FIP Spain - London

Rodolfini · 2026-09-03T18:45:11+0100

Hi there! This Will be my first time using the FIP, as well as the discount card for my wife. We’re planning to do Badajoz - Madrid - Narbone - Toulouse on the 1st leg. I think we’ll have no issues on getting the tickets at the origin RENFE counter and then the Narbonne Toulouse on SNCF counter. 2nd leg will be Toulouse - Paris - London. Can we get the reservations up to London in Toulouse, or are we supposed to get the eurostar tickets in Paris?
After that we will be Back to Paris for a couple of days and then we need to get Back to Badajoz. How do you think it suits better for this? Direct TGV from Paris to Barcelona and then connection to Madrid/Badajoz, or are we supposed to do it differently in order to avoid overcharge on the leg París - Barcelona?

Thank you very much for your help and sugestions nice people.

RailUK Forums

rvdborgt · 2026-09-03T18:57:13+0100

FIP Eurostar fares have a quota, so you'll want to book that in advance. Depending on the date, a few weeks or even longer in advance. IIRC Interrail availability is the same and availability on the day can be non-existent.

185143 · 2026-09-03T19:35:35+0100

rvdborgt said:
FIP Eurostar fares have a quota, so you'll want to book that in advance. Depending on the date, a few weeks or even longer in advance. IIRC Interrail availability is the same and availability on the day can be non-existent.

Last time I used Eurostar from London (early June IIRC), there were signs up at the travel centre advising all services to Paris were fully booked that day. So it's not just Interrail availability that runs out!

Sir Felix Pole · 2026-09-03T19:55:44+0100

FIP Coupons are not valid on the TGV Paris - Barcelona service for international journeys , but you are permitted to travel on it within France as far as Perpignan with a SNCF Coupon.

Another option for Paris - Madrid, of course, is via Hendaye / Irun.

EuxtonNeutral · 2026-09-03T20:15:24+0100

Rodolfini said:
Hi there! This Will be my first time using the FIP, as well as the discount card for my wife. We’re planning to do Badajoz - Madrid - Narbone - Toulouse on the 1st leg. I think we’ll have no issues on getting the tickets at the origin RENFE counter and then the Narbonne Toulouse on SNCF counter. 2nd leg will be Toulouse - Paris - London. Can we get the reservations up to London in Toulouse, or are we supposed to get the eurostar tickets in Paris?
After that we will be Back to Paris for a couple of days and then we need to get Back to Badajoz. How do you think it suits better for this? Direct TGV from Paris to Barcelona and then connection to Madrid/Badajoz, or are we supposed to do it differently in order to avoid overcharge on the leg París - Barcelona?

Thank you very much for your help and sugestions nice people.

In my experience you’re best off booking Eurostar via the Journey Request Form @ https://www.bookmyrst.co.uk/

Earlier the better.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: Yesterday at 20:16 ==

EuxtonNeutral said:
In my experience you’re best off booking Eurostar via the Journey Request Form @ https://www.bookmyrst.co.uk/

Earlier the better.

Although I don’t know if this is just a site for brits!

TheWierdOne · 2026-09-03T20:28:25+0100

For booking Eurostar and TGV journeys on FIP I have found the SNCF phone line to be the easiest way, although it will cost you somewhat to call as it is a French number. There is an option for an English speaker to take your call if you press #85, although the staff do appreciate it if you can speak French and it sped up the process immensely when I started speaking French.

+33 1 84 94 36 35

They don’t accept Mastercard, visa or Amex only when I booked a couple of weeks ago.

ricohallo · 2026-09-03T20:28:34+0100

Rodolfini said:
Hi there! This Will be my first time using the FIP, as well as the discount card for my wife. We’re planning to do Badajoz - Madrid - Narbone - Toulouse on the 1st leg. I think we’ll have no issues on getting the tickets at the origin RENFE counter and then the Narbonne Toulouse on SNCF counter. 2nd leg will be Toulouse - Paris - London. Can we get the reservations up to London in Toulouse, or are we supposed to get the eurostar tickets in Paris?
After that we will be Back to Paris for a couple of days and then we need to get Back to Badajoz. How do you think it suits better for this? Direct TGV from Paris to Barcelona and then connection to Madrid/Badajoz, or are we supposed to do it differently in order to avoid overcharge on the leg París - Barcelona?

Thank you very much for your help and sugestions nice people.

I suggest taking a look on this website, which has a lot of information about travelling with FIP and how to obtain reservations: https://www.fipguide.org/en/

You should be able to get reservations for Badajoz - Madrid and the Madrid - Narbonne AVE at the counter in Badajoz, provided the trains are not fully booked. From Narbonne to Toulouse there are both local TER trains with no reservation required and cannot sell out or slightly faster Intercités trains which require a reservation that usually costs €2, obtainable at the counter in Narbonne or by calling SNCF, again provided the train is not fully booked.

Make reservations for Paris - London as soon as possible because Eurostar has a FIP quota and this can run out sometimes weeks in advance. You can book these at Eurostar ticket office at London St. Pancras or through one of the other options which are listed on the FIP guide website. It is advisable to book Toulouse - Paris in advance too by calling SNCF, there is no quota but trains do sell out.

For the return journey it is probably much cheaper to use the RENFE AVE train from Lyon to Madrid, as the SNCF TGV FIP reservations to Barcelona are very expensive (unless that has changed recently). Book Eurostar and a TGV to Lyon in advance, and book the AVE train from Lyon to Madrid before you leave Spain (e.g. at the counter in Badajoz), as there is no way to obtain reservations outside of Spain. You can buy them on the train when you board in France however, card payment accepted. Though if it's fully booked you might not have a seat or might not be able to travel at all (according to FIP guide you can generally still travel though even if it's fully booked).
An alternative is to take the TGV as far as Perpignan for the much lower domestic reservation fee and continue to Barcelona by regional trains changing in Port Bou, however I would recommend taking a TGV/AVE train.
You might also be able to save money by buying a FIP reservation to Perpignan and a public rate ticket from Perpignan to Barcelona, but this will probably require a change of seats and possibly trainset in Perpignan. Book the Madrid - Badajoz leg (and Barcelona - Madrid in case you take the TGV to Barcelona) in Badajoz if you can, you can do it too when you return to Spain but trains can sell out.

Hope this helps and have a great trip!

Rodolfini · 2026-09-03T21:35:58+0100

ricohallo said:
I suggest taking a look on this website, which has a lot of information about travelling with FIP and how to obtain reservations: https://www.fipguide.org/en/

You should be able to get reservations for Badajoz - Madrid and the Madrid - Narbonne AVE at the counter in Badajoz, provided the trains are not fully booked. From Narbonne to Toulouse there are both local TER trains with no reservation required and cannot sell out or slightly faster Intercités trains which require a reservation that usually costs €2, obtainable at the counter in Narbonne or by calling SNCF, again provided the train is not fully booked.

Make reservations for Paris - London as soon as possible because Eurostar has a FIP quota and this can run out sometimes weeks in advance. You can book these at Eurostar ticket office at London St. Pancras or through one of the other options which are listed on the FIP guide website. It is advisable to book Toulouse - Paris in advance too by calling SNCF, there is no quota but trains do sell out.

For the return journey it is probably much cheaper to use the RENFE AVE train from Lyon to Madrid, as the SNCF TGV FIP reservations to Barcelona are very expensive (unless that has changed recently). Book Eurostar and a TGV to Lyon in advance, and book the AVE train from Lyon to Madrid before you leave Spain (e.g. at the counter in Badajoz), as there is no way to obtain reservations outside of Spain. You can buy them on the train when you board in France however, card payment accepted. Though if it's fully booked you might not have a seat or might not be able to travel at all (according to FIP guide you can generally still travel though even if it's fully booked).
An alternative is to take the TGV as far as Perpignan for the much lower domestic reservation fee and continue to Barcelona by regional trains changing in Port Bou, however I would recommend taking a TGV/AVE train.
You might also be able to save money by buying a FIP reservation to Perpignan and a public rate ticket from Perpignan to Barcelona, but this will probably require a change of seats and possibly trainset in Perpignan. Book the Madrid - Badajoz leg (and Barcelona - Madrid in case you take the TGV to Barcelona) in Badajoz if you can, you can do it too when you return to Spain but trains can sell out.

Hope this helps and have a great trip!

Thank you very much for all your tips. The website is very good and as I’ve found this fórum I took a chance to see also different ideas and opinions. i couldn’t find the Lyon Madrid at Renfe app, but I’ve found an Intercite de nuit from Paris to Toulouse and then a normal one to Narbonne and from there the connection to Madrid with the AVE from Marseille. I’m still waiting for the card and the couppons, do you know if I can make the reservations with sncf and for the Eurostar without a card number?

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: Yesterday at 21:37 ==

EuxtonNeutral said:
In my experience you’re best off booking Eurostar via the Journey Request Form @ https://www.bookmyrst.co.uk/

Earlier the better.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: Yesterday at 20:16 ==

Although I don’t know if this is just a site for brits!

Thank you. I had a view but you’re right, it is for UK colleagues.

rvdborgt · 2026-09-03T22:25:29+0100

Rodolfini said:
Thank you very much for all your tips. The website is very good and as I’ve found this fórum I took a chance to see also different ideas and opinions. i couldn’t find the Lyon Madrid at Renfe app [...]

It's 1 daily AVE Lyon-Barcelona, leaving at 14:35.
There's another AVE Marseille-Madrid, with several stops in France and Spain.

Sir Felix Pole · 2026-09-03T22:36:20+0100

There is also a Paris (Austerlitz) to Cerbère 'Intercité de Nuit' service running on Friday nights only, calling at Narbonne if that is of any use.

jack31439 · 2026-09-04T00:35:10+0100

The earlier you can book the Renfe Badajoz - Madrid sections the better, as those trains of course can sell out too, to anyone wishing to travel, not just FIP. I found that out the hard way a couple of summers ago rocking up at the Counter in Badajoz intending to get on the next train available, which was 2 days away!

Looks like you'll be able to get all the sections you need however in advance though, so much simpler. Echo the previous comments too about cross border TGVs being expensive, was quoted north of €120 for Barcelona Madrid. Intercite Nuit or AVE are good options.

ricohallo · 2026-09-04T09:46:36+0100

Rodolfini said:
Thank you very much for all your tips. The website is very good and as I’ve found this fórum I took a chance to see also different ideas and opinions. i couldn’t find the Lyon Madrid at Renfe app, but I’ve found an Intercite de nuit from Paris to Toulouse and then a normal one to Narbonne and from there the connection to Madrid with the AVE from Marseille. I’m still waiting for the card and the couppons, do you know if I can make the reservations with sncf and for the Eurostar without a card number?

Yes you can, they don't need the number but you need to be able to show the card or coupons at the ticket check.

I thought the AVE from Lyon ran through to Madrid, but as @rvdborgt pointed out it actually only runs to Barcelona so you'd need to take another train from there to Madrid. Though if the night train works for you and you don't mind sharing the compartment then I'd say go for it! The FIP reservation fees are very reasonable for Intercités de Nuit and it saves you a hotel night. First class couchette compartments are shared by 4 people and second class is 6 people, on top of that I believe the first class compartments are slightly bigger/more comfortable. Private compartments are not offered at FIP rates as far as I know.

AndrewE · 2026-09-04T10:06:23+0100

EuxtonNeutral said:
In my experience you’re best off booking Eurostar via the Journey Request Form @ https://www.bookmyrst.co.uk/

Although I don’t know if this is just a site for brits!

I just looked at that website - hadn't seen it before. It says 2 significant things:

We are experiencing unprecedented demand for booking enquiries. Although the service requires 3 weeks’ notice for any booking enquiry, over the last two years whilst booking volumes were low, booking enquiry requests have been responded with less than 3 weeks’ notice. The current volume means that it is no longer possible to respond to enquiries at short notice, so booking enquiries will only be responded to where the travel date is more than 3 weeks ahead.

and right at the bottom:

We'd like to specify that this site is only for the booking of your FIP train journeys. For anything related to your entitlement to book FIP Fares or administration thereof, please go to the Rail Staff Travel site by clicking here. https://www.raildeliverygroup.com/rst.html
...
PLEASE NOTE: we only issue FIP fares for active and retired members of UK rail staff.

FIP Spain - London

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