I am traveling into Barcelona arriving on April 15th approx 17:00 and leaving Barcelona on April 25th at noon on flights that are already booked, and no, I didn't want to fly open jaw since I got a promotional airfare. My train travels are as follows: Barcelona to Figueres (RT) 80E, Barcelona to Granada on TrenHotel 120E (Promo fare), Granada to Sevilla 50E, Sevilla to Barcelona (AVE) 170E. I used the RENFE website, the prices are for 2 people. I have already racked up much more in fares than it would cost for a 4 day Spain Eurail Pass, even with supplements.....right? I am confused as to whether the "seat reservation" on AVE trains is the only supplement or if there is the "seat res" fee plus another fee on top of that? What is the approximate total I will have to pay on top of my pass?
Posted by
Oak Park, Illinois
4535 posts
Correct me if I'm wrong on my analysis: Your total P2P tickets for 2 will be 420E. A 4 day 2nd class pass will be about $250 each plus seat reservations of $10-30 each for a total of almost $600. Not a good deal to buy a pass. Add more for 1st class if your over 26. Plus your time and hassle to buy seat reservations (which can and do sell out for some legs) or possibly miss a train while waiting in line (which can and does happen). Eurorail passes are generally not a good deal for Spain.
Posted by
OP
Boston, MA, United States
83 posts
Yeah, I guess it is cutting it close, hopefully I can get some good promo fares, but that is the only way I think it will be beneficially not to get the pass since the TrenHotel from Barcelona to Granada will be 190 Euros for 2 ppl on Tourista Cama without the promo.....
Posted by
Bloomington, IL, USA
9371 posts
Your listed fares are 490 (without the promo price). Two passes are 500 plus seat reservations, for another 100 or so. How is that "close"? The pass, particularly with the reservation hassles, just doesn't make sense.
Posted by
OP
Boston, MA, United States
83 posts
Well, Nancy, what I mean by "close" as you put it is....490E=644USD and A Eurail 4 day pass is 500USD plus seat res of approx $100 is 600USD......so what I mean by "close" is that the P2P tickets are actually $44 more expensive. If anyone has any actual answer to the second point of my original question, which is if the seat reservation fee of 10-30 euros pp, per ride is the only "supplement" I will pay. Or if there is a "seat res" fee plus another fee for using high speed trains? Everyone wants to just say "rail passes don't work in Spain" but from my calculations above, as I clarified for Nancy, they actually do....
Posted by
Oak Park, Illinois
4535 posts
In general there are no additional fees other than the seat reservation. The only exception might be the night train from Barcelona to Granada if you want a sleeper. That's not an additional fee on top of a seat, just more expensive. Because you are taking some long train trips, the two options do seem to be a financial wash (under $50 is a wash in the grand perspective). If you don't get discount fares the pass would most likely be a better value. But also do not underestimate the time spent getting seat reservations for each trip. If you know exactly when you'll be traveling you can do it ahead of time with the P2P tickets. Keep in mind that the overnight train can easily fill up and the Granada-Sevilla train fills up. If you try to get a reservation a few days ahead, you may be out of luck. PS - the bus from Granada-Sevilla is faster and cheaper and leaves once an hour. Also, be sure the overnight train leaves after 7:00 or it will cost you 2 days of pass travel. Obviously it is up to you. But for me, if the difference is only 50$ or so but I know all my tickets are in hand before I leave, I'd rather have that off my mind.
Posted by
OP
Boston, MA, United States
83 posts
Thanks for your very informative, excellent reply that answered all my questions. And you were polite. We decided to restructure a little since we are there for Semana Santa and would rather stay in Granada a little longer since they have interesting festivities and Seville is just way too expensive that week. I will heed your advice and probably end up buying P2P for the ease of use.