you will be given a locator number that when you arrive in spain you will put it in and retrieve paper tickets from the machines at any renfe station. Have problems? Go to customer service, but I have never had a problem. Only once the machine was out of paper or something.

I am not sure if also putting this locator number into their web system from home online will also allow you to print tickets. The website is the ONLY place though for webfares.

I often use the phone just to avoid all the time online. Yes, you can even use USA AMEX by phone I believe.

I think the hotels would only be willing to make the phone call and not to get you a webfare where they have to fil out the stuff online. Bt I am only assuming.. so, let us know how it goes!

OK! Will do!

My date is in mid-January so I have to wait a couple of weeks, I believe.

Last questions, for now, at least: If I book by phone, can I get any kind of discount at all or do I have to pay full fare?

Do you think that the second week in January (13th, Thursday) would be a heavy travel date?

What if I wait to buy the tickets when I am in Spain....will that mean paying the full fare?

I apologize. Next to buying trip insurance and booking a rental car, this sounds like one of the most MEGO of travel topics (My Eyes Glaze Over, meaning boring).

like i said before.. on the phone IF there are any estrella fares, ASK, and if there ARE any available, you can buy them. only the 60% webfare is available only on the web.. thus its name.

once in Spain, the same at ticket windows ( can be VERY time consuming) and on the phone.

you will only pay full fare at ticket windown and on phone when there are no estrella fares available, which may very well be the case so close to departure.

a challenge, yes, to get online and find those webfares and try to make it work with your card. but once discounts are loaded, ( not always 60 days in advance.. sometimes fewer)
and you see no webfares then the phone is an option.

By the way, in order to SEE the discounted fares you do have to click above on site that says "see all fares" or ver todas las tarifas or something, if I recall. Otherwise, they just show you the timetable and normal prices as orientation.

Mil gracias!!! I will begin looking at the RENFE site 60 days before we plan to travel, and then keep looking if at first I do not succeed!

trajeta dorada gives 40% discount ( estrella is the same). The best is web fare ( about 60% off),if you can get it.
I was able to do it for Madrid -Barcelona trip in April.
(and print tickets).

some more popular routes are posted even as much as 90 days in advance (or so I have read). When I read that, it was about 64 days prior to our Barcelona to Madrid train travel day. and I went to renfe.com and lo and behold, there were discount fares already loaded!! so, one should keep that in mind as well. I was not able to nab the 60% fare but I did get the 40% fare for that train ride.

I now seem to be able to buy tickets for my date in January, only to fine that the morning train to Granada is marked "train blocked!" The later train that day is available.


What does "train blocked" mean? Do the trains ever become "unblocked,: or should I assume that that departure has been cancelled? (I am looking for tix on the early Altaria train Madrid-Granada on January 13; Thursday)

I note what you say is correct and it is something I have never come across. It is indeed 'bloqueado' and cannot be translated as a 'full' train .
The only thing I am going to suggest is it is to do with the schedule/price changes which occur every December and your particular requirement (and many days prior into December for that trip) has not been rationalised or input yet. Keep monitoring.

Will keep monitoring...I hope we do not have to take the bus to Granada! Mil gracias!

Interesting that the morning RENFE trains from Madrid to Granada are now showing "blocked" for a stretch of several days around the 13 January...

And, of course, there are discount fares now available for the afternoon trains on dates before and AFTER my own, but not on my date of travel....

(There are two trains daily)

if all fails, Spanair M-G is 48 euros.

Bookmarking. . . and hoping you all get your tickets!

Spoke to renfe and the person said she does not know the reason for the blockage but sometimes it is due to pre-arranged strikes. Seems there are a lot of conductor strikes planned these next months but she only had the list for November/December.

Or, they are working on the line in the morning.

She also said it could become unblocked but of course she couldn't guarantee it not knowing the real reason.

I just luv Renfe. I'm not even going to Spain this year but am tempted to try to book just for the thrill. :)

Licasanova: I cannot thank you enough for making that call! Too bad for me because the afternoon train will run in darkness, and there are no discounts!

... why not fly?

D:


Our entire trip is only one week and I hate to take most of a day getting to and from the airport..I suppose I cold rethink this, or just take the late train, which would allow us to have another lunch in Madrid. I really like trains and had hoped to have the scenery advantage of the day train...

Here is a related question: Is there a chance that the afternoon train will sell out, given that there is no morning train? If they do not sell out, I can wait until closer to the date of travel and see if the morning train magically appears back on the schedule.

To make things more complicated, there seem to be only two seats left on the morning bus that day...

This is the first time I've ever attempted the Renfe site. Now I know what all those comments were about through the years!

I understand. The airport in Granada is a long way from town.

Perhaps in December the Renfe personnel will know why this is blocked.

I highly doubt that the bus company would not put on another bus if there were tickets to be sold. It is hard to imagine a bus being sold out this far in advance. Sometimes there are several buses going to the same destination when they need them. Hope this becomes more clear closer to your date. I wouldn't worry too much YET on this decision as things may change a bit in the next week or so.