Hello!
My husband and I are planning to travel from Barcelona to Madrid, Toledo, Cordoba, Sevilla, and back to Madrid this April. Just wondering what the trains are like in Spain compared to other places like Italy where the trains are busy and crowded, and Germany, where we found them to be quiet and much less crowded.
Also, are reservations necessary in advance or is it possible to just purchase the ticket(s) when we get to Spain.
Thanks Everyone!
We found them to be fine. No more crowded than any other trains. The train system in Spain is not as extensive as the rest of Europe. The high speed AVE trains are great. We always purchased our tickets a few days in advance with no problems. Over New Years we did Madrid, Cordoba, Seville, Granada, and Malaga.
Jessica....I'm not sure you can compare it that way....I've been on German trains where it's been very crowded, and Italian trains where we were almost the only people in the car. In any event, the trains you will take will be the AVE high speed trains....fast, modern, but expensive. For example, one-way fares between Barcelona and Madrid can be as high as 110-130 Euro for second-class walkup tickets. The trains to Toledo can be busy with tourists, while those to Sevilla and Cordoba will be busy on weekends (and expensive!) If you know your schedule in advance, I would urge you to visit the Spanish national railway site, RENFE, to buy in advance. Simply select "Buy Tickets" at the top center of the page, and go from there. Look for Web specials (there may not be all that many left for April) or the Estrella fares....second best bet. I would especially urge you to pre-book if you're in Spain anytime between 3 and 12 April. That's Semana Santa (Holy week) and many Spanish people take holidays then. It's a fairly straightforward process to book on RENFE, and you will get print-at-home tickets, but PM if you need any assistance.
We went from Barcelona to Madrid last march/april and we took the AVE. We bought them the same day earlier in the day and we loved it. They just opened that specific route last year and the train was new. Not crowded and we even sat wherever we wanted. We also had 6 large suitcases and 2 smaller ones and we still found a place for them on the train. Also the train was not crowded. We took a few trains in Italy also but liked the AVE better.
We traveled from Barcelona to Zaragoza, then on to Madrid and absolutely loved the trains. Fast, new and super efficient. Great views, too! We bought our tickets the same day we traveled and had no problems, but it would definitely depend on the time of year.
We've only been to Italy and Spain, and we found the Spanish trains--especially the high-speed AVE trains from Barcelona to Madrid and Madrid to Toledo and Sevilla--to be the cleanest, most comfortable, fastest trains we've ever been on...period. They were wonderful. Even around the holidays (Dec), we really didn't need to buy tickets in advance. Summer may be different of course. But I suspect you'll love these trains.
