Hello,

We will be arriving by air in Madrid on10/7 at 8:00 AM and plan to take the AVE train to Seville that same day. I was planning on purchasing tickets at the station that day because I didn't want to miss the train if our flight comes in late or we are held up at the airport. However, many places seem to say reservations are required 24 hours in advance of train travel and I don't want to get stuck in Madrid overnight. Can we purchase the tickets the day of travel?

Thanks!

Of course you can, if there are seats left. The airport Renfe ticket office may be the easiest place. At Atocha, itself, can take a LONG time, and can be quite confusing.

An hour or two before your AVE is scheduled to depart Madrid Puerta de Atocha should be fine. AVE's run hourly for the most part; so, unless there's something big happening in Sevilla (like Semana Santa or the Feria de abril) trains will not be running 'full.'

Just buy your AVE Tix & Reservations at one of the Airport Renfe Offices (Terminal #1 or #4) should cut you about 1-hour slack that you will use on the way Barajas to Atocha.

The only problem I have encountered (Terminal #1 Renfe Office) is: the Ticket Agent will not advise you of any discounts/upgrades for which you might be eligible unless you ask specifically. At rhe Atocha Station AVE Ticket Office, the Agent will cheerfully inform you of any such deals.

But that's a 'People' thing, depending on how the Agent slept last night or how service-oriented the particular Agent is.

Thanks so much for the info, I had no idea I could get the tickets at the airport, that will be great.

One advatnage of booking in advance is you may be able to secure a discount deal, like web (60% off) or estrella (40% off) fare. But you need to book at leats 15 days or 7 days in advance, and the fares are non-refundable if you miss the train. If you try getting an estrella fare, allow at least 5 hours between scheduled arrival of your flight and train departure.