My husband and I will be travelling in Spain this August. Is it better to purchase train tickets on the RENFE website before our trip (and carry them with us), or should we buy our tickets as we go at train stations? Our train travels include Barcelona to Bilbao and San Sebastian to Zaragoza to Madrid. Thanks!
Posted by
Ottawa, Canada
4555 posts
There are only two trains/day from Barcelona to San Sebastian or Bilbao....and August is THE holiday month in Spain, so buy in advance to assure your spots. No discounts available here.
From San Sebastian to Zaragoza, there's only ONE train/day...again, book as early as possible.
From Zaragoza to Madrid, you'll be on the AVE high speed train. Here, you can book in advance to save as much as 60% with their "Web" fares...and, again, to ensure you're on the train you want.
Most trains are open for booking 62 days in advance, so the schedules should all be loaded in around 6 pm, your time, the evening before...allowing you to get a jump on Europe! Some trains, especially on the AVE routes, are available up to 4 months in advance, so check now, and if you find one that suits your schedule, grab it. The tickets come as a pdf file at the end of the booking process, so you can save them on your computer and print them out whenever you want.
The website, www.renfe.es , is in Spanish only but, with assistance, is easily manageable.
Posted by
OP
San Francisco
2 posts
Thank you for the quick and thorough feedback!