Train in Spain

1. I would suggest getting a taxi at the airport so you can be dropped off right at your hotel. No need to reserve. You just go to the taxi queue like any other airport.

2. What you quoted talks about buying a train ticket at the station, which means you have to deal with a line-up, availability and language. If you buy in advance, you will avoid all that. You can print your ticket from the email or just store it on your phone. Show up at the train station about 20 minutes ahead, go through X-ray security, show your ticket and go to your platform and find your coach and seat number. I suggest you look at the official train ticket site Renfe and the third party train ticket seller Trainline. Trainline may or may not charge a small commission on some tickets, but I found this site much easier to use than Renfe. Good luck.

We take the metro from the airport into town. Regarding navigating train stations (there are multiple), each is different. The smaller ones are easy to navigate. The only time I used trains in Spain I bought all the tickets in advance since my travel dates were firm. Ticket prices were discounted since I bought them a couple months in advance. If I remember correctly, we did have assigned seats.

I have found the Renfe app for my smart phone very convenient. I opened an account and purchased some of my tickets in advance. Then, while I was in Spain, I simply used the app to purchase others as I needed them

I personally see no value in purchasing through Rail Europe. I would purchase through https://www.renfe.com/es/en

I'm in the middle of planning a trip to Spain and researching trains/buses, etc.

I would ignore that "review" you found for starters.
I've found the Renfe app very easy to use- haven't purchased yet- but am playing around with it. The website does seem wonky at times.
I plan to purchase all tix in advance as our dates are set.

You might find this helpful:
https://www.seat61.com/train-travel-in-spain.htm

(I'll ignore his advice to purchase on trainline or raileurope.
It's been suggested here that if you are having trouble using cc on Renfe, try PayPal.)

Thanks to all of you. Appreciate the specific information.

I don’t know what that quote was on about- I’ve never had issues dealing with train travel in Spain. That said, is is prudent to book ahead from many trains. The commuter train from the airport isn’t one of those.

There are two ‘trains’ from the airport into the city: the metro, which stops at both terminals, but would require a couple of transfers, or the commuter, Cercanias train, which would take you right to Atocha, but only goes from T4 (Iberia/American/BA). Advance ticket is not required. There are a few ways you can get on the train:
-Just tap a contactless credit card. Only a few of the turnstiles are set up for this, usually the ones to the right. You’ll have to to the same card to get out, and may(?) need a different card for each person.
-Pay at the ticket machines before the turnstile for a ticket. This will cost a few cents more for issuing a paper ticket.
-If you already have a Renfe ticket for AVE or long distance train ticket for the same day, you can ride Cercanias to a main station for free. There is a code on the Renfe ticket that you’ll use at the Cercanias machine for your free ticket.

There a YouTube channel that covers all of this in detail, including walking through the machine purchase: Road Trip in Spain and Portugal

Thanks for the YouTube channel, Scudder. It’s been a few years since I did this but am heading there again in March.

I will second carol now retired about the Renfe app. I can use my credit card easily and have purchased 2 sets of tickets (as far out as they are currently available (@ 2 months). However each time I have needed the dreaded code to be texted to me - and I won’t have that available when I am there. So I need to figure out how to get around that obstacle…..

It was nice to be able to save both myself and my daughter as “frequent travelers” so I don’t have to add our info each time. I will mention that for each purchase I am given the choice to pay in dollars and have to click no to pay in euros. You will have your tickets in the app - and have the option to save them to Wallet. With the ease of buying them on Renfe, I can’t see any advantage to using raileurope, especially if they charge a fee.

Edit: although I did not pay extra seat reservations, both of my sets of tickets (Madrid-Cordoba and Cordoba-Seville) came with reserved seats. I bought Elige for the arrival day, which I THINK allows for a change (although I have 4 hours allowed for my daughter’s arrival that day) and Basic for the next set. I didn’t think about Atocha lounge access for a wait, but that would have been nice!

Thanks to both of you for these specific notes. It is so nice to sort these things out ahead of time and avoid caught off guard when beginning vacation!
I am in the process of registering on the app and looks like passport number is required. That surprises me, but assume the site has the security to protect that info?
thanks

Suzanne- Passport number, or, for locals, national identity number, is practically a prerequisite to sneeze in Spain. I’ve never heard of the sites being particularly vulnerable, and it’s not a piece of data that’s of much use for fraud.

We traveled from Madrid to the airport by bus. Took local bus from near our apartment to Atocha Station. Boarded an express bus (did stop a couple of places on the way) to the airport terminals. Paid as boarding (don't remember - about 10 euros each). The bus stop is not in the train station, but nearby at the top level in the same complex - not on the city streets. Coming from the airport is the reverse. The city buses are easy to use, frequent and, IMHO, better than the metro. Can buy a 10 trip pass in a metro station (good for 2+ riders) or tabac.

Definitely get train tix in advance on Renfe site. Use Rome2Rio.com to get info and schedule details. Bus at stop near Toledo train station goes up the hill to plaza in old town. Can get a good town map at visitor center on right about midway. Was easy to walk up to old town from there with good views.

Don't use Rome2Rio.com for info on fares or schedules. It may lead you seriously astray. It's pretty good about telling you whether service is available at all (but that varies by day of week and sometimes by time of year). Use the Renfe website or app for reliable info on the trains.