SUMMAGOLD

Can anyone advise if these stats below are somewhat in the ballpark? We are traveling in the first week of Nov. 2006.

Barcelona to Valencia (about 3hours) 48euros

Valencia to Seville (about 8hours) 46 euros

Seville to Madrid (3hrs,30 mins) 69euros

Dukey

You got these from the Renfe site, correct? I assume you've decided to take the slower train Seville-Madrid..for what reason?

SUMMAGOLD

umm.. yes i got the stats from the renfe site. but there are faster trains? please advise. and how much?

Christina

In the ballpark of what, price? I don't know the others, but Seville to Madrid isn't a cheap train, so I guess that's fine, but the AVE is only 2.5 hrs, not 3.5 hrs, so maybe you read that wrong. I think 70 euro is about right for the AVE second class, but not first class whch is around 125 euro. If you got those figures off their website, it's not debatable, so what are you questioning?

SUMMAGOLD

what exactly is the AVE? is that part of renfe? would you advise i buy these tickets before i leave the U.S.? is online website reliable? are these prices and times on website pretty accurate? i wanted to sort of plan my daily trips.

TimS

From the Renfe site.

Barcelona-Valencia: E20.40 on the 7-hr train. Either E31.80 or E37.00 on a 3-hr train.

Valencia-Seville: E45.30.

Seville-Madrid: E54.70 on the 5-hr train. Either E63.60 or E69.80 on a 2 1/2-hr train.

SUMMAGOLD

So is AVE a type of train that is faster? and it is part of Renfe?

Christina

yes, sorry. renfe is the Spanish national rail system, so Renfe is all the trains. AVE is the name for the high-speed trains in Spain. It stands for Alta Velocidad Espanola. One of the main routes is Madrid to Seville. They don't have them in a lot of the country, but where they do go, it is very convenient to save time.

SUMMAGOLD

is the train from Valencia to Seville really 8 hours? is there a faster train?

SUMMAGOLD

Thanks, everyone, for your replies. One other important question: Should I be buying these tickets before hand? Or can we buy these train tickets the day of? Or buy them all at once, when we arrive in Barcelona?

laclaire

Summagold: when are you traveling? if it is in August or early September, the earlier you buy your tickets the better.

RENFE means Red Nacional de Ferrocarrils Españoles (Spanish National Rail Network). AVE stands for "Alta Velocidad" (super fast).

As for the quotes, do not take the 7 hr train to Valencia. It is a regional train and they are considerably less comfortable than regular or AVE trains. I have done it before (I was traveling with my bike and it was my only option) and do not recommend it to anyone.

SUMMAGOLD

Nov. 4 thru 11.

I looked on renfe website and i didnt see a fater train from valencia to seville. What are my options?

And should I be buying these tickets before hand? Or can we buy these train tickets the day of? Or buy them all at once, when we arrive in Barcelona?

Thanks!

SUMMAGOLD

Sorry. some typos.

will be in Spain from Novmeber 4-11. two nites in barcelona, one nite in valencia, two nites in seville, and two nites in madrid. we plan to travel by train.

I looked on renfe website and i didnt see a faster train from valencia to seville. What are my options?

And should I be buying these tickets before hand? Or can we buy these train tickets the day of? Or buy them all at once, when we arrive in Barcelona?

Thanks!

Dukey

I may be wrong about this and hopefully others will comment..but in order to buy the tickets on-line through the Renfe site you have to register and then use the Tiknet option.

now here's the fun part...I THINK you can only order one set of tickets and then you have to pick those up, showing the CC you used to pay for them BEFORE you can use Tiknet for further (unlimited) buying..

Can someone please comment on this?

if this is true, then you may be stuck getting them all at once after arrival in Spain.

TimS

I went to bahn.de, the German national rail site that has timetables for most of Europe, and discovered that you can go from Valencia to Sevilla via Madrid in from 6hr10min to 6hr45min, depending upon what time of the day you'll be traveling. Then I went back to renfe.es to price those separate tickets. Valencia-Madrid would cost E40.60 and Madrid-Sevilla would cost E69.80. That's a lot more money for not much of a savings in time.

laclaire

Summa:

BCN-Valencia: train

Valencia-Sevilla: vueling.com has some great deals and taking a train is a huge waste of time and stress when there are direct flights available for much cheaper (mind you, though, that vueling.com only allows you to have 20kg of luggage and then 10kg of hand luggage)

Sevilla-Madrid: AVE

In November things do not tend to sell out, but securing your BCN-Valencia ticket beforehand might be a good idea just for peace of mind.

Dukey- that is very possible. I have been a member for a really long time and my first order was not for multiple tickets, so I don't know.

Christina

I think it is the case that a new website user can only by one set of tickets before pickup and showing ID, then you can buy more. So, if that's still the case, I'd use the internet just to buy the one route that you thought might get more sold out. Then, when you go to pick them up in Spain, you can buy the others.

SUMMAGOLD

hey guys, thanks to you all for your help.

LACLAIRE, i like that idea with vueling. one question, though. Do we have to go thru the usual drill by checking into the airport 2 hours before departure or can we just arrive at airport just 30 mins prior? sorry, but trying to figure out our time schedule. thanks.

SUMMAGOLD

The website actually answered my question. We have to arrive at the airport at least 40 mins prior. Has anyone done this? Fly from Valencia to Seville via Vueling? Will we be missing much if we fly? I know we will be missing some of the sights and small towns in between.