Spanish trains

[karennz2012]

just wondering if I can get any advice on booking through renfe.
Im trying to book the trenhotel from SDC to Madrid and got a message that I had selected an open return when I thought I had selected one way - instead of the return box, I clicked on 'outward'..
so Im not sure what that means and then I got a message 'operacion en proceso' but there was nothing processing i.e. the site just froze. I think the latter thing is a technical problem as opposed to a specifically-renfe problem and I will try again later.
but any advice would be welcome - I know people seem to have problems with the renfe site.

karen

 

[jimsheppard]

hi,

The guidance on the "Man in Seat sixty-One" website as below is pretty good:

http://www.seat61.com/Spain-trains.htm# ... .renfe.com

I used it successfully to buy my "estrella" fares for my trip this year.

Jim

 

[Wolfmoms]

I used the Rail Europe site to book my Renfe TrenHotel seats from Santiago to Madrid. Worked just fine ... well, at least it claims to have booked us 2 beds in a quad room (ladies only), charged my credit card and issued electronic tickets. Hoping for the best when we try to get on the train! :lol:

http://www.raileurope.com/

 

[karennz2012]

thanks for the replies, I have gone back onto the site with renewed determination and it turns out it was just a technical hitch.
looks like Ive managed to book one berth in the four berth ladies only compartment but like you wolfsmom - hopiing for the best when I actually get to the train.
buen camino to all - 17 days to go!!!!

 

[LieutCol.Ret.]

OK, just ask your bank does your card have 3-D security code. If it has then renfe.com will process your booking request and you will get your tickets successfully. If your card has no 3-D security code then you cannot buy tickets and system will answer about diverse errors.

If your card has 3-D security code but system still refuses to sell you ticket then try to use the Spanish version of renfe site.

 

[peregrina2000]

Well, I have had good luck sometimes and bad luck sometimes when trying to buy tickets directly on the RENFE site. Based on what the "man in seat 61" says, I think the reason may be that RENFE requires "verified by visa" for Visa cards, and I have just learned that you can only activate that feature on Visa debit, and not credit cards.

Sure enough, last year when I purchased my tickets on the RENFE site, I used a Visa debit card and had no problems. This year, I tried to use a Visa credit card and it wouldn't take it. So I went over to raileurope.

The only advantage to using the RENFE site directly rather than raileurope.com or petrabax.com (tip from alipilgrim) is that you save the service fee, which is around $7. But as of this year, the cheap RENFE web fares are available through raileurope and petrabax, which means it is very much worth the effort to make sure you buy the ticket exactly 60 days ahead of time. The cheap web fares sell out very quickly.

Two additional tips -- if you're at the very end of the month, say on the 29th or 30th, it's worth checking to see if they've opened the seats up for 61 or 62 days in advance. And, if you're in the US, remember that it will be midnight in Spain some time in early evening here, so you can actually buy tickets on the 5th of April at 6 pm central time for the 6th of June, because that's midnight in Spain.
Buen camino, Laurie