REnfe

[Bobocasey]

Just was able to book Renfe train using English Yea!!!!!!! Be sure your credit card company knows you are going to buy the tickets. I tried in Spanish but it said there was an error so I tried in English and was able to get all the way through

[cruiseluv]

Congratulations! Believe me, that's no easy feat!

[Missus Makkem]

Just was able to book Renfe train using English Yea!!!!!!! Be sure your credit card company knows you are going to buy the tickets. I tried in Spanish but it said there was an error so I tried in English and was able to get all the way through

 

travelling to where?

[scottbee]

Just was able to book Renfe train using English Yea!!!!!!! Be sure your credit card company knows you are going to buy the tickets. I tried in Spanish but it said there was an error so I tried in English and was able to get all the way through

 

I booked last September online w/o issues using a Canadian credit card. Only caveat (and I believe they've fixed it) is that the booking system previously only showed discounted tickets if you booked in Spanish - because you got to booking on the English side from the schedule pages, and not into the 'booking' pages. Either way; it was very cheeky. However; a little bit of Spanish, and help from google translate, and I booked it on the Spanish language site. No biggie.

 

Oh, and note that the pop-calendar on their website show's the European MON-SUN not SUN-SAT that North Americans are used to.

[Specs]

HI! I am so happy, I just purchased my tickets from Barcelona Sants to Madrid Puerto de Atocha (near Prado Museum) for a day in Madrid prior to our cruise.

 

I tried a couple of time with no success and I found this website that helped me a lot:

http://www.seat61.com and go to "How to use the Spanish Railways website www.renfe.com"

and I called my bank.

 

(Sorry if I made some mistakes my first language is french...)

[Bobocasey]

I had tried it earlier in the evening in Spanish and for some reason it threw it out. I doubled checked with my credit card company to make sure it wasn't charged and tried booking it in English and it worked. i also used the the advice on tripadvisor how to use it so I had done a couple of practice trials in Spanish. But it worked in English all the way through. We are traveling from Barcelona to Madrid in 61 days was able to get the discounted tickets. Yea!!! Booking agents charge 10 euros per ticket. Also watch the way European write their days they write date month then year. In US we write month date and then the year.

[scottbee]

I had tried it earlier in the evening in Spanish and for some reason it threw it out. I doubled checked with my credit card company to make sure it wasn't charged and tried booking it in English and it worked. i also used the the advice on tripadvisor how to use it so I had done a couple of practice trials in Spanish. But it worked in English all the way through. We are traveling from Barcelona to Madrid in 61 days was able to get the discounted tickets. Yea!!! Booking agents charge 10 euros per ticket. Also watch the way European write their days they write date month then year. In US we write month date and then the year.

 

Actually it's the other way around. It's only the USA that writes it MONTH/DAY /YEAR. Even up here, 20km from the border it's DAY/MONTH/YEAR

 

The big gotcha that a lot of people miss is that the Renfe website (and a lot of mainland Europe websites) pop up calendars that start on MONDAY not SUNDAY

 

Mainland Europe: Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun

USA/Canada/UK: Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

[Mypka]

I have been trying to buy tickets from Madrid to Barcelona for 3 days. It gives me the error message in English and in Spanish. Called my amex - no problems there. Don't know what to do.

[keltic]

There could be a kind of temporary failure. The system normally works. It´s slow but operative. Keep trying.

[Mypka]

Actually, I gave up, and booked my tickets through raileurope.com (mrrebates.com gives 2% cashback). It's quite a bit more pricey, but I was worried, I'll not be able to obtain the tickets at all.

[cruiseluv]

Actually, I gave up, and booked my tickets through raileurope.com (mrrebates.com gives 2% cashback). It's quite a bit more pricey, but I was worried, I'll not be able to obtain the tickets at all.

 

Hi Mypka,

 

Sorry about your experience, but not surprised as from what I read in other boards , many of the people with US credit cards have the same experience. I have always bought my tickets once I'm in Spain so haven't had a personal experience with this. I have read that in a Spanish online travel agency http://www.rumbo.es you can buy Renfe tickets at the same price offered in the Renfe website and it will accept US credit cards.

[trojangirl90066]

Actually, I gave up, and booked my tickets through raileurope.com (mrrebates.com gives 2% cashback). It's quite a bit more pricey, but I was worried, I'll not be able to obtain the tickets at all.

 

Sorry you had trouble. Renfe does not like Amex. I had to book using Rumbo.es but the tickets were still discounted.

[kicia]

I've been trying to book tickets from Barcelona to Figueres Vilafant for several weeks now with no success. In the last two days I have gotten closer than ever but still no deal. I am able, in English, to get all the way to the end where the message comes on that it is in my bank's hand and then I get an error message sorry for the inconvenience but the site can't proceed now. I've tried Amex and Mastercard. I really want to go all the way to Avignon but I can't find that on renfe. I'll probably go through raileurope but I was hoping to at least do the first part on my own because it is really expensive through raileurope. I can't make any progress on tgv-europe for the Figueres Vilafant to Avignon trip becuase it just switches me to raileurope when I put in USA as the country. If I put in Great Britain or Canada as the country I can get almost to the end but it won't let me change the address to the USA since these tickets have to be mailed. Any tips?

[Specs]

Hi!

 

See below for the steps I took to be able to buy the tickets. Everything went very well. Two things to remember, however. First, I would call your bank to inform them that you will be using your credit card (in my case, VISA) on this web site. Second, make the purchase Monday to Friday, but not on the weekend for it only worked for me when I purchased the tickets on a weekday.

 

Source of the information: by using this link, you'll get pictures as well :)

 

http://www.seat61.com/Europe-train-tickets.htm#How to use the Spanish Railways website

 

4. How to use the Spanish Railways website: http://www.renfe.com

 

The Spanish Railways website (http://www.renfe.com) sells tickets for almost any long-distance train wholly within Spain (including sleepers), and you simply print out your own ticket. It sells some amazingly cheap online 'web' fares that you can't buy from agencies or even at the ticket office, making it well worth getting to know. It will now also book the international trainhotels in either direction between Paris & Madrid, Paris & Barcelona, Madrid & Lisbon, Barcelona & Zurich, Barcelona & Milan, with self-print tickets.

 

How to use renfe.com...

 

Above: The renfe.com home page. ..

 

 

 

 

Go to http://www.renfe.com. Use Internet Explorer if possible, as it doesn't work as well with Firefox or Safari.

 

Spanish train bookings open 60 days in advance, you can't book before reservations open.

 

Click 'welcome' at top left to switch it into English.

 

Do not rush in and start using the journey planner marked 'Passengers - Timetables' as this only shows train times & full-price fares. To buy tickets or check actual prices & availability, click 'Purchase' at top right. A new window opens, with a journey planner that can be used to check prices & buy tickets.

 

It's a good idea to register, rather than use their site as a guest, even if you're only going to buy one ticket, as you can then log in and retrieve your booking if for any reason a connection fails or the ticket pop-up fails to appear. And if you're registered, you can also log in to change or cancel bookings. To register, click 'Register me' link at top right, in the 'Identification' box. Fill in your details and choose a user name and password. Tip: In the drop down list of countries, United Kingdom = Reino Unido! Tip 2: If it won't accept UK-style postcodes, simply use '123456'. Tip 3: If it won't accept UK counties, use a Spanish province!

 

Now carry on with the journey planner. Enter your enquiry details and click 'search'.

 

Bear in mind that the Renfe booking system cannot handle changes of train, it will only show direct trains. So if you ask it for Barcelona to Seville it will only show the one or two daily direct trains, but there are plenty of other options involving a change of train in Madrid. The German railways journey planner at http://www.bahn.de can be useful in identifying journey options involving a change of train, which can then be booked at http://www.renfe.com in two stages.

 

Only main stations are listed in the drop-down boxes. If you want a ticket to or from a smaller unlisted station, go back to the home page and click 'Find all Stations'. Then select you 'from' and 'to' stations from the full list.

 

On the search results page you'll see a list of trains, each with a price in all classes.

 

Turista = 2nd class. Preferente = 1st class. Club = premium 1st class (available only on AVE trains).

 

If booking a sleeper, make sure it says 'cama' ('bed'). Cama Turista = bed in 4-berth sleeper. Cama Preferente = 1 or 2 bed, breakfast included. Cama G. Clase = gran clase 1 or 2 bed with private shower & toilet, dinner & breakfast included. Indiv = single-bed, doble = 2-berth.

 

A 'W' symbol against the price means it's a cheap 'Web' fare, 60% off full price. 'Web' fares are online-only advance purchase fares, non-refundable, non-changeable. A 'star' symbol means it's an 'Estrella' fare, 40% off full price. Estrella fares are also an advance-purchase fare, semi-refundable. Both Web & Estrella fares are available to anyone of any age, and are the best deal for Spanish rail travel. If booking at very short notice you may also see some cheap 'Ultima Hora' ('last minute') fares. 'Tarifa General' or 'General price' means full price.

 

Select the train & class you want and click 'Continue' right at the bottom.

 

Booking a sleeper? 'Cama' means bed, or sleeper. There is a glitch in the English version that on the following page after selecting a price sometimes results in the drop down 'class' box not being properly filled with options, which means that you can't continue. The solution here is to book in Spanish on the Spanish version of the renfe site. This really isn't as difficult as it sounds, as all you need are place names, dates, times, 'cama' means bed, 'ida' means one-way, 'ida y vuelta' means return, 'salida' means departure and llegada' means arrival. You can use Google language tools to translate any words or phrases you don't understand.

 

On the next page, if you are booking a one-way journey, ignore the confusing warning telling you you're booking an open return. Check the journey details & price and click 'Continue' again.

 

On the next page, enter your details. Change 'Type of document' drop down box to 'Passport' and enter your passport number in the 'Document number' box. The UK is listed as 'Great Britain' in the countries list. Under 'Province' enter your county. Enter your phone number without the first 0 of your area code, and without the '+44' for calling the UK.

 

Payment page: Now enter your card details and complete the purchase.

 

Make sure your browser will allow pop-ups as you might otherwise lose the order confirmation.

 

If you get error message GU001 when paying, it could be your bank blocking an unusual foreign transaction, rather than any problem with renfe.com itself. Try another credit card, or call your bank and tell them you're making a legitimate payment!

 

When you've booked and paid, click 'Print tickets' ('imprimar' in Spanish) to print them out on your own PC printer. It's also a good idea to 'save' the ticket .pdf file to your PC as well as printing spare copies. The .pdf ticket file should be opened using Adobe reader, not other obscure programs.

 

This printout is your ticket, valid for travel without further formality. It has your reserved seat and coach numbers printed on it, along with your travel date, train time and journey.

 

Feedback (positive or negative) is very welcome if you use renfe.com to buy tickets, especially as things change from time to time and I won't always spot it.

 

If your print-your-own tickets fail to appear for any reason, try calling renfe for help on 00 34 902 10 94 20. The operators usually speak English and even if you didn't register they can provide you with your booking's ‘Locator' number which allows you to reprint your ticket (look for the 'My account' and then 'My journey' links). In fact, if you quote this Locator number at the ticket office in Spain they can print you out a ticket at the station.

 

If you have any difficulty buying tickets online at renfe.com, you can buy Spanish train tickets by phone in the UK with Spanish Railway's agents, http://www.spanish-rail.co.uk, call 020 7725 7063 (lines open 09:30-17:30 Monday-Friday). They can even sell Web & Estrella fares, though a £10 booking fee applies and they add a 5 euro surcharge to Web fares.

[Flowrider]

Hello,

Can you tell me if there is a lot of difference in confort between tourist, preferent and first class? I will takenit from madrid to barcelona.

Thank you

[scottbee]

Hello,

Can you tell me if there is a lot of difference in confort between tourist, preferent and first class? I will takenit from madrid to barcelona.

Thank you

 

There's a little more space in Preferente and 1st class, HOWEVER, the room in coach is comparable to a domestic business class aircraft seat in terms of width and legroom. Also Preferente and 1st come with a snack, and a pre-board lounge.

 

I can't see how it's worth it, especially given the short time (under 3 hrs), and the fact that you can get discounted web fares in tourista for about 1/3 of the cheapest prefernte seat

[Flowrider]

There's a little more space in Preferente and 1st class, HOWEVER, the room in coach is comparable to a domestic business class aircraft seat in terms of width and legroom. Also Preferente and 1st come with a snack, and a pre-board lounge.

 

I can't see how it's worth it, especially given the short time (under 3 hrs), and the fact that you can get discounted web fares in tourista for about 1/3 of the cheapest prefernte seat

 

Thank you very much for the information

[kicia]

I have tried many times to get my tickets and still cannot get all the way through. I called my bank and told them what I was doing but they said they don't see any attempts and no denials. I still get all the way to where it shows it is going to the bank and then I get the G001 unable to process at this time notice. Any further suggestions?

 

Thanks - Linda

[scottbee]

I have tried many times to get my tickets and still cannot get all the way through. I called my bank and told them what I was doing but they said they don't see any attempts and no denials. I still get all the way to where it shows it is going to the bank and then I get the G001 unable to process at this time notice. Any further suggestions?

 

Thanks - Linda

Try a differnt time of day?

[kicia]

I've been trying every day and several times per day for a couple of weeks. I just sent an e-mail to them in English with a computer generated translation into Spanish so hopefully I'll get an answer tomorrow. I still keep trying.

[Bobocasey]

I was able to book my on Sunday evening about 8pm. I got the same message and then went to the English version and for some unknown reason it worked.

[kicia]

If I don't get my tickets on the renfe site, what do you think about my chances of getting tickets from Barcelona to Avignon, France on June 3 if I wait until we get to Spain on May 10? Would it be easier to just get to tickets when we get to Madrid? Also, any opinions of if seats would still be available.

 

I'm looking at the 9 AM from Barcelona to Figueres (arr. 10:42); leave Figueres at 11:06 arrive Nimes at 1:45 PM; leave Nimes at 3:04 PM arrive Avignon at 3:31 PM. I'm currently holding this itinerary through RailEurope but it is $228 total. Especiall the first leg is disturbing to me since they are charging $76 total but through renfe the price is 18,5 euros which is about $27.

 

Thanks for your suggestions.

[psblin99]

For those of you having problems I did as well then tried a different computer with success. Not sure why but worth a try.

[no fuss travel]

Renfe does not like Mastercard, but will accept VISA. I tried Mastercard and it would not accept the card and gave me an error message. Tried after several error messages and used my VISA card and it went through no problem at all. I did have to use the Spanish site to get the discounted fares, but even though I do not speak or read a word of Spanish you can guess what they are asking for.

[Almagetty]

It's getting very close to the 62 day mark for my trip from Barcelona to Madrid aboard the AVE. I've been checking the Renfe site daily as the next available day's fares come up. It appears to me that they have not been loading the web-special fares for any dates past May 31. The dates through May still, in fact, have those web fares available, but starting on June 1 it is all full tariff only. I am checking at just around midnight, Spain time and have been on the site right after they open a given day's fares. And ... no discounts. :confused:

 

Does anyone here know if they've discontinued the web fares? Or if they've changed the rules on when they become available?