Hello, I am a 20 year old girl who will be travelling alone in Spain for four weeks. I plan on keeping it very budget travel. If anyone has any suggestions of good hostels, other cities in Spain that are interesting (I will be staying in BCN), it'd be extremely appreciated! My question is about the railpasses, I have read and reread many articles on this website about it and I cannot seem to understand. Could someone please break it down for me? Should I wish to travel outside of Spain to say, Portugal or France or Italy or who knows, should I go by train? Would it be wise to buy my tickets now (I'm going in June)? I am just so incredibly lost on all this railpass stuff! Any help would be greatly appreciated! :-)
Posted by
Minneapolis
1259 posts
Hi Cindy. In general, railpasses in Spain are not a good idea. In Spain, there are several good high speed trains, between large cities such as Barc, Madrid, Cordoba, Sevilla. There is also an extensive bus system of comfortable intercity buses. Start by looking at the rail info on this site under 'Travel Tips' and also at seat61.com. Also, strongly suggest you get Rick Steves Spain book. You will find it packed with helpful info.
Posted by
OP
Grapevine
4 posts
Thank you so much Bob!
Posted by
Portland, OR, USA
805 posts
I would add that another thing arguing against using a railpass in Spain is that all the fast trains require reservations. So its easier to just pick the trains you want on a point to point basis since you have to get seat reservations anyways.
Posted by
LaGrange, Ga, USA
1178 posts
Cindy... you purchase the RENFE tickets on line up to 62 1/2 days prior to your departure and can usually get a substantial discount. That would be for your travel within Spain. The railpass is not for Spanish travel to the best of my knowledge.
Posted by
OP
Grapevine
4 posts
Gotcha, thank you soo much people!
Posted by
OP
Grapevine
4 posts
Thank you Douglas! I think I'm going to consider flights to Italy instead. That was a very helpful response you gave!!
Posted by
Oak Park, Illinois
4535 posts
Railpasses can be of value if you are unable or unwilling to reserve tickets in advance and are planning several long trips. Examples of long trips would be the Barcelona-Madrid, Madrid-Sevilla, Madrid-Lisbon, Grenada-Barcelona type trips. For short runs they are of no value at all. And if you can't buy a month or more in advance, the prices can be very steep for AVE trains. A couple other things to consider, there are non-AVE trains on most routes that are slower but cheaper. The bus system is also extensive and nice and much cheaper. Flying longer distances can actually be cheaper than the train (Grenada-Barcelona is one). For a college student on a tight budget, these may be better values than a railpass or even discounted rail tickets. For traveling outside Spain, it really depends on where you are going and what you want to see. Trains are cheap in Portugal and a railpass might be of value in France or Italy but it might make more sense to fly to France or Italy given the distances and limited train service between Spain and those countries. There are some overnight trains where you can just reserve a reclining seat - so that is cheaper than a couchette and saves you a hostel night.