with when we had to show the Dorado pass and were asked for ID. Would also like to share our Alvia train was over one hour late and Renfe now has a delay refund. It varies from 15-100%. I just submitted the info online and looks like we will be getting our full fare credited back to our CC.
Update: Got 100% amount payed credited back to our credit card after 1 week. Good service.

Although I have not booked an actual ticket yet, I have found that switching from Firefox to Microsoft IE
the Renfe site is easier to navigate. It also helps to have google translate open in another window.

A side question: on an upcoming Sept/Oct trip I will have at least 6 discrete train trips. I am 70 y.o. Should I preorder now 20 days in advance or wait till I arrive in Madrid, get a discount aged card, then buy?

You should probably take a look at the RENFE site, or whatever site you settle on to buy your tickets, and see what discounts still remain. At only 20 days out you may be better off buying your tickets in Spain as major discounted fares may be sold out,. You will have to do the math...

I was able to book tickets from Madrid to Barcelona and Barcelona back to Madrid for November on the RENFE site today using an American Express card. It took me three tries and I had to enter the card number, expiration date and the 4 digit code on the front of the card. American Express then sent me a one-time code to the email address associated with this particular card that I had to enter on the RENFE site. I then had to enter the 3 digit code on the back of the card. Long process with lots of verifications, but it worked!