Train from Sevilla to Madrid -- Book Ahead?
 

Hi all! At the end of our trip through Andalucia we're staying in Sevilla for two nights and then taking the AVE train up to Madrid, hopefully departing early on a Friday so that there's time for a day in Cordoba. I would like to remain flexible so that if we just can't tear ourselves away from Sevilla we have the option of departing later in the day, but I don't want to risk being unable to get train tickets. Is it fairly safe to wait and buy tickets on the day of travel?

Booking ahead will depend on when you are traveling, but reservations are required on the AVE. Buying tickets on the day of travel may be a little iffy, but it's possible, again, depending on when you’re traveling.

Thanks -- actually, since I posted my question I've discovered that (apparently) all the AVE trains from Cordobo to Madrid are full on Friday, March 3 (hard to believe, but that's how it looks on the Web site). Do you happen to know if the slower trains are more likely to be available? I don't see any reservation info on the RENFE site.

Abbydog,

I don't know where you get the idea that all the AVE trains from Cordoba (or Sevilla?) to Madrid are fully booked on March 3. I get the whole schedule, with dozens of trains, all with price information. If they were all booked, surely no prices would be indicated...

Go to www.renfe.es. Click on "Tiknet", then on English. You will get the information on how to reserve or buy tickets.

Hmm. I clicked for reservations and got a big red message that said either there are no direct trains or they're all booked up (??) This does not happen when I click to reserve the Sevilla to Madrid train; only the Cordoba to Madrid train. Can it be an error? Do I just need to try later? Let me know what you think! Thanks!

Oh -- pardon me -- I just tried the Renfe site as you instructed and maybe that will produce a different result. I was trying to use the AVE Web site. Thanks!

Hooray! Today the Web site is showing ticket availability -- there must have been a glitch yesterday. Thanks for humoring me! Just goes to show how an obsessive travel planner can waste a day fretting. . .

I'm glad it worked. All's well that ends well.

Are you travelling 1st class? We travelled on Eur-rail 1st class tix several years ago, and wound up seated in 2nd class (or standing at the counter in the cantina car) on several legs of our trip because we didn't want to pin down our departure times. I finally found out what we'd been missing on the Seville-Madrid AVE leg that we did reserve seats for... a wonderful meal & first-rate service in the 1st class cars!

Oh, first class does sound nice, but since we're breaking the trip in two (with an afternoon in Cordoba) we just went turista. Boy, what an odyssey trying to book on the Renfe Web site! I had a gazillion failed attempts and countless calls to my credit union because apparently fraud is rampant on European rail Web sites and credit card security often blocks the transaction. Sigh. Glad that's over.

Oh, also -- it was the Rail Europe web site that offered just a handful of AVE train options, while Renfe had the complete list. I notice that even a month ahead the turista seats on the trains I chose are going fast. . .

Thanks again everyone!

Well our trip to Spain is set for the beginning of March and I had thought that I would buy our AVE tickets for the Madrid/Sevilla trip at the airport when we arrived in Madrid as we won't be traveling on the train for another three days after we arrive. But hearing all of this I guess I must brave the renfe website later this weekend! I don't want to be closed out of seats! Susan

Well, no need to panic! I am an obsessive-compulsive travel planner and might be way too paranoid to boot. When I ran all this by my super-spontaneous niece in Madrid she said "Gee, I usually just buy my tickets at the station, and you know there's always the bus. . ."