I'm plaaning travel round Spain on trains, and have worked out some routes using the www.bahn.de site. Does anyone know how accurate it is? Will the timetables change soon for summer? Also, how reliable are the Spanish trains in arriving on time? I plan to travel on the faster ones, not the 'stopping all stations' variety, but should I avoid tight connections (like departing within an hour of scheduled arriving)? I'd appreciate advice from anyone who has travelled by train in Spain. My rough itinerary at this stage is Barcelona - Madrid - Salamanca - Avila - Madrid - Cordoba (on the AVE) - Sevilla - Granada - Madrid

I was in Spain twice and used the trains to get around. I found them to be very effecient, always on time, and clean. We traveled 2nd class and was comfortable. We did take the AVE high speed train from Madrid to Seville (and to all the places you mentioned) and really enjoyed watching the country side. I don't know anything about the web site you mentioned. You can go to your local library and look at the latest Thomas Cook train time table. You may be looking at one that's a month old (at least my library is not up-to-date), but the time schedules should be ok. As for a tight schedule, I wouldn't go with one under 20 minutes between trains, though ALL the trains we took were on time. But with the routes your going, I'm sure there are others following not too much later. You certainly wouldn't be stuck someplace. Have a great time!

RENFE, the national train company has a web site that will give you exact times and prices when you type in your departing and arriving cities. I don't know the url off hand, but if you go to yahoo and type renfe it will be the top one listed. Once at renfe, click on the British flag for English text and then go to timetables and fares.

Monica, We are attending a conference in Toledo, Spain. Arriving at airport (Madrid) 07h30 in the morning. Advice on quickest, most comfortable way to get to Toledo with our luggage? And any bits of info and suggestions you have on Toledo?

I just got back from Spain. I took the AVE from Madrid-Cordoba, Cordoba-Sevilla & Sevilla - Madrid. I took both the tourista & first class. The train is very safe, clean & runs perfectly on time. I was able to get the schedule faxed to me by calling a RENFE number. You can obtain this by calling the Spanish Tourist Office in NY. I'm sorry I don't have the number.
Have a great trip!

That's just what we'll be doing in a month! Can you tell me whether we can buy tickets for Cordoba in Madrid the day before we go? Also, what did you find to be the difference between first class and tourist on the AVE? Thanks for your help.

Hello Nancy,

When did you buy the tickets for the AVE train between Madrid and Cordoba, and between Cordoba and Seville? Do you know about the Talgo 200 train? It also travels between these cities, but I need to make sure whether the train stops at all the RENFE stations, or just goes through? Where could I get a complete schedule of all RENFE stations and destination from ourside spain? Was the AVE expensive. Is there an AVE train travelling to the followings: Cadiz, Algeciras, Gibraltar, Marbella, Torremolinos, Malaga and Almeria?

And in which hotels dis you stay in Madrid, Cordoba, and Seville? Where they close to the train station?

I'm travelling to spain this month for the first time, so I'd really appreceiate your feedback. Thank you. Najla.