Booking train and bus tickets ahead of time?

[cagraham]

Hi

Fiancee and I are looking at transportation from Madrid to St. Jean and had a couple of questions y'all might be able to answer.

We plan to take the train from Madrid/Atocha to Pamplona on a Sunday. Would you recommend booking in advance? Or purchasing tickets upon arrival. (This is in consideration of unexpected flight delays.) Do you have any idea if these trains get sold out?

From the website, we're looking at $91/person. Does that sound right? Do these prices fluctuate?

The same goes for the ALSA bus from Pamplona to St. Jean. I imagine that might fill up on a Sunday evening... do you have any recommendations on pre-booking?

I really appreciate your time.

Thanks,

Chris Graham

 

[whariwharangi]

The train will likely have space. There are several trains daily. Exception is on holidays.

There have been a couple reports on the forum of long lineups for tickets ... as much as two hours. However, in those instances the automatic ticket machines were ignored. One person said they tried using the machine but were confounded by language barriers. So the only reason to buy in advance is due to potential ticket purchase delays at the station. One recommendation is to purchase the tickets at the Airport Renfe Cercanius station if you are arriving at T4.

There are lower prices available ... the $U91 (euro 77) is normal price and my observation is it does not fluctuate. On the Renfe site there is a list of prices after you've selected your origin and destination. The cheapest single seats are Euro 46. These will get sold out first. The disadvantage is they have no flexibility including no refund if you miss the train.

The bus from Pamplona bus station to SJPdP is operated by Conda. Conda is owned by ALSA. The schedule appears on the ALSA site under the international tab (Spain to France). I don't know how full it gets. The ticket is to be purchased separate from any other ALSA ticket.

Renfe
http://www.renfe.com/

ALSA
http://www.alsa.es/en/

CONDA
http://www.conda.es/

 

[cagraham]

whari,

Thanks so much for the complete reply. Looks like it will be fine to just wait and get the ticket on the ground in Madrid. I'm a bit more worried that the bus from Pamplona to St. Jean will be booked, but I guess we'll find out then!

One follow up... The Renfe website is very vague on refunds... looks to me like the don't do them... but you can change if necessary. I guess that won't be a problem if we get tickets on the ground, but just in case, do you know the refund policy? (I've looked on their "General Terms" and "Changes and Cancellations" pages.)

Thanks again.

Chris

 

[whariwharangi]

See the section inicios>viajeros>tarifas
http://www.renfe.com/viajeros/tarifas/index.html

There is a list of different ticket options and conditions of sale including whether a refund is possible.

Caveat: My Spanish is limited so the translation might not be accurate.

Billete Promo ... discounted by 70% ... no cancellation, no changes, no changes to assigned seats, miss the train and the ticket has no value.

Billete Flexible ... normal price ... 5% fee for cancellation (refund) on a valid ticket (meaning before the train leaves), change anytime while the ticket is valid (you pay the difference on a more expensive ticket), you can ask for a seat anywhere in the train, you get a ticket free on the next train with seats available if you missed your train by less than 30 minutes.

 

[sriyantra]

See the section inicios>viajeros>tarifas
http://www.renfe.com/viajeros/tarifas/index.html

There is a list of different ticket options and conditions of sale including whether a refund is possible.

Caveat: My Spanish is limited so the translation might not be accurate.

Billete Promo ... discounted by 70% ... no cancellation, no changes, no changes to assigned seats, miss the train and the ticket has no value.

Billete Flexible ... normal price ... 5% fee for cancellation (refund) on a valid ticket (meaning before the train leaves), change anytime while the ticket is valid (you pay the difference on a more expensive ticket), you can ask for a seat anywhere in the train, you get a ticket free on the next train with seats available if you missed your train by less than 30 minutes.

whari,

Thanks so much for the complete reply. Looks like it will be fine to just wait and get the ticket on the ground in Madrid. I'm a bit more worried that the bus from Pamplona to St. Jean will be booked, but I guess we'll find out then!

One follow up... The Renfe website is very vague on refunds... looks to me like the don't do them... but you can change if necessary. I guess that won't be a problem if we get tickets on the ground, but just in case, do you know the refund policy? (I've looked on their "General Terms" and "Changes and Cancellations" pages.)

Thanks again.

Chris

I didn't have any luck booking with RENFE, tried several times, so I booked tickets today through International Rail in Australia. It cost me $136 for 2 tickets, first class from Madrid to Pamplona. The train leaves at 07.35 and arrives at 10.38. I didn't want to risk getting to the station to find there was no train/room/a queue. I am trying not to plan too much but I want to make sure I can get to SJPDP !! If you are coming from the US there is bound to be such a service available.