could someone please explain the process of booking trains on line at renfe.es? We're travelling via AVE from Seville to Cordoba, spending the day there, and then taking the AVE to Madrid. It appears that I can only book one set of tickets with a credit card at the renfe site. I believe they say that I must pick up the tickets in person (presumably to show my credit card+id) before they allow me to book any other trips. Does this mean that I wont be able to book the second leg (Cordoba-Madrid) until I am there?

p.s. does using 2 different credit cards get around this problem?

Have you tried raileurope.com? Seems you could book the tickets in two separate segments there.

I would avoid Rail Europe 'cause they're going to tack on an additional $20-30 in booking and shipping fees. I really wouldn't fret too much about booking the second leg in advance. There's a RENFE office in the Madrid airport, if that's your point of entry, or you can buy them at Santa Justa in Seville if that's the first train station you'll be using. I doubt that you'll have a problem securing a seat. The AVEs are very frequent.

You don't need to book Sevilla-Cordoba in advance - the trains will not be full for that part of the journey, so you can buy tickets immediately before travelling. It's the journey to Madrid that is likely to be full, so should be booked a few days in advance.

When are you travelling? We did both journeys last June ('04) and had no problems booking our tickets on the day. If you have to pick up your tickets in person, it might just be as quick to leave buying your ticket until the day (or the day before if you want to be sure) that you travel.

You are correct about the way the "Tiknet" or whatever renfe is now calling it works. You must register and pay for the first set of tickets with a CC and then pick those tickets up before you can use the service again.

The information about RailEurope's charges is incorrect: they are still charging a $15 S+H fee regardless of how much you spend with them. But their seat reservation charges are much more than you'll pay if you book on renfe or buy in Spain. depends on what you wish to pay for convenience. I'd wait until I got there if at all possible.