Help with Renfe website

Hey, Ruth. We eventually used a private firm recommended by RS (in the American east) with a branch in Europe...they secured our Spain tickets for us, and mailed them to our home. We were told that for holiday travel and other busy times access to tickets in Spain is limited outside of Europe...so a middle man, so to speak, in Europe, can get them for you. The reputable firm we used was called Euraid:

EurAide, Inc. (Established 1985)
Phone: 781-828-2488
US Office in Massachusetts: Evenings and weekends
URL: www.euraide.com

The fee was small, and the peace of mind we got by booking our AVE tickets for travel around the New Year's Holiday was great. Finally, here's a link to my Report from Spain on my travel blog, FYI:

http://moltogentileitalia.blogspot.com/2009/01/report-from-spain.html

Ruth....it's a website problem. RENFE starts loading its new fares in daily starting at midnight, local time, which is 3 pm your time....and it usually takes them a couple of hours to get everything loaded in and up and running. Keep trying, maybe try a different time of the day, and you'll get thru!

Hi Ruth,

The problem you are having may be that you need to have your credit card unblocked for the ticket purchase. You need to call your credit card company and ask them to do this. At the same time, let them know that you are going to be travelling in Spain, the dates, etc. or they may block any purchase you make there. There was a recent post on lonelyplanet.com in the thorn tree forum for western europe for Spain about this (scroll down about 5 or 6 posts). There is a web address that will give you all the info you need to buy train tickets successfully on your own with no middleman. Let me know if you need more help with this.

Hi Ruth,

The url for the info on buying train tickets is:

http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Travel-g187514-c80518/Madrid:Spain:Buying.Renfe.Tickets.Online..html

Copy this url into your browser. I would recommend printing out the info as it walks you through the process and gives you a lot of other useful info.

It took me less than 15 minutes to buy two sets of train ticksts with this helpful advice.

Gio..."We were told that for holiday travel and other busy times access to tickets in Spain is limited outside of Europe...so a middle man, so to speak, in Europe, can get them for you."
It would be interesting to know who told you that, because it is simply not true. Anyone can gain access to tickets on the RENFE website without any restrictions as to geographic location.
I would also be wary of Euraide's ticket prices. I notice that their 2008 update for the overnight train Barcelona-Granada (why they don't have 2009 prices, I don't know) lists a double sleeper bed as 97 Euro. By reserving in advance on the RENFE website, you can get the same ticket for as low as 43 Euro.

Thanks everyone for your response. I had called AMEX prior to attempting to book and asked to have my credit card unblocked. I am thinking it is a website issue and will continue to try at different times of the day. Thanks for all the suggestions and comments!