I have been trying to reserve trains on Raileurope for our trip at Christmas, but their system isn't showing anything beyond the 20th. Does anyone know if we will have a problem getting a train sleeper from seville to Barcelona on the 30th if we wait until we arrive in Spain on the 27th?

Yes, you probably won't have seats. Try www.renfe.es , the spanish railways website. The won't let you have the tickets, but you can buy them and with the same credit card you use for paying, you go to the ticket office at any station (or in the airport itself) and have your tickets.

I'm no expert on Spanish trains, but I'm pretty sure you should be looking at www.renfe.com, the Spanish national rail service, and not Raileurope, which in my experience is often overpriced.

Are you sure there is an overnight from Seville to Barcelona? I think you must take an AVE to Madrid and then the Trenhotel to Barcelona. I did the overnight Madrid to Barcelona last year. Very nice train. I booked on the morning of departure in Madrid. The train was nearly empty, in January. Holiday time may be another story.

Call BETS in Ann Arbor at 800-441-2387 for good information.

There's a Trenhotel that leaves Sevilla at 21:02 and arrives BCN at 08:06 per the renfe site. Tickets can be purchased ahead using Tiknet (the renfe system). This is definately much cheaper than Raileurope. I'd book ahead and not take a chance on buying the 27th when you arrive. Holiday travel could be booked.

Thanks for the information. Does RENFE handle reservations if you have a rail pass?

NO! I'm afraid you're on your own.

I do not understand the question or answer regarding RENFE and reservations with a rail pass. In any case I traveled with a rail pass last year and made night train reservations three times in Spain.

You can make your reservations while in Spain, but not on the Renfe website.

sdr-

Is your trip limited to Spain? Or are you traveling throughout a wide geography in Europe? I haven't found the rail pass a good value if you are limited to Spain.