Leaving San Sebastian on 3/14/2019 for Valencia for the beginning of Falles. Travel times on airplanes and trains can approximate 8-10 hours. Airplane fees can be excessively expensive. Successfully booking seats for Spanish trains in the US looks like hoping for a miracle and an exercise in extreme patience. (I'm not known for that) So.....
Should I in SS book trains reservations for Valencia when we arrive there 3/8/2019 or will I run the risk of no seats being available? Or should we just plan on driving which takes 6 hours & tolls?
Any insight would be most welcome.
Thank you!
Posted by
SE Pennsylvania
2375 posts
I don't think I would wait to book trains going to Valencia for Las Fallas.
I bought my tickets here:
https://loco2.com/en-us
Based on the good info here:
https://www.seat61.com/Spain.htm
Posted by
Rick Steves' Europe
16893 posts
Yes, Spanish trains can fill up, especially around weekends and holidays. They don't sell tickets or allow boarding without a seat assignment. I also would go ahead to book now to secure a morning train departure with just one connection, and hopefully at least some amount of advance-purchase savings.
Posted by
Sevilla
1292 posts
If you are seeing flights of 8 hours, then I suspect you're looking at San Sebastian airport which is tiny and will involve a change. Instead look at flying from Bilbao airport. You've left it too late for a cheap flight, but at least you can go direct in 1 hour (plus a few hours to/from airport time, of course).
If you book via Loco2 (or Trainline), note some services shown are by coach, not rail. The journey time is about the same by coach, perhaps even a smidgen quicker, but not as comfortable.
Posted by
OP
2 posts
Thanks, guys, for your help! I really like Seat61 and loco2 for the information and the ease of reserving. To Nick, my family used to have an apt in Aquilas, but its been a long time since we've been there. I wonder if all the construction debris has been cleared off from the courtyard by now. :-)