Problems buying Barcelona-Montpellier train ticket

Cory....let us know when you need to travel, and we can try it out. Exactly what problem are you having? PM me if you wish.

RailEurope's timetables are notoriously incomplete. If you check the timetables at www.bahn.de, you'll see that there are more choices throughout the day than the ones shown on the Rail Europe site. Most of them are on regional trains and require a minimum of one connection in Cerbere.

After you get summary timetables for Barcelona-Montpellier, click on the arrow on the left-hand side of each route/departure time to see the details, including the connecting point(s).

If you arrive in Barcelona and discover that the direct train from Barcelona Franca you wish to take is sold out, will this work for you as an alternative? Leave Barcelona Sants at 08:25 and arrive in Cerbere at 11:13. Leave Cerbere at 12:40 and arrive in Montpellier at 15:14. You will have no problem getting tickets in Barcelona.

I need to travel (with my husband, so two of us) from Barcelona to Montpellier on April 8, taking the earlier of the two trains that day (departing 8:45 a.m.).

Our eventual destination that day is Arles, but since we'd like to stop in Montpellier for a couple of hours and have lunch, I thought it'd be easier to break it up into two tickets.

Thanks very much for any help you're able to provide.

I should add that I plan to buy the tickets for Montpellier-Arles segment via www.voyages-sncf.com, but if it's easier/better/cheaper to buy that segment via Renfe, that's OK with me.

Again, thanks!

You'll have lots of departure time choices for Montpellier-Arles. Buy your tickets when you arrive in Montpellier.

Tim, thanks for your suggestion of Barcelona-Cerbere as a backup plan. I think, though, that it's the same train that travels from Barcelona to Montpellier, since the departure times are the same. Is there a way I can tell?

Again, thanks for your help.

Cory

Cory, we're talking about different trains departing from different stations and the departure times are not quite the same. The direct train leaves Barcelona FRANCA at 08:45. The train to Cerbere leaves Barcelona SANTS at 08:25. The timetables at www.bahn.de spell this out.

On the subject of Montpellier to Barcelona -- does anyone know if the train stops at all before it gets to Barcelona?

We're trying to break that leg of our travels up a bit.

For comprehensive schedules, you can check the Web site of Deutsche Bahn, the German rail line. Although the Barcelona-Montpellier route doesn't (obviously) pass through Germany, it still has times and stops for other countries' rail routes.

Go to www.bahn.de/international/view/en/index.shtml and input your info. When it returns trip results, click on the arrow to the left of the trip info for a list of intermediate stops. Feel free to PM me if you need more help.

Cory....did you have any luck purchasing your ticket over the RENFE site?

No; we had to cancel our trip at the last minute because our dog was hospitalized. I learned a few things in trying to get as many refunds as possible, including to always buy a refundable ticket (especially on Eurostar), even if it is significantly more expensive!

Hope to get to Europe later this year.