Santiago to Madrid

[richeyboy]

Hi All,
Does anyone have recent experience of travelling by train from Santiago to Madrid (Chamartin or Atocha)? I have tried endlessly to book via the internet and there is no entry for such a journey. Is it me or has something changed recently; for example is the line open after the dreadful crash last year? In anticipation many thanks.
Richeyboy

 

[AdaR]

Hi All,
Does anyone have recent experience of travelling by train from Santiago to Madrid (Chamartin or Atocha)? I have tried endlessly to book via the internet and there is no entry for such a journey. Is it me or has something changed recently; for example is the line open after the dreadful crash last year? In anticipation many thanks.
Richeyboy

I have booked my train for Santiago to Madrid chamartin. But I had to use Petrafax as the Renee site would not let me complete the booking. The train does indeed travel that route.
Hope this helps.

 

[mountaingoat999]

Hi All,
Does anyone have recent experience of travelling by train from Santiago to Madrid (Chamartin or Atocha)? I have tried endlessly to book via the internet and there is no entry for such a journey. Is it me or has something changed recently; for example is the line open after the dreadful crash last year? In anticipation many thanks.
Richeyboy

Just tried using rail Europe works fine..

Entered a date for next week..... went as far as proceed to payment for ticket....remember you can only book so far ahead



LOWEST FARES
07:20 MADRID CHAMARTIN
12:50 SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA

 

[peregrina2000]

Hi All,
Does anyone have recent experience of travelling by train from Santiago to Madrid (Chamartin or Atocha)? I have tried endlessly to book via the internet and there is no entry for such a journey. Is it me or has something changed recently; for example is the line open after the dreadful crash last year? In anticipation many thanks.
Richeyboy

Hi, Richeyboy,
As others have said there are lots of trains between Santiago and Madrid, about 6 a day from what I see (all trains from Santiago stop in Chamartin, if you want to go to Atocha you would have to take a Cercanías train from Chamartín, but that's not difficult. The problem is the RENFE website, it is very difficult for North American customers to buy a ticket with a credit card (at least while you're sitting at a computer in North America).

I have several suggestions:

1. You may be looking at dates too far out, usually the seats don't go up for sale till 60 days prior to the trip, especially for the fast trains.

2. Once you get within that window, you still may have problems. If RENFE won't accept your credit card, try using PayPal, lots of people report success that way. This is probably the cheapest option, because buying RENFE tickets online far in advance will give you access to all their cheap webfares.

3. Consider waiting till you get to Spain to buy your ticket. If you arrive in Madrid, you can buy it there, if your first city in Spain is Pamplona, you can buy it there at the train station or from a computer. This might not get you as cheap a ticket, but it will be easier to buy. And if you are over 65, you will also be able to get the significant discount that comes from being old like me, in fact it may make the ticket cheaper than the webfares. I always recommend that people buy RENFE tickets at least several weeks in advance, but depending on how long you're walking you may have that much lead time if you wait till you get to Spain, at least so long as this isn't a huge holiday weekend.

4. If you are a nervous nellie and want to have your ticket in hand, use a broker. I have been told (though I've never used either) that RailEurope is much more expensive than Petrabax, but those seem to be your two primary options.

Buen camino, ah the joys of RENFE! Laurie

 

[NualaOC]

Hi @richeyboy,

I travelled from Santiago to Madrid Chamartin last Sunday. I had no difficulty booking on the Renfe website using a UK credit card.

How far ahead are you trying to book? As @peregrina2000 said, the train times are only shown for up to 60 days. If you just want to check times, you can search using dates in the current month.

Some helpful (although not 100% perfect) information here: http://www.tripadvisor.ca/Travel-g187514-c80518/Madrid:Spain:Buying.Renfe.Tickets.Online.html

Best of luck! The Renfe site is confusing, but it's worth persevering if you want to book in advance.

Nuala

 

[Castilian]

Trains are still running from Santiago de Compostela to Madrid.

To book on the web of RENFE can be tricky. www.seat61.com/Spain-trains.htm#How_to_use_www.renfe.com explains step by step how to make it and www.seat61.com/Spain-trains.htm#How_to_buy_train_tickets_for_Spain provides some alternative booking ways/webs if your credit card isn't recognized/accepted by the RENFE web or if you fail to book it on the web of RENFE by any other reason.

Trains from Santiago de Compostela to Madrid arrive to Chamartín station in Madrid.

 

[richeyboy]

Thanks everybody for your very helpful replies. I think I have sussed it now and have made the Renfe site work for me but only up till the 22nd October and thereafter nothing yet 'up' which explains why I have been unable to get a ticket yet as I want to travel on the 27th Oct. As some of you have suggested they normally go 60 days ahead but obviously not on that site, unless of course there is a new programme coming in for the winter? Any ideas?
Thanks Richeyboy.

 

[Dutchwalk53]

Check www.goeuro.com I booked my Madrid to pamplona ticket with them . Just plug in the cities and they will give you the best rates by train/bus/plane. Cheaper then petra or raileurope in my case.

 

[peregrina2000]

Thanks everybody for your very helpful replies. I think I have sussed it now and have made the Renfe site work for me but only up till the 22nd October and thereafter nothing yet 'up' which explains why I have been unable to get a ticket yet as I want to travel on the 27th Oct. As some of you have suggested they normally go 60 days ahead but obviously not on that site, unless of course there is a new programme coming in for the winter? Any ideas?
Thanks Richeyboy.

By pulling up the schedule for Oct. 1, and then clicking "día después" one day at a time, I see that the last train you can by tickets for is Oct. 22. So for whatever reason, they must be working on a "one month out" schedule for that route.

When do you arrive in Spain, Richeyboy? Because even once the tickets are available, you may still have problems getting them and may want to resort to one of the other suggestions, like waiting till arrival in Spain. Buen camino, Laurie

 

[Castilian]

As some of you have suggested they normally go 60 days ahead but obviously not on that site, unless of course there is a new programme coming in for the winter? Any ideas?

Winter Schedule doesn't start till roughly Dec. 13th so that's not the reason. Most likely the reason is they don't know yet when are going to be opened the new high-speed lines that are under construction. In the case of the route from Santiago de Compostela, the stretch till Zamora (from Madrid; well, actually from close to Medina del Campo because the route from Madrid till that point is already made) is expected to be opened soon but not fixed date yet... so they play it safe and open to bookings just the days when they are absolutely sure there's no chance a new line will be opened (or so I want to think). Therefore, an extra bit of patience will be needed. Keep checking the web of RENFE till bookings are opened for your travel date and take it easy because everyone is in your same situation...

 

[peregrina2000]

p.s. I just went to that site recommended by Dutchwalk, and for your dates, they don't show trains, but they do show a lot of cheap flights. Starting at $20 for Ryan Air, but even as low as $44 on Iberia. Any interest in flying?

 

[Maryimelda]

Have you thought about the bus? We caught an Alsa bus from SDC to Madrid in May this year and it was a good way to go. There is an Alsa ticketing kiosk in the Pilgrim Office complex in SDC and the bus we caught left SDC at 9.30am and arrived in Madrid at about 5 or 6pm if memory serves me correctly. We paid 29Euros each for our tickets. The bus is air conditioned has free wifi and a toilet. It stops in Ponferrada to refuel for about 45 minutes which gives you a chance to stretch your legs and have lunch etc. I can highly recommend it. Buen Camino.

 

[MTtoCamino]

Thanks everybody for your very helpful replies. I think I have sussed it now and have made the Renfe site work for me but only up till the 22nd October and thereafter nothing yet 'up' which explains why I have been unable to get a ticket yet as I want to travel on the 27th Oct. As some of you have suggested they normally go 60 days ahead but obviously not on that site, unless of course there is a new programme coming in for the winter? Any ideas?
Thanks Richeyboy.

Richeyboy
I am a year post Camino, I simply figured I would figure it out, my Spanish is very bad, but when I returned from my walk to the ocean I asked at the pilgrim office & was informed of the train office right next to the place you get the compestella. When walking out of the courtyard first place on your left.
I can't imagine no tickets would be available either train or bus. They had 3 times leaving for Madrid. (Train)
I had to wait 5 days in Madrid for my flight, that was a difficult transition, but After roaming the city I discovered the Prada. If you have time the lower level where the last supper painting hangs with other paintings of faith will be worth the time.
Keith

 

[NualaOC]

Thanks everybody for your very helpful replies. I think I have sussed it now and have made the Renfe site work for me but only up till the 22nd October and thereafter nothing yet 'up' which explains why I have been unable to get a ticket yet as I want to travel on the 27th Oct. As some of you have suggested they normally go 60 days ahead but obviously not on that site, unless of course there is a new programme coming in for the winter? Any ideas?
Thanks Richeyboy.

Hi @richeyboy, I had the same problem when booking tickets for June. They didn't go on sale until a few weeks before our departure - which is apparently common at certain times of the year (new seasons).

Although it's nice to have the tickets booked in advance, it isn't always necessary. It's good to get the online discount, but train fares in Spain are cheaper than in those in the UK.

 

[richeyboy]

Thanks everybody again for your wonderful advice so I will stay cool and know that I will get there somehow armed with all your info (train, bus or plane). Richeyboy

 

[Saint Mike II]

Hi All,
Does anyone have recent experience of travelling by train from Santiago to Madrid (Chamartin or Atocha)? I have tried endlessly to book via the internet and there is no entry for such a journey. Is it me or has something changed recently; for example is the line open after the dreadful crash last year? In anticipation many thanks.
Richeyboy

Yes, I did the trip on 1 Oct. fare was around E57, tourist. But I booked only 3 days in advance and the train was effectively full. The train dep 9.05 and surprisingly arrived on time. There is a cafe/bar carriage but you might want to bring your own food. I did not book, used the renfe agent next to where the Compostela's are issued. I agree that the renfe sight is not overly user friendly and if you are trying to book more than 30 days in advance it will not show those trains.
From memory there are three trains the 9.05, another at 15.00 and an overnight one. Hope this helps. Cheers