Aaagh! I heard this was a tough site to navigate, but wow.
I'm trying to get pricing for the new high speed train from Barcelona to Paris. I see some info on it, but nowhere to get prices or buy tickets. Can someone point me in the right direction please?
I tried to use Rail Europe because it's easier, but I don't think they have this route. They still say Ive got to buy multiple segments to get.from BCN to Paris.
Thanks much
Did you change the Renfe site to English first, and register? I haven't checked for tickets for that route - perhaps they aren't listed yet? On the left side of the main page is a place where you can put in details of your travel dates, then you search for trains. It's really buying tickets that is difficult. Looking at schedules is pretty straightforward.
Nancy thanks. Home page shows in English, but subsequent pages are in Spanish.
I'll register and see if I can make English my default.
I saw this article earlier in the week...do not see any specifics re tickets purchase on it...maybe it will help you...hope so!
Barceona - Paris High Speed Train In Service. Travel is less than 6 1/2 hours. http://www.euronews.com/2013/12/15/barcelona-paris-high-speed-rail-link-launched/
Paris is listed and I had no trouble finding the schedule and price on Renfe.
Go to this page: http://www.renfe.com/EN/viajeros/
That is in English and stays in English. Choose " outward journey" instead of " return". Type Paris in the Departure box and when various choices pop up, choose Paris. Then type Barcelona in the Deatination section and choose Barcelona. The asterisk just means "all stations" and it will automatically pick the right one. (FWIW, it is Gare de Lyon and Barcelona Sants).
Then pick a date and hit "Buy". I chose 3 March and it showed two departures from Paris, at 7:15 and 14:07. Each takes 6.5 hours. Pick one and hit Continue. Next page will show the price for that date in 2d class (€97.90) and 1st class (€99). On the next page you have an opportunity to specify special fares ( youth, senior, etc.) if you qualify. Pick a fare and again hit Continue. The next page is where you enter your personal details and payment. Of course if you are just researching and not buying you would stop before this step.
As for registering on the site, I found that was not only unnecessary but actually an impediment to purchasing tickets. I did register but kept getting an error message with later attempts to purchase. So I went ahead and purchased our tickets for six separate journeys without logging in and with no difficulty. The tickets popped up in PDF format and I was able to print them out, no problem. That was two years ago and maybe the register/login function works better now, but if you are having trouble just go ahead to the purchase area.
Edit:when I view this reply on my iPad, part is in italics and the asterisks are missing. In case itis not clear, use " Paris* " and " Barcelona* " as the stations to make it easier. Or choose Paris Gare de Lyon and Barcelona Sants.
Joe, I see the two daily runs on Renfe from Barcelona to Paris. Here's a link to what I see.
http://gyazo.com/dbbf354c0725b9f5d3094b14d40abf23
I've proceeded further by selecting the 9:20 run and the 110E fare price. It appears that I can buy the tickets right now for Feb 20. I've reached the part where they want my credit card number.
Larry, that is the view I get too. Interesting that the departure times are different for the Feb. and March dates.
Great. We'll be making this trip in mid-May. Doesn't look like I can buy tix yet for that date, but I'll know how when the time's right.
Thanks again to everyone for the help.
Before you try to buy the tickets, read this article on Trip Advisor
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g187514-c80518/Madrid:Spain:Buying.Renfe.Tickets.Online.html
Renfe tickets are easy to buy on-line once you know how. Also, you have to register your credit card for an added layer of security. For MC, there's MasterCard SecureCard. There is something similar for Visa. Those are the 2 cards that work best on the site.
I've been watching this thread for a week and except for the title there has been no further reference to food poisoning. What gives?
For the extra security on Visa, its Verified by Visa. https://verified.visa.com/aam/activation/landingPage.aam
If your card is not already registered with Verified by Visa, it will ask you to do so during the purchase process - or at least that's how it worked for me when I bought Renfe tickets last June.
Nigel, I believe the OP meant he'd almost rather have food poisoning than deal with the Renfe site.
Chani hit it on the nose. Thanks to all for the advice here. Should be no worse than a mild case of indigestion now...
Try https://petrabax.com/renfe/ This site is very easy and they even have an 800 toll free number to call if you have questions.
