europe has a great system of high speed trains that can turn a destination into a day trip! a lot of locals and tourists alike use high speed rail because it is a great way to travel.
the spanish rail system is renfe. during our week in spain we took high speed trains to 3 different destinations and didn’t have any issues. there are train stations in a lot of towns you;ll want to visit and is an easy way to get across europe.
here are some tips to help you plan your trip using high speed rail.
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buying high speed rail tickets
this should be a given, but you have to have a ticket to travel by high speed rail. you can purchase tickets online in advance or at the train station.
i highly recommend buying tickets in advance online. you are more likely to get the best deal and the time you want buying in advance.
tickets for high speed trains go on sale online 60 days in advance.
renfe
you can buy tickets online at renfe.com. a lot of people have had issues with buying tickets on this site due to credit card issues. i personally had a hard time with the site loading.
tickets will be posted for sale 60 days in advance. if you are between 60 and 30 days in advance and don’t see any tickets for the dates you are looking for, don’t worry. i have found that they are normally behind in uploading new dates. i found our travel dates about 45 days out. i had checked the week before and none of the options had been uploaded yet.
loco2
i personally used this loco2 site to book our tickets. they have the same prices as the renfe site, but are a little more user friendly in my experience. they also tell you the seats your booking will have, so you can adjust until you get seats you like.
there are a lot of other sites where you can buy tickets as well.
when to book
i would recommend booking as early as possible. when the tickets come out there are a set number of “promo” fares that are awesome deals. they will sell out.
i was able to get most of our tickets as promo fares. they don’t allow changes, but if you know where you want to go and when then this is a great way to save some money. i didn’t pay more than $50 per person for any of our train rides, even the one from madrid to seville.
preparing for travel by train
there is security when travelling by train, but it is nothing compared to an airport. most sites recommend arriving 30 minutes early and that was plenty of time for us at each of the different train stations we were at.
your bags will have to pass through a metal detector before you are allowed onto the platform. you will also get scanned by a handheld metal detector.
once you have passed through this security you will have your ticket scanned so you are able to access the train platform.
depending on the station, the train could be there waiting for you once you are allowed on the platform. in this case you board your train in the correct car and take your seat and wait for departure!
in other stations you will be allowed onto the platform a few minutes before the train arrives. when the train stops find your car and board quickly. these stops are short so people will be rushing on and off the train.
perks of rail travel
overall travel by rail is an inexpensive and low stress way to travel around spain and the rest of europe.
there are both high speed and regular speed trains throughout spain. if you are looking for high speed trains be sure you are looking for tickets with AVE in the description.
if you want to visit multiple cities during your time in spain i highly recommend travelling by high speed train! it was the perfect addition to our week in spain.
have you used the high speed train system in spain? do you have any other tips?
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