Has anyone recent experience? I want to get from Santiago to Palencia by train, but RENFE only sell tickets not simple reservations. How easy is it to rock up at a ticket office the day before and actually get a seat? It appears you have to do this in Spain so if arriving on day 1 travel in day 2 seems a bit risky?
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Using RENFE with an interrail pass
- Thread starter peteb
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RENFE made making pass reservations difficult on purpose. They were available online via Interrail until about 3 years ago and then they didn't want that anymore. They must also have made it difficult for others to sell their pass reservations (or their tickets all together) because availability has become quite bad all over Europe.
Remaining known possibilities are listed here.
Seat61 recommends a travel agent (who in fact books them via the DB system and still has to send them via the post).
In addition, someone recently found out that International Rail is a RENFE agent and they can send RENFE reservations by email; booking fee GBP 15 (I suppose per order).
Remaining known possibilities are listed here.
Seat61 recommends a travel agent (who in fact books them via the DB system and still has to send them via the post).
In addition, someone recently found out that International Rail is a RENFE agent and they can send RENFE reservations by email; booking fee GBP 15 (I suppose per order).
railfan99
Established Member
I did this at Girona on an October 2022 Saturday afternoon for travel Girona-Mardrid via Barcelona and return on Sunday.
There were few seats left but we snagged two on each of the four trains. Probably helped that we had first class global Eurailpasses, not economy (standard) class.
dutchflyer
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Confirm above. Have used it myself last oct.-and next week (both on a 50% discount pass)-last oct right after arr. at Barajas airpt at the tiny office they have there (no Qs, apparently a kind of apprentice who had to fone on how to do it-but when that was done all went smooth for all trips needed the upcoming weekend).
Major stumbleblocks (and yes-in busy times in ESpana trains do sell out, sometimes days before) are all trains to/fro MADrid at tipical weekend timings and the very long-dist AVE bypassing MAD (like Bcn-Malaga etc.), problems also tend to be much higher in main summer and also when its busy in ESpana: Easterweek.
Your route mentioned is not covered by them-but now that the 2 other low-cost competitors run some main lines on hi-speed, Iriyo and Oui-GO, it may be worthwhile to check if their fare is lower as passday/cost +cost for REServacion on RENFE.
In all frankness: IF no curbing measures would be taken, all seats, or nearly all, would be taken by passholders in the main summer season.
Major stumbleblocks (and yes-in busy times in ESpana trains do sell out, sometimes days before) are all trains to/fro MADrid at tipical weekend timings and the very long-dist AVE bypassing MAD (like Bcn-Malaga etc.), problems also tend to be much higher in main summer and also when its busy in ESpana: Easterweek.
Your route mentioned is not covered by them-but now that the 2 other low-cost competitors run some main lines on hi-speed, Iriyo and Oui-GO, it may be worthwhile to check if their fare is lower as passday/cost +cost for REServacion on RENFE.
In all frankness: IF no curbing measures would be taken, all seats, or nearly all, would be taken by passholders in the main summer season.
In my view that may justify charging supplements. It doesn't justify deliberately making it nearly impossible to make reservations.
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