train from san sebastian to santiago de compostela

I traveled across that part of Spain in 2016, but in small segments and often by bus rather than by train, so I cannot say for sure, but I'd be surprised if an InterCity train was not air conditioned.

Much of the area you'll be crossing could be coolish and overcast; it was for me. Leon was definitely quite warm, much more so than Vitoria-Gasteiz, Burgos and Oviedo. Santiago de Compostela itself is sort of notorious for not getting much sun. Still, a 10-hour train trip would be a risk in the summer without a/c.

What are you seeing on RailEurope that suggests no a/c? I do not ever use that website because it often doesn't list all the trains and frequently charges fares substantially higher than Renfe's.

There is much to see in the expanse between San Sebastian and Santiago de Compostela. If I didn't have time to stop in any of the places along the way, I'd definitely consider flying.

hi acraven,

thank you for your response.

when i click on 'show onboard services' of the train trip, i only see leather seats. on other trips it would say air conditioned car, etc.

maybe several bus trips would be good tho' that would mean staying overnight at several stops. it is a thought. are the buses air conditioned?

i read that there are flights but i haven't checked them.

Hmm; that is surprising, but your interpretation may be correct. It's always best to assume the worst in such situations unless you can get definitive information to the contrary.

All the inter-city buses I took in Spain were comfortable and air conditioned. Occasionally one does sell out, so once you're committed to a particular bus, it would be prudent to go ahead and buy the ticket. The larger bus companies often have easy-to-use vending machines in the major-city stations. I know the staffed counters usually stop selling tickets X minutes (maybe 5??) before the scheduled departure time. The same limitation may apply to the vending machines, so do allow sufficient time if you're buying right before departure.

Skyscanner seems to be a good source of schedule information for intra-European flights.

It's a standard, perhaps fair to say "old school" Inter City train (no fast-and-fancy name starting with the letter A), which I would still expect to be climate controlled. But if not, then the windows should open. Renfe's list of train features has details in English, if you can figure out which one to read about.

hi acraven and laura,

thanks for your responses. i called rail europe and was told that this intercity train is air conditioned and has a trolley with food being wheeled around which makes me feel better.

i checked skyscanner for the possibility of a flight. the cost is about 4 times that of the train, and takes about 4 hours also. so will stick to the train and see all the beautiful scenery, as i was told.

i went to the renfe website and saw that their train fare is slightly cheaper than rail europe's. the trains get full, i read, and so we might just buy from rail europe before we even leave the US.

thanks so much.
olivia

If you don't want to fool with the Renfe website, you should be able to buy the ticket from trainline.eu at the same price Renfe charges. I'm not positive, but I think the InterCity fares are variable, which means the price may go up substantially if you don't buy the ticket until later. However, the best deals are usually on non-changeable/non-refundable tickets, so be absolutely sure of your timing.