travellover3

Hello and thank you in advance.

Husband and I will be traveling from Madrid to Barcelona on May 14th... I have read that booking the tickets with Renfe in advance is advantageous to save money, but not having any experience with this I thought I'd ask this wonderful forum. I think our itinerary is finalized, but I am not sure, so would like to delay purchasing this train ticket, unless I am going to miss out on significant savings. Do any of you know the average cost of this trip? I am finding, for example, an AVE ticket for €49.15 19:30-22:40, which seems like a great price, but not sure how Renfe operates so... is it possible the prices go lower? (seems unlikely) or am I risking a significant rise in price if I wait?

Thank you so very much

IMDonehere

RENFE is my enemy. I have using/fighting them for years. I just booked the same Madrid/Barcelona RT on the AVE and paid about that amount. The price depends on the time and the class.

The tickets are not available until 62 days before the first trip.

PalenQ

Prices unlikely to go down only up as when a certain quota of tickets at X $s is exhausted more expensive ones are the cheapest. therefore don't delay in booking unless unsure of when as once issued no changes allowed or for a hefty fee - not sure in Spain but rule of thumb for most countries. Many people recommend other third-party agents for Renfe tickets if you have problems. Anyway check www.seat61.com for didactic info on booking renfe.com tickets. For general info trains check www.ricksteves.com and BETS-European Rail Experts.