Train Through Spain
 

We will be traveling through Spain in May/June. We will be taking the train to 5 different cities on our trip. Is it best to buy a RENFE pass, EuroRail, pay separately for each train ride, or? Are there other train options that would be better?

If you can stick to a schedule, itinerary, then buying your tickets in advance will save you some cash. EuroRail is not the way to go. Buy directly through Renfe.com. If you experience any problems, they use Petrabax.com.

Cheapest would be advance-purchase fares bought 1-2 months ahead, specified train only no refunds no changes.

For flexibility, the next best option is a Renfe pass, see https://www.seat61.com/Spain-trains....sses_for_Spain

The Renfe pass allows you to travel flexibly and spontaneously, at only a little more than the non-flexible fare depending how far you go on each trip of course. Unlike Eurail passes, there's no reservation fee to add.

We just returned from Spain,and we used the train to travel to 3 cities and the bus to travel to 2 cities. We paid separately for each train ride. I purchased the tickets as soon as they went on sale to get the lowest price. I remember thinking that prices are very reasonable. I bought the tickets through Loco2 because I read that many people have trouble with the Renfe site.
Hope this helps.

We travelled in Spain and took 5 trains (4 cities and the train back to Madrid) . I bought the tickets through Renfe, also paying separately for each ticket. We bought the tickets in advance (cheaper prices) and it wasn't difficult at all. Most of the Renfe site has English translation but not all the pages. Luckily, I know some Spanish and managed just fine. (There's also Google Translate to help if you need it.)
You didn't write where you're going in Spain. When we went, the track to Granada wasn't finished and at Antequera, we were transferred to a bus which got us to Granada in about an hour. Maybe, the track has finally been finished.
I suggest that you check the following site: The Man in Seat 61(www.seat61.com). Not only is there lots of information and explanations but you can write to Mark and ask his opinion. (I did once.)

When I was planning my trip this past spring, the track to Granada was not finished. We just returned home on October 3. So we took the ALSA bus from Cordoba to Granada and from Granada to Malaga. The bus is inexpensive, air-conditioned, modern, and has comfortable seats. No problem at all.

So I assume the track is still not completed.

Thanks all! Just wanted to explore all options! We fly into Barcelona then train to Valencia, Madrid, Granada, Seville and fly back to Barcelona to fly out. Very excited!

The bus from Antequera to Granada is part of the train ticket - no extra cost and organized by RENFE. I personally dislike long bus trips so I never considered the ALSA bus. But it is another option.

If you took the train back to Barcelona then a pass may be a good idea but it's a 6-hr train ride - as Man in Seat 61 says a pass depends on whether you want flexibility to chose which trains to hop once there and not book in stone discounted restricted on changes, refunds, etc tickets but those may be cheapest - do the maths - see what discounted fares are available and compare vs the pass - www.seat61.com - Man in Seat 61 who posts above his commercial site and also www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.ricksteves.com.

With a pass you still must pay about $15 surcharge for using high-speed trains which includes the mandatory seat reservation. So with a pass you still must go to ticket window and make the mandated seat reservation - or book pass seats ahead of time online.

Definite no to any Eurailpass but the Spain Pass (technically a Eurailpass) that is the equivalent of a RENFE Pass but priced in dollars so compare each one to see what's the best deal: sample prices: http://www.budgeteuropetravel.com/id30.html.