Train ticket and móvil questions

Buy train tickets for Spain: See the train travel in Spain page...​

• All Spanish long-distance trains and even many regional trains require seat reservation and have variable pricing, so yes, trains can 'sell out' although although outside busy periods it's easy to buy tickets at the station on the day of travel if you want.
• Renfe (Spanish national railways) has airline-style fares, so tickets will be much more expensive bought on the day, much cheaper booked in advance with a cheap Promo or Promo+ fare. So pre-book if possible.
• How to buy tickets...
  The easiest way to buy Spanish train tickets is online at www.raileurope.com or www.thetrainline.com. These connect directly to Renfe's ticketing system to sell Renfe's cheap fares with Renfe's print-your-own tickets, but in plain English without any of Renfe's confusing translations or credit card rejection problems. There's a small booking fee, but it's worth it.
  Babies & infants: Although infants under 4 go free, for journeys on any Renfe mainline long-distance train wholly within Spain, you'll need to obtain a free infant ticket at a Renfe ticket office before boarding, see the advice here.
• You can also book Spanish trains online in US$ in plain English with no payment problems at www.petrabax.com, a US-based agency that also links to the Renfe ticketing system, so has the same trains and cheap prices, although they add a small mark-up. It issues the same print-at-home tickets as renfe.com, so anyone from any country worldwide can use it, including the United States, Canada & Australia.​
• Alternatively, you can of course buy tickets direct from Spanish Railways at www.renfe.com with no booking fee, but it has more than its fair share of quirks, so please read my advice on using Renfe.com. The quirks include some odd English translations and a reputation for rejecting a significant proportion of overseas credit cards with various error messages. Although I have to say it has always worked OK with my credit card and now accepts PayPal.
• NEW FROM 10 MAY 2021: Barcelona to Madrid by lo-cost Ouigo train. Spanish railways are being opened up to competition, and from 10 May 2021, open-access operator Ouigo (www.ouigo.com, a subsidiary of SNCF French Railways) will operate up to 10 trains per day between Barcelona Sants & Madrid Atocha, competing with the AVE trains run by state-owned operator Renfe. These Spanish Ouigo trains are a version of France's double-deck 300 km/h TGV Duplex Ouigo trains, but unlike the French Ouigo trains they have two classes (standard with seats arranged 2+2 across the car width and XL with larger seats arranged 2+1 across the car width) and there will be a cafe-bar. Fares start at just €9, check times & buy tickets at www.ouigo.com. Be warned that this lo-cost operation has airline-style baggage limits and extra fees for large bags, so check carefully when booking. Both Ouigo & Renfe trains are bookable (with small booking fee) at www.raileurope.com.​

Sparrow in Texas said:

After spending the past year and a half mourning the untimely passing of the beautiful Empress Kate (see my avatar), My Walking Partner cum Master of Distractions suddenly announces that he has purchased tickets to Spain for a fall Camino. My mind springs into overdrive since everything Camino has been in the far background; loose 10 lbs, buy new hiking pants, how to buy train tickets, research SIM cards. Oops (insert benign palabrota), I forgot the details of how to buy a train ticket from Madrid to Zaragosa! Small things change every year, so my specific questions are needing the most current information! 1. To buy a RENFE ticket online from the US, should I use the RENFE or another website? Pay with credit card or PayPal? 2. how to order a Vodafone or Orange SIM card, have it sent to me in the US and activate it upon arriving in Madrid? 3. Móvil: I remember that after 28 days of use, one had to pay the monthly fee (top up/recargar) at any number of convenient places. I was given a phone number to call to "renovar beneficios". At appears that all of that can now be accomplished online. Yes, how? Happy planning my dear Camino family!

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Easel said:

Train tickets - Rome2Rio.com. Remember, Renfe doesn't post their actual schedules until 30-60 days prior to the date of travel.

SIM cards - Check with your current carrier, you may already have text & mobil data coverage. I'v traveled with both Sprint and then T-Mobile (before the merger) and had sufficient coverage. Most any hotel, hostel, alberque you stay at or bar you visit will have WIFI coverage (to some extent).

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Easel said:

Train tickets - Rome2Rio.com. Remember, Renfe doesn't post their actual schedules until 30-60 days prior to the date of travel.

SIM cards - Check with your current carrier, you may already have text & mobil data coverage. I'v traveled with both Sprint and then T-Mobile (before the merger) and had sufficient coverage. Most any hotel, hostel, alberque you stay at or bar you visit will have WIFI coverage (to some extent).

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• When does booking open? In theory, tickets should go on sale 60 days ahead for all trains other than AVE trains which should open 90 days ahead. However, this isn't exact - Renfe loads dates in large blocks as and when it feels like it, often significantly less than 60 days and often loading some trains before others. If you go online and don't see the complete train service which you're expecting to see, and it's more than a month to go before departure, the chances are that all trains are not yet loaded. Renfe is particularly lax in opening bookings for dates after the timetable changes at midnight on the 2nd Saturday in June and 2nd Saturday in December when the booking horizon can shrink to as little as 30 days.

Marbe2 said:

30-60 days to reserve on Renfe...... Read seat61.com

• When does booking open? In theory, tickets should go on sale 60 days ahead for all trains other than AVE trains which should open 90 days ahead. However, this isn't exact - Renfe loads dates in large blocks as and when it feels like it, often significantly less than 60 days and often loading some trains before others. If you go online and don't see the complete train service which you're expecting to see, and it's more than a month to go before departure, the chances are that all trains are not yet loaded. Renfe is particularly lax in opening bookings for dates after the timetable changes at midnight on the 2nd Saturday in June and 2nd Saturday in December when the booking horizon can shrink to as little as 30 days.

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Classes change starting summer 2021: Standard & Comfort...​

• Now it's going to change yet again! In Summer 2021 Renfe will rename Turista Standard class (2nd class) and will rename Turista Plus & Preferente Comfort class (1st class). They'll introduce a new fares structure at the same time. More details will be added here when known.