Does anyone know how to make an on-line train reservation through Renfe for travel in Spain from Madrid to Barcelona? The on-line reservations system seems to exclude those of us in the U.S. Fare on line is about $70. On raileurope.com, the fare is $185. Thanks.
Posted by
Tresana, Highlands Ranch, CO, USA
23626 posts
Someone with more direct experience with the Spain rail will give a better answer. The RailEurope fare is not surprising. Their fares are considerably higher given that they are a travel agency with a large mark up and fees. You didn't indicate your time of travel but most likely you will not need advance reservations. We are headed to Spain on Dec 26 and will buy our tickets at the ticket office in the Madrid airport after we arrive.
Posted by
Ottawa, Canada
4555 posts
James....you shouldn't have any problems purchasing tickets on RENFE's website. They list the U.S. under the "U" section towards the end, but use the Spanish translation, "Estados Unidos."
Posted by
Chicago, Illinois, USA
586 posts
High-speed AVE train reservations between Barcelona & Madrid can be a tough ticket, especially during the holidays, and thus the Spanish railway system blocks out access sometimes to those outside of Europe. This happened to us for our Dec 30 run from Barcelona to Madrid. We used Euraid, a company in Germany with US agents, and they made our reservations for us and sent them to our home, all at a reasonable rate. The Steves website tells all about this and provides a Euraid link. Click on railpasses, Spain, etc. and you should find it. That's what we did. We already had 3-day Spain passes we purchased from Steves, but then couldn't get the reservations for the trains we wanted, until I called Euraid. Here's some contact info if you go this route, too:
EurAide, Inc. (Established 1985)
Agent: Karen
Phone: 781-828-2488
US Office in Massachusetts: Evenings and weekends
URL: www.euraide.com
Posted by
Ottawa, Canada
4555 posts
You cannot make reservations only thru the RENFE site or, for that matter, several other European railway sites. You CAN purchase tickets without a problem thru the RENFE website. Few Europeans make reservations only, since most travel on tickets (which come with the reservation, when necessary), not passes....Eurail passes, for example, are only available to citizens from outside Europe.