Train question

[valjohnson2]

I have my son, his wife, and 1 year old daughter meeting me in Santiago! They are trying to get train tickets from Madrid to Santiago and not having luck with Renfe. Does anyone know if they need to have these purchased or could go to station there to buy? They will be staying in Madrid 2 nights prior to leaving. Thanks!

 

[Tincatinker]

When? When is the question. No one can help you if you don’t tell us when.

Tickets on RENFE are typically made available about 1 month in advance. Madrid is a great city to spend a few months so perhaps they could just wait until you could meet them there

 

[J Willhaus]

Hi @valjohnson2 there are a lot of train track construction works going on right now in the stretch between Madrid and Santiago so it has delayed the sale of tickets. I was looking and it appears that train tickets are currently available only until May 6. If you are trying to purchase for a date after that, you will just need to keep checking back. You can purchase tickets online, however, some people (like me) have difficulty purchasing through the Renfe site. It is cheaper to purchase online and as early as possible. There is a surcharge if you purchase at the station usually. If it happens that the Renfe site is unfriendly to you (like it is to me and won't accept my credit card), try an alternate site. I use Trainline which is in English and works better for me.

 

[J Willhaus]

It may actually be cheaper and easier for them to fly to Santiago from Madrid. It is a very short flight and tickets are quite often cheaper than the train.

 

[Antonius Vaessen]

It may actually be cheaper and easier for them to fly to Santiago from Madrid. It is a very short flight and tickets are quite often cheaper than the train.

Some people prefer travelling by train above flying for reasons of durability

 

[J Willhaus]

Some people prefer travelling by train above flying for reasons of durability

Agree, but the plane tickets may be available now if the OP is anxious to get this settled. Just mentioning options.

 

[Corned Beef]

There is the option to travel via Ourense/Orense and then change there for the short (38min) trip to Santiago.

 

[Tandem Graham]

You might find it easier to navigate the Spanish rail system through trainline.com, in English. That won't help if the tickets haven't been released yet, but it is less confusing!

 

[witsendwv]

You might find it easier to navigate the Spanish rail system through trainline.com, in English. That won't help if the tickets haven't been released yet, but it is less confusing!

The Renfe site has an option to change the language to English or French as well as other commonly spoken languages in Spain. I have never had a problem with navigating their site. Renfe however does not like my US credit/debit cards so I just process the transaction through Paypal. Easy peasy!!

 

[Philtration]

I recommend Trainline. Have had good experience with them. Renfe has a confusing website and many, many people have expressed frustration trying to use it.

 

[Kathor1]

There is a surcharge if you purchase at the station usually.

That’s interesting and it is the first time that I see this info. Does it apply to all tickets or only to long-distance trips or high-speed train trips? On the Renfe website I see this list of fees, with a surcharge of 5,5% of the ticket price when purchasing train tickets at the counter in a railway station:

 

[J Willhaus]

That’s interesting and it is the first time that I see this info. Does it apply to all tickets or only to long-distance trips or high-speed train trips? On the Renfe website I see this list of fees, with a surcharge of 5,5% of the ticket price when purchasing train tickets at the counter in a railway station:

View attachment 166970

Of that I am not sure. I don't think it applies to commuter rail like Cercanías and I have only bought a few tickets in the station after I learned of the surcharge a few years ago. I tend to use Trainline which I know also adds a small fee as well. I don't use PayPal (which also adds a fee to purchase tickets) and my US credit card is usually not accepted on the Renfe site although I have not tried it in the last two years. It all costs a little extra it seems unless your card works with the Renfe site. I should try mine again next year I suppose.

 

[valjohnson2]

When? When is the question. No one can help you if you don’t tell us when.

Tickets on RENFE are typically made available about 1 month in advance. Madrid is a great city to spend a few months so perhaps they could just wait until you could meet them there

They will be traveling from Madrid to Santiago on May 25th. Thank you!

 

[valjohnson2]

They will be traveling from Madrid to Santiago on May 25th. Thank you!

They will spend 2 nights in Madrid, we have one night together in a place they reserved in Santiago and then go to a place in Villanova de Arousa for 4 nights. Pretty amazing for me to be imagining-I’ve never been out of the country before!

 

[valjohnson2]

Hi @valjohnson2 there are a lot of train track construction works going on right now in the stretch between Madrid and Santiago so it has delayed the sale of tickets. I was looking and it appears that train tickets are currently available only until May 6. If you are trying to purchase for a date after that, you will just need to keep checking back. You can purchase tickets online, however, some people (like me) have difficulty purchasing through the Renfe site. It is cheaper to purchase online and as early as possible. There is a surcharge if you purchase at the station usually. If it happens that the Renfe site is unfriendly to you (like it is to me and won't accept my credit card), try an alternate site. I use Trainline which is in English and works better for me.

Thank you! I’ve been holding off purchasing mine to pamplona not knowing how long after landing it will take me to get from airport on train to train station. The logistics of getting there gives me just a bit anxiety but doesn’t scare me off!

 

[valjohnson2]

It may actually be cheaper and easier for them to fly to Santiago from Madrid. It is a very short flight and tickets are quite often cheaper than the train.

I really appreciate the helpful comments I’m getting on here!

 

[J Willhaus]

Thank you! I’ve been holding off purchasing mine to pamplona not knowing how long after landing it will take me to get from airport on train to train station. The logistics of getting there gives me just a bit anxiety but doesn’t scare me off!

If your plane comes to T4 you just need to go to the basement after you exit the secure area and take the C1 or C10 to the Atocha station. From any of the other terminals (and fromT4) you can also take the Express Bus directly to Atocha. The train may be fastest depending on the time of day. An alternative that is a bit more expensive and maybe not any faster is a taxi, but if you are not familiar with public transportation, it may seem more comfortable for you.

Sometimes getting out of security is very fast, particularly of you have a transfer in another country and already have been through passport control And are arriving in at T1, 2, or 3.

 

[MARSKA]

If you are looking for flights, try the search engine skyscanner (flights within Europe, including Spain). I have found it useful for pricing and comparing flights.

As others have said, other options include bus or train. Personally, I have found it easier to catch a flight out of MAD to my destination as I am already arriving there. However, I prefer taking a train-I havent been confident enough to navigate the train system, but I'm going to try it on my next trip this April.

 

[valjohnson2]

If your plane comes to T4 you just need to go to the basement after you exit the secure area and take the C1 or C10 to the Atocha station. From any of the other terminals (and fromT4) you can also take the Express Bus directly to Atocha. The train may be fastest depending on the time of day. An alternative that is a bit more expensive and maybe not any faster is a taxi, but if you are not familiar with public transportation, it may seem more comfortable for you.

Sometimes getting out of security is very fast, particularly of you have a transfer in another country and already have been through passport control And are arriving in at T1, 2, or 3.

I will check out times from Atocha, it hadn’t even been clear to me what station is what so I appreciate that! I have bed in pamplona since there is only that 1 bus a day, as far as I can find, and I will have missed it. Do ticket the next day already. I certainly appreciate the kindness in helping me out with this!

 

[J Willhaus]

I will check out times from Atocha, it hadn’t even been clear to me what station is what so I appreciate that! I have bed in pamplona since there is only that 1 bus a day, as far as I can find, and I will have missed it. Do ticket the next day already. I certainly appreciate the kindness in helping me out with this!

On bus time per day from Pamplona to SJPDP. You'll have an opportunity to catch up on jet lag and see a bit of the town.

 

[Tincatinker]

They will spend 2 nights in Madrid, we have one night together in a place they reserved in Santiago and then go to a place in Villanova de Arousa for 4 nights. Pretty amazing for me to be imagining-I’ve never been out of the country before!

If they will be in Madrid for two days they'll have time to go to Atocha and buy tickets over the counter a day in advance if on-line booking proves too difficult.

Here are the train times and prices for Saturday 4th May. There is unlikely to be any variance.

Renfe - Inicio Compra

PAGINAS OFICIALES DE RENFE, HORARIOS, COMPRA, VENTA, BILLETES,

venta.renfe.com

 

[valjohnson2]

You might find it easier to navigate the Spanish rail system through trainline.com, in English. That won't help if the tickets haven't been released yet, but it is less confusing!

I purchased my ticket from Madrid to Pamplona for the 22nd this morning on trainline.com. I had tried renfe again and weren’t available and took your advice. Very simple! Thanks!

 

[trecile]

If you are looking for flights, try the search engine skyscanner (flights within Europe, including Spain). I have found it useful for pricing and comparing flights.

Search on Skyscanner, but please only book directly with the airline, not one of the third party sites that pay to be on Skyscanner.
If you have any problems at all, it's much easier to deal directly with the airline than with a third party.

 

[GreenCat]

You might find it easier to navigate the Spanish rail system through trainline.com, in English. That won't help if the tickets haven't been released yet, but it is less confusing!

Beware, one issue with Trainline... we were having a mild struggle with the Renfe site, so switched to Trainline. Then we got to the station earlier than I expected and wanted to swap the tickets for an earlier train. The counter staff were very ready to do this until they realized we'd purchased thru Trainline. Their system does not allow adjustments to third party-purchased tickets. And the Trainline site offered only the option to exchange for a LATER train, not the earlier one. So it might be worth struggling a bit with Renfe's site, if you can make it work. Just our experience.

 

[MilenaS]

Beware, one issue with Trainline... we were having a mild struggle with the Renfe site, so switched to Trainline. Then we got to the station earlier than I expected and wanted to swap the tickets for an earlier train. The counter staff were very ready to do this until they realized we'd purchased thru Trainline. Their system does not allow adjustments to third party-purchased tickets. And the Trainline site offered only the option to exchange for a LATER train, not the earlier one. So it might be worth struggling a bit with Renfe's site, if you can make it work. Just our experience.

I just cant make it work I regard myself pretty digitaly savy, but that one is testing my patiance...